Nicolaus Copernicus
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Nicolaus Copernicus
The publication of Copernicus's model in his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), just before his death in 1543, was a major event in the history of science, triggering the Copernican Revolution and making a pioneering contribution to the Scientific Revolution.[8]
Copernicus was born and died in
Life
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on 19 February 1473 in the city of Toruń (Thorn), in the province of Royal Prussia, in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland[10][11] to German-speaking parents.[12]
His father was a merchant from
Father's family
Copernicus's father's family can be traced to a village in Silesia between Nysa (Neiße) and Prudnik (Neustadt). The village's name has been variously spelled Kopernik,[g] Copernik, Copernic, Kopernic, Coprirnik, and today Koperniki.[16]
In the 14th century, members of the family began moving to various other Silesian cities, to the Polish capital, Kraków (1367), and to Toruń (1400).[16] The father, Mikołaj the Elder, likely the son of Jan, came from the Kraków line.[16]
Nicolaus was named after his father, who appears in records for the first time as a well-to-do merchant who dealt in copper, selling it mostly in
Copernicus's father married Barbara Watzenrode, the astronomer's mother, between 1461 and 1464.[16] He died about 1483.[13]
Mother's family
Nicolaus's mother, Barbara Watzenrode, was the daughter of a wealthy Toruń patrician and city councillor,
Lucas Watzenrode the Elder, a wealthy merchant and in 1439–62 president of the judicial bench, was a decided opponent of the Teutonic Knights.[13] In 1453 he was the delegate from Toruń at the Grudziądz (Graudenz) conference that planned the uprising against them.[13] During the ensuing Thirteen Years' War, he actively supported the Prussian cities' war effort with substantial monetary subsidies (only part of which he later re-claimed), with political activity in Toruń and Danzig, and by personally fighting in battles at Łasin (Lessen) and Malbork (Marienburg).[13] He died in 1462.[13]
Education
Early education
Copernicus' father died around 1483, when the boy was 10. His maternal uncle,
University of Kraków 1491–1495
In the winter semester of 1491–92 Copernicus, as "Nicolaus Nicolai de Thuronia", matriculated together with his brother Andrew at the University of Kraków (now
Mathematical astronomy
Copernicus's Kraków studies gave him a thorough grounding in the mathematical astronomy taught at the university (arithmetic, geometry, geometric optics, cosmography, theoretical and computational astronomy) and a good knowledge of the philosophical and natural-science writings of
Contradictions in the systems of Aristotle and Ptolemy
Copernicus's four years at Kraków played an important role in the development of his critical faculties and initiated his analysis of logical contradictions in the two "official" systems of astronomy—Aristotle's theory of homocentric spheres, and
Warmia 1495–96
Without taking a degree, probably in the fall of 1495, Copernicus left Kraków for the court of his uncle Watzenrode, who in 1489 had been elevated to
On 20 October 1497, Copernicus, by proxy, formally succeeded to the Warmia canonry which had been granted to him two years earlier. To this, by a document dated 10 January 1503 at
Italy
University of Bologna 1496–1501
Meanwhile, leaving Warmia in mid-1496—possibly with the retinue of the chapter's chancellor, Jerzy Pranghe, who was going to Italy—in the fall, possibly in October, Copernicus arrived in Bologna and a few months later (after 6 January 1497) signed himself into the register of the Bologna University of Jurists' "German nation", which included young Poles from Silesia, Prussia and Pomerania as well as students of other nationalities.[24]
During his three-year stay at Bologna, which occurred between fall 1496 and spring 1501, Copernicus seems to have devoted himself less keenly to studying
Rome 1500
Copernicus spent the
University of Padua 1501–1503
On his return journey doubtless stopping briefly at Bologna, in mid-1501 Copernicus arrived back in Warmia. After on 28 July receiving from the chapter a two-year extension of leave in order to study medicine (since "he may in future be a useful medical advisor to our Reverend Superior [Bishop Lucas Watzenrode] and the gentlemen of the chapter"), in late summer or in the fall he returned again to Italy, probably accompanied by his brother Andrew[m] and by Canon Bernhard Sculteti. This time he studied at the University of Padua, famous as a seat of medical learning, and—except for a brief visit to Ferrara in May–June 1503 to pass examinations for, and receive, his doctorate in canon law—he remained at Padua from fall 1501 to summer 1503.[37]
Copernicus studied medicine probably under the direction of leading Padua professors—Bartolomeo da Montagnana, Girolamo Fracastoro, Gabriele Zerbi, Alessandro Benedetti—and read medical treatises that he acquired at this time, by Valescus de Taranta, Jan Mesue, Hugo Senensis, Jan Ketham, Arnold de Villa Nova, and Michele Savonarola, which would form the embryo of his later medical library.[37]
Astrology
One of the subjects that Copernicus must have studied was astrology, since it was considered an important part of a medical education.[39] However, unlike most other prominent Renaissance astronomers, he appears never to have practiced or expressed any interest in astrology.[40]
Greek studies
As at Bologna, Copernicus did not limit himself to his official studies. It was probably the Padua years that saw the beginning of his Hellenistic interests. He familiarized himself with Greek language and culture with the aid of Theodorus Gaza's grammar (1495) and Johannes Baptista Chrestonius's dictionary (1499), expanding his studies of antiquity, begun at Bologna, to the writings of Bessarion, Lorenzo Valla, and others. There also seems to be evidence that it was during his Padua stay that the idea finally crystallized, of basing a new system of the world on the movement of the Earth.[37] As the time approached for Copernicus to return home, in spring 1503 he journeyed to Ferrara where, on 31 May 1503, having passed the obligatory examinations, he was granted the degree of
Planetary observations
Copernicus made three observations of Mercury, with errors of −3, −15 and −1 minutes of arc. He made one of Venus, with an error of −24 minutes. Four were made of Mars, with errors of 2, 20, 77, and 137 minutes. Four observations were made of Jupiter, with errors of 32, 51, −11 and 25 minutes. He made four of Saturn, with errors of 31, 20, 23 and −4 minutes.[42]
Other observations
With Novara, Copernicus observed an occultation of Aldebaran by the Moon on 9 March 1497. Copernicus also observed a conjunction of Saturn and the Moon on 4 March 1500. He saw an eclipse of the Moon on 6 November 1500.[43][44]
Work
Having completed all his studies in Italy, 30-year-old Copernicus returned to Warmia, where he would live out the remaining 40 years of his life, apart from brief journeys to Kraków and to nearby Prussian cities: Toruń (Thorn), Gdańsk (Danzig), Elbląg (Elbing), Grudziądz (Graudenz), Malbork (Marienburg), Königsberg (Królewiec).[37]
The Prince-Bishopric of Warmia enjoyed substantial autonomy, with its own diet (parliament) and monetary unit (the same as in the other parts of Royal Prussia) and treasury.[45]
Copernicus was his uncle's secretary and physician from 1503 to 1510 (or perhaps till his uncle's death on 29 March 1512) and resided in the Bishop's castle at Lidzbark (Heilsberg), where he began work on his heliocentric theory. In his official capacity, he took part in nearly all his uncle's political, ecclesiastic and administrative-economic duties. From the beginning of 1504, Copernicus accompanied Watzenrode to sessions of the Royal Prussian diet held at Malbork and Elbląg and, write Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz, "participated... in all the more important events in the complex diplomatic game that ambitious politician and statesman played in defense of the particular interests of Prussia and Warmia, between hostility to the [Teutonic] Order and loyalty to the Polish Crown."[37]
In 1504–1512 Copernicus made numerous journeys as part of his uncle's retinue—in 1504, to Toruń and Gdańsk, to a session of the Royal Prussian Council in the presence of Poland's King Alexander Jagiellon; to sessions of the Prussian diet at Malbork (1506), Elbląg (1507) and Sztum (Stuhm) (1512); and he may have attended a Poznań (Posen) session (1510) and the coronation of Poland's King Sigismund I the Old in Kraków (1507). Watzenrode's itinerary suggests that in spring 1509 Copernicus may have attended the Kraków sejm.[37]
