In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus published Revolutions of the Celestial Orbs, which put forth his revolutionary idea that the Sun was at the center of the universe, opposing the popularly accepted understanding of the geocentric universe embodied by the natural philosophy of Aristotle, the astronomy of Ptolemy and the teachings of the Church that the stationary Earth had the sun and stars revolving around it. ... He stated, "If you would resolve to commit to print those ideas that you still have in mind, I am quite certain that they would be most acceptable to His Holiness, who never ceases from a...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate