Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish: Mikołaj Kopernik, German: Niklas Koppernigk, Latin: Nicolaus Copernicus). Born on February 19, 1473 in Torun - died on May 24, 1543 in Frombork. Polish astronomer, mathematician, mechanic, economist, canon of the Renaissance. He is best known as the author of the heliocentric system of the world, which marked the beginning of the first scientific revolution.
Born in Torun into a merchant family, he lost his parents early. Torun became part of Poland just a few years before the birth of Copernicus; before that, the city bore the name Thorn and was part of Prussia, which belonged to the Teutonic Order.
The question of Copernicus's ethnicity still remains the subject of a (rather unpromising) debate. His mother was German (Barbara Watzenrode), his father's nationality is unclear, but it is known that he was a native of Krakow. Thus, ethnically Copernicus was German or half-German, although he himself may have considered himself a Pole (by territorial and political affiliation). He wrote in Latin and German; not a single document in Polish written by his hand has been found; after early death father, he was raised in a German family by his mother and uncle. Niccolò Komneno Popadopoli spread the unproven - and, in the opinion modern historians, invented by himself - the story that Copernicus allegedly enrolled at the University of Padua as a Pole. It should be noted that the concept of nationality in those years was much more blurred than it is today, and some historians suggest that Copernicus be considered a Pole and a German at the same time.
In the Copernicus family, besides Nicholas, there were three more children: Andrei, later a canon in Warmia, and two sisters: Barbara and Katerina. Barbara went into a convent, and Katerina married and gave birth to five children, to whom Nicolaus Copernicus was very attached and cared for them until the end of his life.
Having lost his father as a 9-year-old child and remaining in the care of his maternal uncle, Canon Lukasz Watzenrode, Copernicus entered the University of Krakow in 1491, where he studied mathematics, medicine and theology with equal zeal, but he was especially attracted to astronomy.
After graduating from the university (1494), Copernicus did not receive any academic title, and the family council decided that he would have a spiritual career. A strong argument in favor of this choice was that the patron uncle had just been elevated to the rank of bishop.
To continue his education, Copernicus went to Italy (1497) and entered the University of Bologna. In addition to theology, law and ancient languages, he had the opportunity to study astronomy there. It is interesting to note that one of the professors in Bologna was then Scipio del Ferro, with whose discoveries the revival of European mathematics began. Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of his uncle, in Poland Copernicus was elected in absentia as a canon in the diocese of Warmia.
In 1500, Copernicus left the university, again without receiving any diploma or title, and went to Rome. Rheticus' memoirs say that Copernicus taught a number of disciplines at the Roman university, including astronomy, but other biographers question this fact. Then, after a short stay in his homeland, he went to the University of Padua and continued studying medicine.
In 1503, Copernicus finally completed his education, passed the exams in Ferrara, received a diploma and academic degree Doctor of Canon Law. He was in no hurry to return and, with the permission of his uncle-bishop, spent the next three years practicing medicine in Padua.
In 1506, Copernicus received news, perhaps far-fetched, of his uncle's illness. He left Italy and returned to his homeland. He spent the next 6 years at the episcopal castle of Heilsberg, engaged in astronomical observations and teaching in Krakow. At the same time, he is a doctor, secretary and confidant of Uncle Lukash.
In 1512, the uncle-bishop died. Copernicus moved to Frombork, a small town on the shores of the Vistula Lagoon, where he had been listed as a canon all this time, and began his spiritual duties. Scientific research he, however, did not quit. The northwestern tower of the fortress became an observatory.
Already in the 1500s, the idea of a new astronomical system was quite clear to him. He began to write a book describing a new model of the world, discussing his ideas with friends, among whom were many of his like-minded people (for example, Tiedemann Giese, Bishop of Kulm). During these years (ca. 1503-1512), Copernicus circulated a handwritten summary of his theory among friends ("Small Commentary on the Hypotheses Relating to the Celestial Motions"), and his student Rheticus published a clear exposition of the heliocentric system in 1539. Apparently, rumors about new theory were widely distributed already in the 1520s. Working on the main task - "About rotation celestial spheres» - lasted almost 40 years, Copernicus constantly introduced clarifications into it, prepared new astronomical calculation tables.
Rumors about a new outstanding astronomer were spreading in Europe. There is a version, not supported by documents, that Pope Leo X invited Copernicus to take part in the preparation of the calendar reform (1514, implemented only in 1582), but he politely refused.
When necessary, Copernicus devoted his energies and practical work: according to his project, a new coin system was introduced in Poland, and in the city of Frombork he built a hydraulic machine that supplied water to all houses. Personally, as a doctor, he was involved in the fight against the plague epidemic of 1519. During the Polish-Teutonic War (1519-1521) he organized the successful defense of the bishopric from the Teutons. At the end of the conflict, Copernicus took part in peace negotiations (1525), which ended with the creation of the first Protestant state on the order lands - the Duchy of Prussia, a vassal of the Polish crown.
In 1531, 58-year-old Copernicus retired and concentrated on finishing his book. At the same time, he practiced medicine (free of charge). The faithful Rheticus constantly worked for the speedy publication of Copernicus's work, but progress was slow. Fearing that the obstacles would prove insurmountable, Copernicus circulated among his friends short summary his work entitled “Small Commentary” (Commentariolus). In 1542, the scientist’s condition deteriorated significantly, and paralysis of the right half of the body occurred.