It was probably on the latter occasion, in Kraków, that Copernicus submitted for printing at
Commentariolus – an initial outline of a heliocentric theory
Some time before 1514, Copernicus wrote an initial outline of his heliocentric theory known only from later transcripts, by the title (perhaps given to it by a copyist), Nicolai Copernici de hypothesibus motuum coelestium a se constitutis commentariolus—commonly referred to as the
Astronomical observations 1513–1516
In 1510 or 1512 Copernicus moved to Frombork, a town to the northwest at the
Administrative duties in Warmia
Having settled permanently at Frombork, where he would reside to the end of his life, with interruptions in 1516–1519 and 1520–21, Copernicus found himself at the Warmia chapter's economic and administrative center, which was also one of Warmia's two chief centers of political life. In the difficult, politically complex situation of Warmia, threatened externally by the
That same year (before 8 November 1512) Copernicus assumed responsibility, as magister pistoriae, for administering the chapter's economic enterprises (he would hold this office again in 1530), having already since 1511 fulfilled the duties of chancellor and visitor of the chapter's estates.[47]
His administrative and economic duties did not distract Copernicus, in 1512–1515, from intensive observational activity. The results of his observations of
During 1516–1521, Copernicus resided at Olsztyn (Allenstein) Castle as economic administrator of Warmia, including
Advisor on monetary reform
Copernicus for years advised the Royal Prussian sejmik on monetary reform, particularly in the 1520s when that was a major question in regional Prussian politics.[51] In 1526 he wrote a study on the value of money, "Monetae cudendae ratio". In it he formulated an early iteration of the theory, now called Gresham's law, that "bad" (debased) coinage drives "good" (un-debased) coinage out of circulation—several decades before Thomas Gresham. He also, in 1517, set down a quantity theory of money, a principal concept in economics to the present day. Copernicus's recommendations on monetary reform were widely read by leaders of both Prussia and Poland in their attempts to stabilize currency.[52]
Copernican system presented to the Pope
In 1533, Johann Widmanstetter, secretary to Pope Clement VII, explained Copernicus's heliocentric system to the Pope and two cardinals. The Pope was so pleased that he gave Widmanstetter a valuable gift.[53] In 1535 Bernard Wapowski wrote a letter to a gentleman in Vienna, urging him to publish an enclosed almanac, which he claimed had been written by Copernicus. This is the only mention of a Copernicus almanac in the historical records. The "almanac" was likely Copernicus's tables of planetary positions. Wapowski's letter mentions Copernicus's theory about the motions of the Earth. Nothing came of Wapowski's request, because he died a couple of weeks later.[53]
Following the death of Prince-Bishop of Warmia Mauritius Ferber (1 July 1537), Copernicus participated in the election of his successor, Johannes Dantiscus (20 September 1537). Copernicus was one of four candidates for the post, written in at the initiative of Tiedemann Giese; but his candidacy was actually pro forma, since Dantiscus had earlier been named coadjutor bishop to Ferber and since Dantiscus had the backing of Poland's King Sigismund I.[54] At first Copernicus maintained friendly relations with the new Prince-Bishop, assisting him medically in spring 1538 and accompanying him that summer on an inspection tour of Chapter holdings. But that autumn, their friendship was strained by suspicions over Copernicus's housekeeper, Anna Schilling, whom Dantiscus banished from Frombork in spring 1539.[54]
Medical work
In his younger days, Copernicus the physician had treated his uncle, brother and other chapter members. In later years he was called upon to attend the elderly bishops who in turn occupied the see of Warmia—Mauritius Ferber and Johannes Dantiscus—and, in 1539, his old friend Tiedemann Giese, Bishop of Chełmno (Kulm). In treating such important patients, he sometimes sought consultations from other physicians, including the physician to Duke Albert and, by letter, the Polish Royal Physician.[55]
In the spring of 1541,
Protestant attacks on the Copernican system
Some of Copernicus's close friends turned Protestant, but Copernicus never showed a tendency in that direction. The first attacks on him came from Protestants. Wilhelm Gnapheus, a Dutch refugee settled in Elbląg, wrote a comedy in Latin, Morosophus (The Foolish Sage), and staged it at the Latin school that he had established there. In the play, Copernicus was caricatured as the eponymous Morosophus, a haughty, cold, aloof man who dabbled in astrology, considered himself inspired by God, and was rumored to have written a large work that was moldering in a chest.[28]
Elsewhere Protestants were the first to react to news of Copernicus's theory.
Some people believe that it is excellent and correct to work out a thing as absurd as did that Sarmatian [i.e., Polish] astronomer who moves the earth and stops the sun. Indeed, wise rulers should have curbed such light-mindedness.[28]
Nevertheless, in 1551, eight years after Copernicus's death, astronomer
Heliocentrism
Some time before 1514 Copernicus made available to friends his "Commentariolus" ("Little Commentary"), a manuscript describing his ideas about the heliocentric hypothesis.[o] It contained seven basic assumptions (detailed below).[58] Thereafter he continued gathering data for a more detailed work.
At about 1532 Copernicus had basically completed his work on the manuscript of Dē revolutionibus orbium coelestium; but despite urging by his closest friends, he resisted openly publishing his views, not wishing—as he confessed—to risk the scorn "to which he would expose himself on account of the novelty and incomprehensibility of his theses."[54]
Reception of the Copernican system in Rome
In 1533,
Some years ago word reached me concerning your proficiency, of which everybody constantly spoke. At that time I began to have a very high regard for you... For I had learned that you had not merely mastered the discoveries of the ancient astronomers uncommonly well but had also formulated a new cosmology. In it you maintain that the earth moves; that the sun occupies the lowest, and thus the central, place in the universe... Therefore with the utmost earnestness I entreat you, most learned sir, unless I inconvenience you, to communicate this discovery of yours to scholars, and at the earliest possible moment to send me your writings on the sphere of the universe together with the tables and whatever else you have that is relevant to this subject ...[59]
By then Copernicus's work was nearing its definitive form, and rumors about his theory had reached educated people all over Europe. Despite urgings from many quarters, Copernicus delayed publication of his book, perhaps from fear of criticism—a fear delicately expressed in the subsequent
De revolutionibus orbium coelestium
Copernicus was still working on
Osiander added an unauthorised and unsigned preface, defending Copernicus's work against those who might be offended by its novel hypotheses. He argued that "different hypotheses are sometimes offered for one and the same motion [and therefore] the astronomer will take as his first choice that hypothesis which is the easiest to grasp." According to Osiander, "these hypotheses need not be true nor even probable. [I]f they provide a calculus consistent with the observations, that alone is enough."[62]
Death
Toward the close of 1542, Copernicus was seized with apoplexy and paralysis, and he died at age 70 on 24 May 1543. Legend has it that he was presented with the final printed pages of his Dē revolutionibus orbium coelestium on the very day that he died, allowing him to take farewell of his life's work.[q] He is reputed to have awoken from a stroke-induced coma, looked at his book, and then died peacefully.[r]
Copernicus was reportedly buried in Frombork Cathedral, where a 1580 epitaph stood until being defaced; it was replaced in 1735. For over two centuries, archaeologists searched the cathedral in vain for Copernicus's remains. Efforts to locate them in 1802, 1909, 1939 had come to nought. In 2004 a team led by Jerzy Gąssowski, head of an archaeology and anthropology institute in Pułtusk, began a new search, guided by the research of historian Jerzy Sikorski.[63][64] In August 2005, after scanning beneath the cathedral floor, they discovered what they believed to be Copernicus's remains.[65]
The discovery was announced only after further research, on 3 November 2008. Gąssowski said he was "almost 100 percent sure it is Copernicus".
