540th anniversary of the birth of Nicolaus Copernicus: "The fool wants to turn the whole idea of ​​astronomy upside down!"

The quote is from Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Church, who only intended to defend science. Because of the fear of such criticisms, Copernicus waited until his last days to publish his controversial book in which he denounces the heliocentric system

On February 19, 1473, a child was born to the rich merchant Nicholas Copernicus in the Hanseatic city of Torn. His father calls him at the time of his baptism the name Nikolaos.

When Nikolaus was ten years old, his father died. The young orphan was taken to the home of his uncle, Doctor Lucas Watzenrode, who was later the bishop of Colm.

The young Nicolaus Copernicus, later called Copernicus, (Nicolaus Copernicus) studied at the school in Kolm. When he was 18 years old, he moved to Krakow, where he enrolled in the famous Jagiellonian University in the winter of 1491 and graduated from the humanities and mathematics departments.

Copernicus studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Krakow. Thanks to his uncle's influence, Copernicus was appointed a canon (ecclesiastical official) of the Catholic Church. He used the income from the position to help pay for his studies.

At the age of 24, Copernicus moved to study law and medicine at the universities of Bologna, Padua and Ferrara in Italy. While studying at the University of Bologna, his growing interest in astronomy began. He lived in the home of mathematics professor Dominico Maria de Novara, who encouraged Copernicus' interest in geography and astronomy and indirectly influenced him to question conventional beliefs in astronomy.

Copernicus returned to Poland in 1503. For the next seven years he worked as the private secretary of his uncle who was at that time the bishop of the Aram region. While performing his church duties and working in practical medicine he also studied astronomy. In Copernicus' day, most astronomers believed in the theory developed by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy over 1,000 years earlier. Ptolemy claimed that the earth was at the center of the universe and did not move. He believed that all other celestial bodies circled the Earth in complex orbits.

Copernicus felt that Ptolemy's theory was wrong. At an unknown time between 1507 and 1515, he first propagated the principles of heliocentric astronomy, according to which the sun is at the center and not the earth. Copernicus' observations of the sky were made with the naked eye. He died more than fifty years before Galileo became the first person to study the heavens with a telescope.

From his observations, Copernicus concluded that all the planets, including the Earth, revolve around the Sun. He also stated that the Earth rotates every day on its axis and that the movement of the Earth affected what people saw in the sky.

In the meantime, Bishop Lucas Wartznerode died. After the death of this ecclesiastical prince, Copernicus was beset by many troubles and troubles. As a member of the church in Freinbrug he had to fulfill various administrative roles. At some point he was forced to leave his place of residence and move to Allenstein.

When Copernicus returned to Frauenburg at the end of his mission, a war broke out between Poland and the Knights of the Order and he was forced to leave his homeland again. In the fall of 1521 when he finally returned to Freuenburg, he found his house, which stood outside the walls - destroyed. He bought a house inside the walls. This house was the residential tower at the northwest end of the campus and had a balcony that was needed outside the wall.

During his stay there, the idea of ​​a new world system ripened in his mind. A simple and vast idea, like the extensive view that was visible to his eyes from the window of his room in the tower. Here he was allowed to indulge unhindered in his astronomical studies.

As mentioned, even during his stay in Italy, doubts about Ptolemy's image of the world already pricked his heart. Finally, the sermon of Bishop Powell of Mildburgh, as well as the calls to repair the tablet, motivated him to start making his own observations of the moon and planets, and he installed the necessary instruments with his own hands.

At first he was able to prove that the distance of the moon changes less than Ptolemy's theory required and as he progressed in his work, it became clear to him that the world building of the great son of Alexandria does not correspond to reality. It is not the earth that stands at the center of the world of the planets, but the sun. In 1541 he finished his great work and these are his assumptions:

1. The center of the earth is not the center of the world but only the center of the moon's orbit.
2. All the planets revolve around the sun, which is almost in their center, therefore the center of the world is near the sun.
3. The daily movement of the dome of the sky is a result of the rotation of the earth on its axis. The earth rotates once a day on its axis, while the dome of the sky remains in place.
4. The apparent movement of the sun is a result of the movement of the earth around the sun. The other planets orbit the sun in the same way.

Copernicus called his life's work De Revolutinibus orbiun nundi "On the rotation of the worlds" but the name of the book was changed without Copernicus' knowledge and desire by the publisher Osiander who called it De Revolutinibus orbiun coelestium (On the rotations of the heavenly worlds).

Copernicus hesitated for some time to get the manuscript out of his possession. He knew how difficult it would be to swim against the current and 'spit against the wind'. He knew that only a giant would be able to subdue the invincible wave of public opinion, and he no longer felt within himself the strength for war. At the request of his friend, Bishop Tidman Giza, in May 1542 he decided to send the manuscript to Nuremberg in order to have it printed there, after dedicating his work to Pope Paul III. The printing house was engaged in printing the book for a year.
Copernicus fell ill in 1538. It seems that the pressures involved in publishing his books undermined his poor health. He was also aware that the book was revolutionary and challenging.

Ironically, his book arrived in Freuenburg on May 24, when the old scholar was about to die. The printed book, the book of his life, was brought to his deathbed. It is said that he placed his right hand on him, as if asking for his blessing. Moments later his eyeballs say forever.

It is no wonder that Copernicus' ideas met with fierce opposition at the time. It is possible that Martin Luther expressed this in the most explicit way, when he said: "The fool wants to turn the whole opinion of astronomy on its face." Important scientific institutions, such as the Universities of Leipzig, Vienna and Paris and even Oxford took a stand against the New Torah.

There were also stormy outbursts of rage that mercilessly denounced the establishment of the heliocentric world figure. Thus, in the preface to his treatise (Venice 1575), the mathematician Maurolico allowed himself to publish this comment: "Long live the name of Copernicus, who allows the sun to stand in its place and rotate the earth like a spinning wheel. He deserves to be flogged."

In writing this article I used the chapter on Copernicus "in the book Man and the Universe - a journey full of surprises in space, across the stars and the earth, the progress of science and the atom". Translated and edited by Yosef Frost, Hadar Publishing House - Tel Aviv 1964 (XNUMX).