Nicolaus Copernicus

(noun)

A Renaissance mathematician and astronomer (1473–1543) who formulated a heliocentric model of the universe that placed the Sun, rather than Earth, at the center.

Related Terms

Examples of Nicolaus Copernicus in the following topics:

  • Astronomy

    • The publication of the seminal work in the field of astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus' De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) published in 1543, is, in fact, often seen as marking the beginning of the time when scientific disciplines, including astronomy, began to apply modern empirical research methods and gradually transformed into the modern sciences as we know them today.
    • Copernican heliocentrism is the name given to the astronomical model developed by Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543.
    • Copernicus held that the Earth is another planet revolving around the fixed sun once a year, and turning on its axis once a day.
    • Oil painting by the Polish artist Jan Matejko depicting Nicolaus Copernicus observing the heavens from a balcony by a tower near the cathedral in Frombork.
    • Assess the work of both Copernicus and Kepler and their revolutionary ideas

  • The Church During the Italian Renaissance

    • Nicolaus Copernicus dedicated De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) to Paul III, who became the grandfather of Alessandro Farnese (cardinal), who had paintings by Titian, Michelangelo, and Raphael, as well as an important collection of drawings, and who commissioned the masterpiece of Giulio Clovio, arguably the last major illuminated manuscript, the Farnese Hours.

  • Roots of the Scientific Revolution

    • While its dates are disputed, the publication in 1543 of Nicolaus Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is often cited as marking the beginning of the scientific revolution.
    • Copernicus' 1543 work on the heliocentric model of the solar system tried to demonstrate that the sun was the center of the universe.

  • Neoclassical Sculpture

    • The difference is exemplified in Canova's Hebe (1800-05), whose contrapposto almost mimics lively dance steps as she prepares to pour nectar and ambrosia from a small amphora into a chalice, and Thorvaldsen's Monument to Copernicus (1822-30), whose subject sits upright with the a compass and armillary sphere.

  • Brønsted Acids and Bases

    • In chemistry, the Brønsted-Lowry theory is an acid-base theory, independently proposed by Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted and Thomas Martin Lowry in 1923.

  • The Brønsted-Lowry Definition of Acids and Bases

    • To solve this problem, Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted and Thomas Martin Lowry, in 1923, both independently proposed an alternative definition of acids and bases.

  • Switzerland

    • Another 15th century Swiss artist of note is Nicolaus Manuel (1484 - 1530), who painted many monumental mural decorations, which are some of the best representatives of Renaissance art North of the Alps.

  • Scientific Exploration

    • Building on the body of work forwarded by Copernicus, Kepler and Newton, 18th-century astronomers refined telescopes, produced star catalogs, and worked towards explaining the motions of heavenly bodies and the consequences of universal gravitation.

  • Physics and Mathematics

    • While the dates of the scientific revolution are disputed, the publication in 1543 of Nicolaus Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) is often cited as marking the beginning of the scientific revolution.