The grave was in poor condition, and not all the remains of the skeleton were found; missing, among other things, was the lower jaw.
On 22 May 2010, Copernicus was given a second funeral in a
Copernican system
Predecessors
You are now aware ['you' being King Gelon] that the "universe" is the name given by most astronomers to the sphere the centre of which is the centre of the earth, while its radius is equal to the straight line between the centre of the sun and the centre of the earth. This is the common account (τά γραφόμενα) as you have heard from astronomers. But Aristarchus has brought out a book consisting of certain hypotheses, wherein it appears, as a consequence of the assumptions made, that the universe is many times greater than the "universe" just mentioned. His hypotheses are that the fixed stars and the sun remain unmoved, that the earth revolves about the sun on the circumference of a circle, the sun lying in the middle of the orbit, and that the sphere of the fixed stars, situated about the same centre as the sun, is so great that the circle in which he supposes the earth to revolve bears such a proportion to the distance of the fixed stars as the centre of the sphere bears to its surface.
In an early unpublished manuscript of De Revolutionibus (which still survives), Copernicus mentioned the (non-heliocentric) 'moving Earth' theory of Philolaus and the possibility that Aristarchus also had a 'moving Earth' theory (though it is unlikely that he was aware that it was a heliocentric theory). He removed both references from his final published manuscript.[c][e]
Copernicus was probably aware that Pythagoras's system involved a moving Earth. The Pythagorean system was mentioned by Aristotle.[75]
Copernicus owned a copy of Giorgio Valla's De expetendis et fugiendis rebus, which included a translation of Plutarch's reference to Aristarchus's heliostaticism.[76]
In Copernicus's dedication of he had found references to those few thinkers who dared to move the Earth "against the traditional opinion of astronomers and almost against common sense."
The prevailing theory during Copernicus's lifetime was the one that Ptolemy published in his Almagest c. 150 CE; the Earth was the stationary center of the universe. Stars were embedded in a large outer sphere that rotated rapidly, approximately daily, while each of the planets, the Sun, and the Moon were embedded in their own, smaller spheres. Ptolemy's system employed devices, including epicycles, deferents and equants, to account for observations that the paths of these bodies differed from simple, circular orbits centered on the Earth.[77]
Beginning in the 10th century, a tradition criticizing Ptolemy developed within
According to the geometers [or engineers] (muhandisīn), the earth is in constant circular motion, and what appears to be the motion of the heavens is actually due to the motion of the earth and not the stars.[83]
In the 12th century, Nur ad-Din al-Bitruji proposed a complete alternative to the Ptolemaic system (although not heliocentric).[85][86] He declared the Ptolemaic system as an imaginary model, successful at predicting planetary positions, but not real or physical.[85][86] Al-Bitruji's alternative system spread through most of Europe during the 13th century, with debates and refutations of his ideas continued up to the 16th century.[86]
Mathematical techniques developed in the 13th to 14th centuries by
Copernicus
Copernicus's major work on his
Copernicus's Commentariolus summarized his heliocentric theory. It listed the "assumptions" upon which the theory was based, as follows:[99]
- There is no one center of all the celestial circles[100] or spheres.[101]
- The center of the earth is not the center of the universe, but only the center towards which heavy bodies move and the center of the lunar sphere.
- All the spheres surround the sun as if it were in the middle of them all, and therefore the center of the universe is near the sun.
- The ratio of the earth's distance from the sun to the height of the firmament (outermost celestial sphere containing the stars) is so much smaller than the ratio of the earth's radius to its distance from the sun that the distance from the earth to the sun is imperceptible in comparison with the height of the firmament.
- Whatever motion appears in the firmament arises not from any motion of the firmament, but from the earth's motion. The earth together with its circumjacent elements performs a complete rotation on its fixed poles in a daily motion, while the firmament and highest heaven abide unchanged.
- What appear to us as motions of the sun arise not from its motion but from the motion of the earth and our sphere, with which we revolve about the sun like any other planet. The earth has, then, more than one motion.
- The apparent retrograde and direct motion of the planets arises not from their motion but from the earth's. The motion of the earth alone, therefore, suffices to explain so many apparent inequalities in the heavens.
De revolutionibus itself was divided into six sections or parts, called "books":[102]
- General vision of the heliocentric theory, and a summarized exposition of his idea of the World
- Mainly theoretical, presents the principles of spherical astronomy and a list of stars (as a basis for the arguments developed in the subsequent books)
- Mainly dedicated to the apparent motions of the Sun and to related phenomena
- Description of the Moon and its orbital motions
- Exposition of the motions in longitude of the non-terrestrial planets
- Exposition of the motions in latitude of the non-terrestrial planets
Successors
Georg Joachim Rheticus could have been Copernicus's successor, but did not rise to the occasion.[53] Erasmus Reinhold could have been his successor, but died prematurely.[53] The first of the great successors was Tycho Brahe[53] (though he did not think the Earth orbited the Sun), followed by Johannes Kepler,[53] who had collaborated with Tycho in Prague and benefited from Tycho's decades' worth of detailed observational data.[103]
Despite the near universal acceptance later of the heliocentric idea (though not the epicycles or the circular orbits), Copernicus's theory was originally slow to catch on. Scholars hold that sixty years after the publication of The Revolutions there were only around 15 astronomers espousing Copernicanism in all of Europe: "
The intellectual climate of the time "remained dominated by Aristotelian philosophy and the corresponding Ptolemaic astronomy. At that time there was no reason to accept the Copernican theory, except for its mathematical simplicity [by avoiding using the equant in determining planetary positions]."[107] Tycho Brahe's system ("that the earth is stationary, the sun revolves about the earth, and the other planets revolve about the sun")[107] also directly competed with Copernicus's. It was only a half-century later with the work of Kepler and Galileo that any substantial evidence defending Copernicanism appeared, starting "from the time when Galileo formulated the principle of inertia...[which] helped to explain why everything would not fall off the earth if it were in motion."[107] "[Not until] after Isaac Newton formulated the universal law of gravitation and the laws of mechanics [in his 1687 Principia], which unified terrestrial and celestial mechanics, was the heliocentric view generally accepted."[107]
Controversy
The immediate result of the 1543 publication of Copernicus's book was only mild controversy. At the Council of Trent (1545–1563) neither Copernicus's theory nor calendar reform (which would later use tables deduced from Copernicus's calculations) were discussed.[108] It has been much debated why it was not until six decades after the publication of De revolutionibus that the Catholic Church took any official action against it, even the efforts of Tolosani going unheeded. Catholic side opposition only commenced seventy-three years later, when it was occasioned by Galileo.[109]
Tolosani
The first notable to move against Copernicanism was the Magister of the Holy Palace (i.e., the Catholic Church's chief
Emulating the rationalistic style of Thomas Aquinas, Tolosani sought to refute Copernicanism by philosophical argument. Copernicanism was absurd, according to Tolosani, because it was scientifically unproven and unfounded. First, Copernicus had assumed the motion of the Earth but offered no physical theory whereby one would deduce this motion. (No one realized that the investigation into Copernicanism would result in a rethinking of the entire field of physics.) Second, Tolosani charged that Copernicus's thought process was backwards. He held that Copernicus had come up with his idea and then sought phenomena that would support it, rather than observing phenomena and deducing from them the idea of what caused them. In this, Tolosani was linking Copernicus's mathematical equations with the practices of the Pythagoreans (whom Aristotle had made arguments against, which were later picked up by Thomas Aquinas). It was argued that mathematical numbers were a mere product of the intellect without any physical reality, and as such could not provide physical causes in the investigation of nature.[112]
