Nicholas Copernicus's Bioagraphy

Image: Nicholas CopernicusImage Credit: Encarta Encyclopedia

Nicholas Copernicus (1473 -1543) was a Polish astronomer, well known for his Copernican theory. His theory stated that sun rest near the center of the universe, and the earth, which spun daily on its axis, revolved annually around the sun. Now, this process is known as helocentric, or suncentered, system. Copernicus first began going to the University of Krakow in 1491. He studied liberal arts for four years withouth recieving a degree, and then went to Italy to study law and medicine. During the Janurary of 1497 he bean to study canon law at University of Bologna while living with a mathematician, Domenico Maria de Novara. Novara sparked Copernicus' interest in geography and astronomy, and the final climax of it came when the two watched the occultation(eclipse by the moon) of the star Aldebaran on March 9, 1497. After this, Copernicus lectured about astronomy in Rome. After pursuing a career in medicine, he started to write books about astronomy. His famous one which he wrote between 1507-1515 was called De Hypthesibus Motuum Coelestium a se Censtitutis Commentariolus (commonly known as Commentariolus).