Nicolaus Copernicus was the first astronomer to formulate a scientifically-based heliocentric cosmology that displaced the Earth from

the center of the universe. His epochal book, "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" -On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres - is often regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and the defining epiphany that began the Scientific Revolution. Although Greek, Indian and Muslim savants had published heliocentric hypotheses centuries before Copernicus, his publication of a scientific theory of heliocentrism, demonstrating that the motions of celestial objects can be explained without putting the Earth at rest in the center of the universe, stimulated further scientific investigations and became a landmark in the history of modern science that is known as the Copernican Revolution. Among the great polymaths of the Renaissance, Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer, physician, classical scholar, translator, Catholic cleric, jurist, governor, military leader, diplomat and economist. Among his many responsibilities, astronomy figured as little more than an avocation - yet it was in that field that he made his mark upon the world. Early life and education Certain facts about Copernicus's early life are well established, although a biography written by his ardent disciple Georg Joachim Rheticus (151474) is unfortunately lost. According to a later horoscope, Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473, in Toru, a city in north-central Poland on the Vistula River south of the major Baltic seaport of Gdask. His father, Nicolaus, was a well-to-do merchant, and his mother, Barbara Watzenrode, also came from a leading merchant family. Nicolaus was the youngest of four children. After his father's death, when Nicholas was only ten years old, his mother's brother Lucas Watzenrode (14471512) took his nephew under his protection. Between 1491 and about 1494 Copernicus studied liberal artsincluding astronomy and astrology. Like many students of his time, however, he left before completing his degree, resuming his studies in Italy. His time in Italy was short but significant. For a time Copernicus lived in the same house as the principal astronomer at the university, Domenico Maria de Novara. Novara had the responsibility of issuing annual astrological prognostications for the city, forecasts that included all social groups but gave special attention to the fate of the Italian princes and their enemies. Copernicus, as is known from Rheticus, was assistant and witness to some of Novara's observations, and his involvement with the production of the annual forecasts means that he was intimately familiar with the practice of astrology. He pursued medical studies between 1501 and 1503. At this time medicine was closely allied with astrology, as the stars were thought to influence the body's dispositions. Thus,

Copernicus's astrological experience at Bologna was better training for medicine than one might imagine today. As a church canon, he collected rents from church-owned lands; secured military defenses; oversaw chapter finances; managed the bakery, brewery, and mills; and cared for the medical needs of the other canons and his uncle. Copernicus's astronomical work took place in his spare time, apart from these other obligations.

It was during the last years of Watzenrode's life that Copernicus evidently came up with the idea on which his subsequent fame was to rest.

Astronomical Work In Copernicus's period, astrology and astronomy were considered subdivisions of a common subject called the "science of the stars," whose main aim was to provide a description of the arrangement of the heavens as well as the theoretical tools and tables of motions that would permit accurate construction of horoscopes and annual prognostications. Around 1514 he distributed a little book, not printed but hand written, to a few of his friends who knew that he was the author even though no author is named on the title page. This book, usually called the Little Commentary, set out Copernicus's theory of a universe with the sun at its centre.

His heliocentric system states that the Sun (not the Earth) is at rest in the center of the Universe, with the other heavenly bodies (planets and stars) revolving around it in circular orbits. A full account of Copernicus's theory was apparently slow to reach a state in which he wished to see it published, and this did not happen until the very end of Copernicus's life when he published his life's work under the title De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (Nuremberg, 1543). In fact had it not been for Georg Joachim Rheticus, a young professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Wittenberg, Copernicus's masterpiece might never have been published.

Copernicuss heliocentric system was considered implausible by the vast majority of his

contemporaries, and by most astronomers and natural philosophers until the middle of the seventeenth century. Its notable defenders included Johannes Kepler (1571 -1630) and Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642). Strong theoretical underpinning for the Copernican theory was finally provided by Sir Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation (1687). Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 in Frombork, Poland.

Copernicus' grave was discovered in Frombork Cathedral in 2005. 15 skeletons were found in an unmarked grave at the foot of an altar. DNA analysis confirmed one set of remains were those of Copernicus. On May 22, 2010, the remains were reburied with great ceremony in the same spot where they were discovered.