Some astronomical hypotheses at the time (such as epicycles and eccentrics) were seen as mere mathematical devices to adjust calculations of where the heavenly bodies would appear, rather than an explanation of the cause of those motions. (As Copernicus still maintained the idea of perfectly spherical orbits, he relied on epicycles.) This "saving the phenomena" was seen as proof that astronomy and mathematics could not be taken as serious means to determine physical causes. Tolosani invoked this view in his final critique of Copernicus, saying that his biggest error was that he had started with "inferior" fields of science to make pronouncements about "superior" fields. Copernicus had used mathematics and astronomy to postulate about physics and cosmology, rather than beginning with the accepted principles of physics and cosmology to determine things about astronomy and mathematics. Thus Copernicus seemed to be undermining the whole system of the philosophy of science at the time. Tolosani held that Copernicus had fallen into philosophical error because he had not been versed in physics and logic; anyone without such knowledge would make a poor astronomer and be unable to distinguish truth from falsehood. Because Copernicanism had not met the criteria for scientific truth set out by Thomas Aquinas, Tolosani held that it could only be viewed as a wild unproven theory.[113][114]
Tolosani recognized that the Ad Lectorem preface to Copernicus's book was not actually by him. Its thesis that astronomy as a whole would never be able to make truth claims was rejected by Tolosani (though he still held that Copernicus's attempt to describe physical reality had been faulty); he found it ridiculous that Ad Lectorem had been included in the book (unaware that Copernicus had not authorized its inclusion). Tolosani wrote: "By means of these words [of the Ad Lectorem], the foolishness of this book's author is rebuked. For by a foolish effort he [Copernicus] tried to revive the weak Pythagorean opinion [that the element of fire was at the center of the Universe], long ago deservedly destroyed, since it is expressly contrary to human reason and also opposes holy writ. From this situation, there could easily arise disagreements between Catholic expositors of holy scripture and those who might wish to adhere obstinately to this false opinion."[115] Tolosani declared: "Nicolaus Copernicus neither read nor understood the arguments of Aristotle the philosopher and Ptolemy the astronomer."[111] Tolosani wrote that Copernicus "is expert indeed in the sciences of mathematics and astronomy, but he is very deficient in the sciences of physics and logic. Moreover, it appears that he is unskilled with regard to [the interpretation of] holy scripture, since he contradicts several of its principles, not without danger of infidelity to himself and the readers of his book. ...his arguments have no force and can very easily be taken apart. For it is stupid to contradict an opinion accepted by everyone over a very long time for the strongest reasons, unless the impugner uses more powerful and insoluble demonstrations and completely dissolves the opposed reasons. But he does not do this in the least."[115]
Tolosani declared that he had written against Copernicus "for the purpose of preserving the truth to the common advantage of the Holy Church."[116] Despite this, his work remained unpublished and there is no evidence that it received serious consideration. Robert Westman describes it as becoming a "dormant" viewpoint with "no audience in the Catholic world" of the late sixteenth century, but also notes that there is some evidence that it did become known to Tommaso Caccini, who would criticize Galileo in a sermon in December 1613.[116]
Theology
Tolosani may have criticized the Copernican theory as scientifically unproven and unfounded, but the theory also conflicted with the theology of the time, as can be seen in a sample of the works of
Luther's collaborator
Rheticus's hopes were dashed when six years after the publication of De Revolutionibus Melanchthon published his Initia Doctrinae Physicae presenting three grounds to reject Copernicanism. These were "the evidence of the senses, the thousand-year consensus of men of science, and the authority of the Bible".[121] Blasting the new theory Melanchthon wrote, "Out of love for novelty or in order to make a show of their cleverness, some people have argued that the earth moves. They maintain that neither the eighth sphere nor the sun moves, whereas they attribute motion to the other celestial spheres, and also place the earth among the heavenly bodies. Nor were these jokes invented recently. There is still extant Archimedes's book on The Sand Reckoner; in which he reports that Aristarchus of Samos propounded the paradox that the sun stands still and the earth revolves around the sun. Even though subtle experts institute many investigations for the sake of exercising their ingenuity, nevertheless public proclamation of absurd opinions is indecent and sets a harmful example."[119] Melanchthon went on to cite Bible passages and then declare "Encouraged by this divine evidence, let us cherish the truth and let us not permit ourselves to be alienated from it by the tricks of those who deem it an intellectual honor to introduce confusion into the arts."[119] In the first edition of Initia Doctrinae Physicae, Melanchthon even questioned Copernicus's character claiming his motivation was "either from love of novelty or from desire to appear clever", these more personal attacks were largely removed by the second edition in 1550.[121]
Another Protestant theologian who disparaged heliocentrism on scriptural grounds was John Owen. In a passing remark in an essay on the origin of the sabbath, he characterised "the late hypothesis, fixing the sun as in the centre of the world" as being "built on fallible phenomena, and advanced by many arbitrary presumptions against evident testimonies of Scripture."[122]
In Roman Catholic circles, Copernicus's book was incorporated into scholarly curricula throughout the 16th century. For example, at the University of Salamanca in 1561 it became one of four text books that students of astronomy could choose from, and in 1594 it was made mandatory.[123] German Jesuit Nicolaus Serarius was one of the first Catholics to write against Copernicus's theory as heretical, citing the Joshua passage, in a work published in 1609–1610, and again in a book in 1612.[124] In his 12 April 1615 letter to a Catholic defender of Copernicus, Paolo Antonio Foscarini, Catholic Cardinal Robert Bellarmine condemned Copernican theory, writing "...not only the Holy Fathers, but also the modern commentaries on Genesis, the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Joshua, you will find all agreeing in the literal interpretation that the sun is in heaven and turns around the earth with great speed, and that the earth is very far from heaven and sits motionless at the center of the world...Nor can one answer that this is not a matter of faith, since if it is not a matter of faith 'as regards the topic,' it is a matter of faith 'as regards the speaker': and so it would be heretical to say that Abraham did not have two children and Jacob twelve, as well as to say that Christ was not born of a virgin, because both are said by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of prophets and apostles."[125] One year later, the Roman Inquisition prohibited Copernicus's work. Nevertheless, the Spanish Inquisition never banned the De revolutionibus, which continued to be taught at Salamanca.[123]
Ingoli
Perhaps the most influential opponent of the Copernican theory was
