On+the+Revolutions+of+the+Heavenly+Spheres+1534

Scientific and technological developments and their consequences

On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres 1543

In 1543 Polish Clergyman and Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus published his book “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”, in which he postulated a sun-centered model of the universe. With “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres”, he challenged the scientific and religious world view of that time. The sun-centered model of the universe in which earth and other planets revolved around the sun challenged the old Greek idea of crystal spheres moving stars around earth; because in the sun centered model the movement of the stars was accounted for by earth’s rotation. The Copernican Theory also defined earth as a planet, challenging the religious view of a heavenly and earthly world, the religious community now could not explain were god and heaven was. “On the revolution of the Heavenly Spheres fits into the theme of scientific and technological developments because it was a revolutionary idea of that time which challenged almost all established scientific and religious beliefs. The “Map of the Heavens”, is linked to this theme because it visualizes Copernicus’s theory, and the impact it had on the religious and scientific world view. This relates to the theme of scientific advancement because for the first time heliocentric theory became widespread. The idea of the earth revolving around the sun was often shunned by religious institutions but Copernicus's book used scientific evidence and mathematical models to prove heliocentricism and move away from the long standing geocentric theory.

MLA: McKay, John P. __History of Western society__. 7th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.