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Nicolaus Copernicus Research Paper

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In ancient times, a common belief was the sun and planets revolved around the earth. Nicolaus Copernicus had different views and sought to change how the solar system was viewed. He had an idea of how the solar system was structured, which he named the heliocentric theory. The word “heliocentric” refers to having the sun as the center of something, specifically of the solar system. The prefix helio- means “the sun”, the suffix -centric means “the center of”, which then creates the word heliocentric. This theory was much different than Ptolemy's ever popular geocentric theory, which stated the earth was the center of our solar system. Copernicus’ thoughts and books were heavily criticized by Ptolemy supporters, which included the Catholic Church. …show more content…
Many claimed he failed to solve the parallax, which, according to the author of Nicolaus Copernicus Biography, is “the seeming displacement in the position of a celestial body, when viewed along varying lines of sight” (Biography.com Editors). Although he had concrete ideas, he lacked specific evidence that the earth orbited the sun. The Roman Catholic Church was a major criticizer, along with Martin Luther and his supporter Andreas Osiander (Lutheran). A mini biography of Copernicus stated that the church banned his work shortly following his death, and the works were not available until about three decades after his death (BIO). In a paper titled “Tischreden”, written by Luther in retaliation to Copernicus’ first book, Luther challenges the logic of the heliocentric theory, and states that “this fool wants to turn the whole art of astronomy upside down.” Under the influence of Luther, Osiander shared his views on Copernicus. He also claimed the heliocentric theory was an abstract hypothesis, and had absolutely no basis or logic behind it. As well as spreading his opinions through word of mouth, he also added his text to the beginning of Copernicus’ books, leading people to believe Copernicus was disowning his own work, when it reality it was Osiander defying

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