Two of Ingoli's theological issues with the Copernican theory were "common Catholic beliefs not directly traceable to Scripture: the doctrine that hell is located at the center of Earth and is most distant from heaven; and the explicit assertion that Earth is motionless in a hymn sung on Tuesdays as part of the Liturgy of the Hours of the Divine Office prayers regularly recited by priests."[129] Ingoli cited Robert Bellarmine in regards to both of these arguments, and may have been trying to convey to Galileo a sense of Bellarmine's opinion.[130] Ingoli also cited Genesis 1:14 where God places "lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night." Ingoli did not think the central location of the Sun in the Copernican theory was compatible with it being described as one of the lights placed in the firmament.[129] Like previous commentators Ingoli also pointed to the passages about the Battle of Gibeon. He dismissed arguments that they should be taken metaphorically, saying "Replies which assert that Scripture speaks according to our mode of understanding are not satisfactory: both because in explaining the Sacred Writings the rule is always to preserve the literal sense, when it is possible, as it is in this case; and also because all the [Church] Fathers unanimously take this passage to mean that the Sun which was truly moving stopped at Joshua's request. An interpretation that is contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers is condemned by the Council of Trent, Session IV, in the decree on the edition and use of the Sacred Books. Furthermore, although the Council speaks about matters of faith and morals, nevertheless it cannot be denied that the Holy Fathers would be displeased with an interpretation of Sacred Scriptures which is contrary to their common agreement."[129] However, Ingoli closed the essay by suggesting Galileo respond primarily to the better of his physical and mathematical arguments rather than to his theological arguments, writing "Let it be your choice to respond to this either entirely of in part—clearly at least to the mathematical and physical arguments, and not to all even of these, but to the more weighty ones."[131] When Galileo wrote a letter in reply to Ingoli years later, he in fact only addressed the mathematical and physical arguments.[131]
In March 1616, in connection with the
Galileo
On the orders of Pope Paul V, Cardinal Robert Bellarmine gave Galileo prior notice that the decree was about to be issued, and warned him that he could not "hold or defend" the Copernican doctrine.[u] The corrections to De revolutionibus, which omitted or altered nine sentences, were issued four years later, in 1620.[134]
In 1633, Galileo Galilei was convicted of grave suspicion of heresy for "following the position of Copernicus, which is contrary to the true sense and authority of Holy Scripture",[135] and was placed under house arrest for the rest of his life.[136][137]
At the instance of
Languages, name, nationality
Languages
Copernicus is postulated to have spoken
Arguments for German being Copernicus's native tongue are that he was born into a predominantly German-speaking urban patrician class using German, next to Latin, as language of trade and commerce in written documents,[147] and that, while studying canon law at the University of Bologna in 1496, he signed into the German natio (Natio Germanorum)—a student organization which, according to its 1497 by-laws, was open to students of all kingdoms and states whose mother-tongue was German.[148] However, according to French philosopher Alexandre Koyré, Copernicus's registration with the Natio Germanorum does not in itself imply that Copernicus considered himself German, since students from Prussia and Silesia were routinely so categorized, which carried certain privileges that made it a natural choice for German-speaking students, regardless of their ethnicity or self-identification.[148][z][aa][151]
Name
The surname Kopernik, Copernik, Koppernigk, in various spellings, is recorded in Kraków from c. 1350, apparently given to people from the village of Koperniki (prior to 1845 rendered Kopernik, Copernik, Copirnik, and Koppirnik) in the Duchy of Nysa, 10 km south of Nysa, and now 10 km north of the Polish-Czech border. Nicolaus Copernicus's great-grandfather is recorded as having received citizenship in Kraków in 1386. The toponym Kopernik (modern Koperniki) has been variously tied to the Polish word for "dill" (koper) and the German word for "copper" (Kupfer).[ab] The suffix -nik (or plural, -niki) denotes a Slavic and Polish agent noun.
As was common in the period, the spellings of both the
Nationality
There has been discussion of Copernicus's nationality and of whether it is meaningful to ascribe to him a nationality in the modern sense.
Nicolaus Copernicus was born and raised in
Encyclopedia Americana,[165] The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia,[166] The Oxford World Encyclopedia,[167] and World Book Encyclopedia[168] refer to Copernicus as a "Polish astronomer". Sheila Rabin, writing in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, describes Copernicus as a "child of a German family [who] was a subject of the Polish crown",[11] while Manfred Weissenbacher writes that Copernicus's father was a Germanized Pole.[169]
No Polish texts by Copernicus survive due to the rarity of Polish language in literature before the writings of the
Historian Michael Burleigh describes the nationality debate as a "totally insignificant battle" between German and Polish scholars during the interwar period.[171] Polish astronomer Konrad Rudnicki calls the discussion a "fierce scholarly quarrel in ... times of nationalism" and describes Copernicus as an inhabitant of a German-speaking territory that belonged to Poland, himself being of mixed Polish-German extraction.[172]
Czesław Miłosz describes the debate as an "absurd" projection of a modern understanding of nationality onto Renaissance people, who identified with their home territories rather than with a nation.[173] Similarly, historian Norman Davies writes that Copernicus, as was common in his era, was "largely indifferent" to nationality, being a local patriot who considered himself "Prussian".[174] Miłosz and Davies both write that Copernicus had a German-language cultural background, while his working language was Latin in accord with the usage of the time.[173][174] Additionally, according to Davies, "there is ample evidence that he knew the Polish language".[174] Davies concludes that, "Taking everything into consideration, there is good reason to regard him both as a German and as a Pole: and yet, in the sense that modern nationalists understand it, he was neither."[174]
Commemoration
Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 3
The third in NASA's Orbiting Astronomical Observatory series of missions, launched on 21 August 1972, was named Copernicus after its successful launch. The satellite carried an X-ray detector and an ultraviolet telescope, and operated until February 1981.
Copernicia
Copernicia, a genus of palm trees native to South America and the Greater Antilles, was named after Copernicus in 1837. In some of the species, the leaves are coated with a thin layer of wax, known as carnauba wax.
Copernicium
On 14 July 2009, the discoverers, from the
55 Cancri A
In July 2014 the International Astronomical Union launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to certain exoplanets and their host stars.[177] The process involved public nomination and voting for the new names.[178] In December 2015, the IAU announced the winning name for 55 Cancri A was Copernicus.[179]
Poland
Copernicus is commemorated by the
Named for Copernicus are Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń; Warsaw's Copernicus Science Centre and Copernicus Hospital, in Poland's third largest city, Łódź. A Copernicus Award was established jointly by the Foundation for Polish Science and the German Research Foundation, to promote Polish-German scientific cooperation.
Influence
Contemporary literary and artistic works inspired by Copernicus include:
- Mover of the Earth, Stopper of the Sun, overture for symphony orchestra, by composer Svitlana Azarova, commissioned by ONDIF.[180][181]
- Doctor Copernicus, 1975 novel by John Banville, sketching the life of Copernicus and the 16th-century world in which he lived.
See also
- Copernican principle
- Copernicus Science Centre
- History of philosophy in Poland
- List of multiple discoveries
- List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics
Notes
- ^ The oldest known portrait of Copernicus is that on the Strasbourg astronomical clock, made by Tobias Stimmer c. 1571–74. According to the inscription next to that portrait, it was made from a self-portrait by Copernicus himself. This has led to speculation that the Toruń portrait, whose provenance is unknown, may be a copy based on the same self-portrait.[1]
- Middle Low German: Niklas Koppernigk; German: Nikolaus Kopernikus.
- ^ The Sand-Reckoner (which was not in print until the year after Copernicus died), and that it would have been in his interest to mention them had he known of them, before concluding that he developed his idea and its justification independently of Aristarchus.[7]
- he had found references to those few thinkers who dared to move the Earth "against the traditional opinion of astronomers and almost against common sense." Sobel comments: "He still knew nothing of the Earth-moving plan of Aristarchus, which had not yet been reported to Latin audiences" (pp. 179–82).
- ^ a b George Kish (1978) argues that Copernicus knew about Aristarchus's heliocentric theory, saying: "Copernicus himself admitted that the theory was attributed to Aristarchus, though this does not seem to be generally known. ... it is a curious fact that Copernicus did mention the theory of Aristarchus in a passage which he later suppressed."[74]
- ^ "Copernicus seems to have drawn up some notes [on the displacement of good coin from circulation by debased coin] while he was at Olsztyn in 1519. He made them the basis of a report on the matter, written in German, which he presented to the Prussian Diet held in 1522 at Grudziądz... He later drew up a revised and enlarged version of his little treatise, this time in Latin, and setting forth a general theory of money, for presentation to the Diet of 1528."[9]
- ^ "The name of the village, not unlike that of the astronomer's family, has been variously spelled. A large German atlas of Silesia, published by Wieland in Nuremberg in 1731, spells it Kopernik."[15]
- ^ "In 1512, Bishop Watzenrode died suddenly after attending King Sigismund's wedding feast in Kraków. Rumors abounded that the bishop had been poisoned by agents of his long-time foe, the Teutonic Knights."[22]
- ^ "[Watzenrode] was also firm, and the Teutonic Knights, who remained a constant menace, did not like him at all; the Grand Master of the order once described him as 'the devil incarnate'. [Watzenrode] was the trusted friend and advisor of three [Polish] kings in succession: John Albert, Alexander (not to be confused with the poisoning pope), and Sigismund; and his influence greatly strengthened the ties between Warmia and Poland proper."[23]
- ^ "To obtain for his nephews [Nicolaus and Andreas] the necessary support [for their studies in Italy], the bishop [Lucas Watzenrode the Younger] procured their election as canons by the chapter of Frauenburg (1497–1498)."[27]
- ^ Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969) describe Copernicus having attended school at Włocławek as unlikely.[13]
- Studium of Bologna, NICOLAUS COPERNICUS, the Polish mathematician and astronomer who would revolutionize concepts of the universe, conducted brilliant celestial observations with his teacher in 1497–1500. Placed on the 5th centenary of [Copernicus's] birth by the City, the University, the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna, the Polish Academy of Sciences. 1473 [–] 1973."
- ^ Copernicus's brother Andreas would, before the end of 1512, develop leprosy and be forced to leave Warmia for Italy. In November 1518 Copernicus would learn that his brother had died.[38]
- ^ This was based on sketch by Tobias Stimmer (c. 1570), and allegedly based on a self-portrait by Copernicus. It inspired most later Copernicus depictions.[50]
- ^ A reference to the "Commentariolus" is contained in a library catalogue, dated 1 May 1514, of a 16th-century historian, Matthew of Miechów, so it must have begun circulating before that date (Koyré, 1973, p. 85; Gingerich, 2004, p. 32). Thoren (1990 p. 99) gives the length of the manuscript as 40 pages.
- ^ Koyré (1973, pp. 27, 90) and Rosen (1995, pp. 64, 184) take the view that Copernicus was indeed concerned about possible objections from theologians, while Lindberg and Numbers (1986) argue against it. Koestler (1963) also denies it. Indirect evidence that Copernicus was concerned about objections from theologians comes from a letter written to him by Andreas Osiander in 1541, in which Osiander advises Copernicus to adopt a proposal by which he says "you will be able to appease the Peripatetics and theologians whose opposition you fear". (Koyré, 1973, pp. 35, 90)
- ^ According to Bell 1992, p. 111, "... Copernicus, on his deathbed, received the printer's proofs of his epoch-breaking Dē revolutionibus orbium coelestium."
- ^ Koestler 1963, page 189, says the following about a letter from Canon Tiedemann Giese to Georg Joachim Rheticus: "[...] the end came only after several months, on 24 May. In a letter to Rheticus, written a few weeks later, Giese recorded the event in a single, tragic sentence: 'For many days he had been deprived of his memory and mental vigour; he only saw his completed book at the last moment, on the day he died.'" Koestler attributes this quotation to Leopold Prowe, Nicolaus Copernicus, Berlin 1883–1884, volume 1, part 2, p. 554.
- ^ Rosen (1995, pp. 187–92), originally published in 1967 in Saggi su Galileo Galilei . Rosen is particularly scathing about this and other statements in The Sleepwalkers, which he criticizes as inaccurate.
- ^ The original painting was looted, possibly destroyed, by the Germans in World War II during their occupation of Poland.
- ^ Fantoli (2005, pp. 118–19); Finocchiaro (1989, pp. 148, 153). On-line copies of Finocchiaro's translations of the relevant documents, Inquisition Minutes of 25 February 1616 and Cardinal Bellarmine's certificate of 26 May 1616, have been made available by Gagné (2005). This notice of the decree would not have prevented Galileo from discussing heliocentrism solely as a mathematical hypothesis, but a stronger formal injunction (Finocchiaro, 1989, pp. 147–48) not to teach it "in any way whatever, either orally or in writing", allegedly issued to him by the Commissary of the Holy Office, Father Michelangelo Segizzi, would certainly have done so (Fantoli, 2005, pp. 119–20, 137). There has been much controversy over whether the copy of this injunction in the Vatican archives is authentic; if so, whether it was ever issued; and if so, whether it was legally valid (Fantoli, 2005, pp. 120–43).
- ^ "He spoke German, Polish and Latin with equal fluency as well as Italian."[140]
- ^ "He spoke Polish, Latin, and Greek."[141]
- ^ "He was a linguist with a command of Polish, German and Latin, and he possessed also a knowledge of Greek rare at that period in northeastern Europe and probably had some acquaintance with Italian and Hebrew."[142]
- Byzantine poet Theophylact Simocatta's verses into Latin prose,[46] and "there is ample evidence that he knew the Polish language."[143] Edward Rosen mentions that Copernicus recorded Polish farm tenants' names inconsistently, gainsaying that he was fluent in the Polish language.[144] (But decades after Copernicus, each of William Shakespeare's extant autograph signatures showed a different spelling.[145]) During his several years' studies in Italy, Copernicus presumably learned some Italian; Professor Stefan Melkowski of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń asserts that Copernicus also spoke both German and Polish.[146]
- ^ "Although great importance has frequently been ascribed to this fact, it does not imply that Copernicus considered himself to be a German. The 'nationes' of a medieval university had nothing in common with nations in the modern sense of the word. Students who were natives of Prussia and Silesia were automatically described as belonging to the Natio Germanorum. Furthmore, at Bologna, this was the 'privileged' nation; consequently, Copernicus had very good reason for inscribing himself on its register."[149]
- ^ "It is important to recognize, however, that the medieval Latin concept of natio, or "nation", referred to the community of feudal lords both in Germany and elsewhere, not to 'the people' in the nineteenth-century democratic or nationalistic sense of the word."[150]
- ^ These interpretations date to the dispute about Copernicus's (Polish vs. German) ethnicity, which had been open since the 1870s, and the "copper" vs. "dill" interpretations go back to the 19th century (Magazin für die Literatur des Auslandes, 1875, 534 f), but the dispute became virulent again in the 1960s, culminating in a controversy between E. Mosko ("copper") and S. Rospond ("dill") in 1963–64, summarized by Zygmunt Brocki, "Wsrôd publikacji o etymologii nazwiska Mikotaja Kopernika ["Some Publications on the Etymology of the Surname of Nicholaus Copernicus"], Komunikaty mazur.-warm., 1970.
- ^ "In the [enrollment] documents still in existence we find the entry: Nicolaus Nicolai de Torunia."[154]
References
- ^ André Goddu, Copernicus and the Aristotelian Tradition (2010), p. 436 (note 125), citing Goddu, review of Jerzy Gassowski, "Poszukiwanie grobu Mikołaja Kopernika" ("Search for Grave of Nicolaus Copernicus"), in Journal for the History of Astronomy, 38.2 (May 2007), p. 255.
- ISBN 978-3-12-539683-8
- ^ "Copernicus". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
- ^ "Copernicus". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
- ^ Stanisław Borawski "Mikołaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus)"
- ^ Linton 2004, pp. 39, 119.
- ^ a b Owen Gingerich, "Did Copernicus Owe a Debt to Aristarchus?", Journal for the History of Astronomy, vol. 16, no. 1 (February 1985), pp. 37–42. "There is no question but that Aristarchus had the priority of the heliocentric idea. Yet there is no evidence that Copernicus owed him anything.(!9) As far as we can tell both the idea and its justification were found independently by Copernicus."
- ISBN 0-7172-0117-1, pp. 755–56.
- ^ Angus Armitage, The World of Copernicus, 1951, p. 91.
- ISBN 978-83-223-1876-8.
- ^ a b Sheila Rabin. "Nicolaus Copernicus". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-313-35626-1, p. 170.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), p. 4.
- ISBN 978-1780763507
- ^ Mizwa, p. 36.
- ^ a b c d e Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), p. 3.
- ^ Bieńkowska (1973), p. 15
- ^ Rybka (1973), p. 23.
- ^ Sakolsky (2005), p. 8.
- ^ Biskup (1973), p. 16
- ^ Mizwa, 1943, p. 38.
- ^ Hirshfeld, p. 38.
- ^ Moore (1994), pp. 52, 62.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), p. 5.
- ISBN 3-88309-072-7.
- ^ Moore (1994), p. 62.
- ^ "Nicolaus Copernicus", New Advent (online version of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia). Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ a b c Czesław Miłosz, The History of Polish Literature, p. 38.
- ^ Angus Armitage, The World of Copernicus, p. 55.
- ^ Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), pp. 4–5.
- ^ Sobel (2011), pp. 7, 232.
- Polski słownik biograficzny (Polish Biographical Dictionary), vol. XIV, Wrocław, Polish Academy of Sciences, 1969, p. 5.
- ^ Rosen, Ed (December 1960). "Copernicus was not a priest" (PDF). Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. 104 (6). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-85285-071-5. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ Hagen, J. (1908). "Nicolaus Copernicus". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), pp. 5–6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), p. 6.
- ^ Sobel (2011), pp. 26, 34, 40.
- ^ Rabin (2005).
- ^ Gingerich (2004, pp. 187–89, 201); Koyré (1973, p. 94); Kuhn (1957, p. 93); Rosen (2004, p. 123); Rabin (2005). Robbins (1964, p. x), however, includes Copernicus among a list of Renaissance astronomers who "either practiced astrology themselves or countenanced its practice".
- ISBN 978-3-05-003009-8[5], pp. 62–63.
- ^ Studia Copernicana 16
- ^ Sparavigna, Ameila Carolina (2017). "Stellarium software and the occultation of Aldebaran observed by Copernicus". HAL. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Nicolaus Copernicus – Biography".
- ^ Sedlar (1994).
- ^ a b Angus Armitage, The World of Copernicus, pp. 75–77.
- ^ a b c d e Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), p. 7.
- ^ Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), pp. 7–8.
- ^ Repcheck (2007), p. 66.
- ^ a b Andreas Kühne, Stefan Kirschner, Biographia Copernicana: Die Copernicus-Biographien des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts (2004), p. 14
- ^ Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), p. 9.
- .
- ^ a b c d e f Repcheck (2007), pp. 78–79, 184, 186.
- ^ a b c Dobrzycki and Hajdukiewicz (1969), p. 11.
- ^ Angus Armitage, The World of Copernicus, pp. 97–98.
- ^ Angus Armitage, The World of Copernicus, p. 98.
- ^ Kuhn, 1957, pp. 187–88.
- ^ Goddu (2010: 245–46)
- ^ "Nicholas Copernicus | Calendars". www.webexhibits.org.
- ^ Freely, "Celestial Revolutionary" p. 149
- ^ Dreyer (1953, p. 319).
- ^ Sobel (2011) p. 188.
- ^ Gąssowski, Jerzy (2005). "Poszukiwanie grobu Kopernika" [Searching for Copernicus's Grave]. astronomia.pl (in Polish). Grupa Astronomia. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
It results from the research of Dr. Jerzy Sikorski, an Olsztyn historian and an outstanding researcher of the life and work of Nicolaus Copernicus. According to Dr. Sikorski, the canon of the Frombork cathedral was buried in the immediate vicinity of this altar, which was entrusted to their care. This altar was the one who once wore the call of Saint Andrew, and now St. Cross, fourth in the right row.
- ^ PMID 19584252.
- ^ a b Easton, Adam (21 November 2008). "Polish tests 'confirm Copernicus'". BBC News. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- ^ a b "Copernicus's grave found in Polish church". USA Today. 3 November 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ Bowcott, Owen (21 November 2008). "16th-century skeleton identified as astronomer Copernicus". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
- PMID 19622737.
- ^ "16th-century astronomer Copernicus reburied as hero in Poland". Cleveland Plain Dealer/Associated Press. 25 May 2010.
- ^ Dreyer (1953), pp. 40–52; Linton (2004, p. 20).
- ^ Dreyer (1953), pp. 123–35; Linton (2004, p. 24).
- ^ Dreyer (1953, pp. 135–48); Heath (1913), pp. 301–08)
- ^ Heath (1913), p. 302. The italics and parenthetical comments are as they appear in Heath's original.
- ISBN 978-0-674-82270-2.
- ^ Aristotle, De Caelo, Book 2, Part 13
- ^ E.Rosen, Nicholaus Copernicus and Giorgio Valla, Physis. Rivista internazionale di Storia della Scienza, 23, 1981, pp. 449–57.
- ^ Gingerich, Owen (1997). "Ptolemy, Copernicus, and Kepler". The Eye of Heaven. Springer. pp. 3–51.
- ISBN 978-0-8147-8023-7.
- S2CID 145372613
- S2CID 142586786
- ^ Adi Setia (2004), "Fakhr Al-Din Al-Razi on Physics and the Nature of the Physical World: A Preliminary Survey", Islam & Science, 2, archived from the original on 10 July 2012, retrieved 2 March 2010
- ^ Alessandro Bausani (1973). "Cosmology and Religion in Islam". Scientia/Rivista di Scienza. 108 (67): 762.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-02887-5.
- ISBN 978-1-4384-1419-5.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. (PDF version)
- ^ ISBN 978-0-684-10114-9.
- ^ Esposito 1999, p. 289
- ISBN 978-0-8147-8023-7.
- JSTOR 986461.
- ISBN 978-0-387-31022-0. (PDF version)
- ^ Linton (2004, pp. 124, 137–38), Saliba (2009, pp. 160–65), Swerdlow & Neugebauer (1984, pp. 46–48).
- ^ Goddu (2010, pp. 261–69, 476–86), Huff (2010, pp. 263–64), di Bono (1995), Veselovsky (1973).
- ISBN 978-1-78453-138-6.
- ^ Claudia Kren, "The Rolling Device," p. 497.
- ^ George Saliba, "Whose Science is Arabic Science in Renaissance Europe?" [1]
- ^ George Saliba (27 April 2006). "Islamic Science and the Making of Renaissance Europe". Library of Congress. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
- ^ Except for the circle labelled "V. Telluris" in the diagram from the printed edition, representing the orbital path of the Earth, and the first circle in both diagrams, representing the outer boundary of the universe, and of a presumed spherical shell of fixed stars, the numbered circles in the diagrams represent the boundaries of hypothetical spherical shells ("orbes" in Copernicus's Latin) whose motion was assumed to carry the planets and their epicycles around the Sun (Gingerich, 2014, pp. 36–38; 2016, pp. 34–35).
- ^ Sobel (2011), p. 18.
- ^ Rosen (2004, pp. 58–59); Swerdlow (1973, p. 436)
- ^ Latin orbium
- ^ Latin sphaerarum
- ^ Dreyer, John L.E. (1906). History of the planetary systems from Thales to Kepler. Cambridge University Press. p. 342.
- ^ Sobel (2011), pp. 207–10.
- ^ a b c Danielson (2006)
- ^ Koestler (1959, p. 191).
- ^ DeMarco, Peter (13 April 2004). "Book quest took him around the globe". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
- ^ doi:10.1119/1.18844.
- ^ Westman (2011, p. 194)
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Nicolaus Copernicus". www.newadvent.org.
- ^ Feldhay (1995, p. 205)
- ^ a b Westman (2011, p. 195)
- ^ Feldhay (1995, pp. 205–07)
- ^ Feldhay (1995, p. 207)
- ^ Westman (2011, pp. 195–96)
- ^ a b Westman (2011, p. 196)
- ^ a b Westman (2011, p. 197)
- ^ Rosen (1960, p. 437)
- ^ Rosen (1960, p. 438)
- ^ a b c Rosen (1995, p. 198)
- ^ Repcheck (2007, p. 160)
- ^ ISBN 978-0-674-76778-2.
- ^ Owen (1869, p. 310); Rosen (1995, p. 166–67). Owen's remark appears in volume XI of his collected works, not the volume (XIX) cited by Rosen.
- ^ S2CID 214562125.
- ^ Finocchiaro (2010, p. 71)
- ^ Finocchiaro (2010, p. 75)
- ^ a b Graney (2015, pp. 68–69)
- ^ a b c Finocchiaro (2010, p. 72)
- ^ Graney (2015, pp. 69–75)
- ^ a b c Finocchiaro (2010, p. 73)
- ^ Graney (2015, p. 74)
- ^ a b Graney (2015, p. 70)
- ^ Decree of the General Congregation of the Index, 5 March 1616, translated from the Latin by Finocchiaro (1989, pp. 148–49). An on-line copy of Finocchiaro's translation has been made available by Gagné (2005).
- ^ Finocchiaro (1989, p. 30)
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia.
- ^ From the Inquisition's sentence of 22 June 1633 (de Santillana, 1976, pp. 306–10; Finocchiaro 1989, pp. 287–91)
- ISBN 978-1-4042-0314-3.
- ^ "Galileo is convicted of heresy". history.com. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
- ^ Heilbron (2005, p. 307); Coyne (2005, p. 347).
- ^ McMullin (2005, p. 6); Coyne (2005, pp. 346–47).
- ^ Stone, p. 101.
- ^ Somerville, p. 10.
- ^ Angus Armitage, Copernicus, the founder of modern astronomy, p. 62.
- ISBN 978-0-19-925340-1.
- ^ Edward Rosen, Nicolaus Copernicus Thorunensis.
- ^ Sidney Lee, Shakespeare's Handwriting: Facsimiles of the Five Authentic Autograph Signatures, London, Smith Elder, 1899.
- ^ Melkowski, Stefan (May 2003). "O historii i o współczesności" [On History and the Present Day] (in Polish). Archived from the original on 24 January 2004. Retrieved 22 April 2007.
- ^ Bogucka, Maria; Samsonowicz, Henryk (1986), Dzieje Miast i Mieszczaństwa w Polsce Przedrozbiorowej (PDF), pp. 266–267
- ^ a b Rosen (1995, p. 127).
- ^ Koyre, p. 21.
- ^ Johnson, p. 23.
- ^ Koestler, 1968, p. 129.
- ^ a b Gingerich (2004), p. 143.
- ^ Biskup (1973), p. 32
- ^ Moore (1994), p. 50.
- ^ Biskup (1973), pp. 38, 82
- ^ Malagola (1878), p. 562–65
- ^ "Nicolaus Coppernicus aus Thorn über die Kreisbewegungen der Weltkörper/Vorwort – Wikisource". de.wikisource.org.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-18107-6, part 1, chapter 1, p. 7.
- ISBN 978-0-7432-8952-8, p. 32.
- ISBN 978-0-387-35133-9, p. 252.
- ISBN 978-0-87784-500-3, p. 40.
- ISBN 978-90-04-18107-6, chapter 6, p. 173.
- ISBN 978-0-85773-490-7, pp. 56–57.
- ISBN 978-0-85773-490-7.
- ^ "Copernicus, Nicolaus", Encyclopedia Americana, 1986, vol. 7, pp. 755–56.
- ISBN 0-380-63396-5, p. 198: "Polish astronomer".
- ^ "Copernicus, Nicolaus", The Oxford World Encyclopedia, Oxford University Press, 1998.
- ^ Findlen, Paula (2013). "Copernicus, Nicolaus". World Book Advanced. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ Weissenbacher (2009), p. 170.
- ISBN 978-83-231-2777-2.
- ISBN 978-0-521-35120-1.
- ^ Rudnicki, Konrad (November–December 2006). "The Genuine Copernican Cosmological Principle". Southern Cross Review: note 2. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-520-04477-7.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-925340-1.
- ^ Fox, Stuart (14 July 2009). "Newly Discovered Element 112 Named 'Copernicum'". popsci.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ Renner, Terrence (20 February 2010). "Element 112 is Named Copernicium". International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Archived from the original on 22 February 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
- ^ NameExoWorlds: An IAU Worldwide Contest to Name Exoplanets and their Host Stars. IAU.org. 9 July 2014
- ^ "NameExoWorlds". nameexoworlds.iau.org. Archived from the original on 15 August 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
- ^ Final Results of NameExoWorlds Public Vote Released, International Astronomical Union, 15 December 2015.
- ^ World premiere, 23 January 2013, Salle Pleyel Archived 21 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Dutch premiere, 1 March 2014, at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw – Movers of the Earth
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* Esposito, John L. (1999). The Oxford history of Islam. Oxford University Press.
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- Pierre Gassendi; Olivier Thill (September 2002). The Life of Copernicus 1473–1543. Xulon Press. ISBN 978-1-59160-193-7.
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External links
Primary sources
- Works by Nicolaus Copernicus at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Nicolaus Copernicus at Internet Archive
- Works by Nicolaus Copernicus at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- De Revolutionibus, autograph manuscript – Full digital facsimile, Jagiellonian University
- (in Polish) Polish translations of letters written by Copernicus in Latin or German Archived 18 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries Archived 21 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine High resolution images of works by and/or portraits of Nicolaus Copernicus in .jpg and .tiff format.
- Works by Nicolaus Copernicus in digital library Polona
General
- O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "Nicolaus Copernicus", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
- Nicolaus Copernicus at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
- Copernicus in Torun
- Copernicus House, District Museum in Toruń
- Nicolaus Copernicus Thorunensis by the Copernican Academic Portal
- Nicolaus Copernicus Museum in Frombork
- Clerke, Agnes Mary (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). pp. 100–101.
- Portraits of Copernicus: Copernicus's face reconstructed; Portrait Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine; Nicolaus Copernicus
- Copernicus and Astrology Archived 21 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry
- 'Body of Copernicus' identified – BBC article including image of Copernicus using facial reconstruction based on located skull
- Nicolaus Copernicus on the 1000 Polish Zloty banknote.
- Copernicus's model for Mars
- Retrograde Motion
- Copernicus's explanation for retrograde motion
- Geometry of Maximum Elongation
- Copernican Model
- Portraits of Nicolaus Copernicus
About De Revolutionibus
- The Copernican Universe from the De Revolutionibus
- De Revolutionibus, 1543 first edition – Full digital facsimile, Lehigh University
- The text of the De Revolutionibus
- Digitized edition of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (1543) with annotations of Michael Maestlin on e-rara
Prizes
- Nicolaus Copernicus Prize, founded by the City of Kraków, awarded since 1995
German-Polish cooperation
- (in English, German, and Polish) German-Polish "Copernicus Prize" awarded to German and Polish scientists (DFG website)
- (in English, German, and Polish) Büro Kopernikus – An initiative of German Federal Cultural Foundation
- (in German and Polish) German-Polish school project on Copernicus