Copernicus died on May 24, 1543 at the age of 70 from a stroke. Some biographers (for example, Tiedemann Giese) claim that the author managed to see his work published shortly before his death. But others argue that this was impossible, since recent months During his life, Copernicus was in a severe coma.
The book of Copernicus has remained as an outstanding monument to human thought.
The location of Copernicus’s tomb remained unknown for a very long time, but during excavations in cathedral Frombork in 2005, a skull and leg bones were discovered. A comparative DNA analysis of these remains and two hairs of Copernicus, found in one of his books, confirmed that the remains of Copernicus were found.
On May 20, 2010, the reburial ceremony for the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus began. On May 21, the coffin was delivered to the cathedral of Frombork, where Copernicus made his most important discoveries. On the way to Frombork, the coffin passed through several cities of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship - Dobre Miasto, Lidzbark Warminski, Orneta, Pienierzno and Braniewo, with which Copernicus was associated in the course of his activities. On May 22, 2010, the remains of the great scientist were buried in Frombork Cathedral. The solemn ceremony was performed by the Primate of Poland, Archbishop of Gniezno Józef Kowalczyk. The burial of the remains was also timed to coincide with the celebration of the 750th anniversary of the city.
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in the Polish city of Torun, his father was a merchant who came from Germany. The future scientist was orphaned early; he was raised in the house of his uncle, bishop and famous Polish humanist Lukasz Wachenrode.
In 1490, Copernicus graduated from the University of Krakow, after which he became a canon of the cathedral in the fishing town of Frombork. In 1496 he went on a long journey through Italy. Copernicus studied at the universities of Bologna, Ferrara and Padua, studied medicine and church law, and became a Master of Arts. In Bologna, the young scientist became interested in astronomy, which determined his fate.
In 1503, Nicolaus Copernicus returned to his homeland in full educated person, he first settled in Lidzbark, where he served as his uncle's secretary. After the death of his uncle, Copernicus moved to Frombork, where he carried out research for the rest of his life.
Social activity
Nicolaus Copernicus took an active part in governing the region in which he lived. He was in charge of economic and financial affairs and fought for its independence. Among his contemporaries, Copernicus was known as statesman, a talented doctor and expert in astronomy.
When the Lutheran Council organized a commission to reform the calendar, Copernicus was invited to Rome. The scientist proved the prematureness of such a reform, since at that time the length of the year was not yet known exactly.
Astronomical observations and heliocentric theory
The creation of the heliocentric system was the result of many years of work by Nicolaus Copernicus. For about one and a half millennia there was a system devices of the world, proposed by the ancient Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy. It was believed that the Earth was at the center of the Universe, and the other planets and the Sun revolved around it. This theory could not explain many of the phenomena that astronomers observed, but it agreed well with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Copernicus observed the movement celestial bodies and came to the conclusion that the Ptolemaic theory was incorrect. In order to prove that all the planets revolve around the Sun, and the Earth is only one of them, Copernicus carried out complex mathematical calculations and spent more than 30 years of hard work. Although the scientist mistakenly believed that all the stars were stationary and located on the surface of a huge sphere, he was able to explain the apparent movement of the Sun and the rotation of the firmament.
The results of the observations were summarized in the work of Nicolaus Copernicus “On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres,” published in 1543. In it he developed new philosophical ideas and focused on improving the mathematical theory that described the movement of celestial bodies. The revolutionary nature of the scientist’s views was realized Catholic Church later, when in 1616 his work was included in the Index of Prohibited Books.
- an outstanding Polish astronomer who laid the foundation for a new idea of the world system, abandoning the previous teaching about the position of the Earth as the center of the universe, which had existed for many centuries. In his brilliant work “On the Rotation of the Celestial Spheres,” the scientist proves that the observed movements heavenly bodies- the result of the rotation of the Earth around its axis and the revolution of the planets around the Sun. The brilliant scientist, creator of a new idea of the world, was born in the Polish city of Torun on February 19, 1473 in the family of a merchant who moved with his family from Germany. His father was a native of Krakow, his mother was German. There were four children in the family, Nikolai was youngest child. At first he studied at the school at the church. Unfortunately, during the plague, his father passed away and his maternal uncle, Canon Luke Watzenrode, took care of nine-year-old Nicholas. In 1491, together with his older brother, Nicholas went to Krakow, where he entered the university. With exemplary zeal, he studies theology, mathematics, medicine, and is interested in astronomy. He continued his further studies at the University of Bologna, where he entered the Faculty of Law in 1496, where there was a department of civil and canon law.
Copernicus's uncle, who became a bishop, helped his nephew's career. In 1498, Copernicus was confirmed in absentia as a canon of the Frombork Chapter. From 1500 he studied medicine at the University of Padua, after which he became a doctor of canon law. He lived in Italy for another three years, practicing medicine. In 1503, he returned to Krakow, where he served as secretary and confidant to his uncle, the bishop, and at the same time his personal doctor. While a secretary, Copernicus was a professor at the University of Krakow and at the same time engaged in astronomical observations.
After the death of his uncle, he moved to the small town of Frombork on the banks of the Vistula, where he was listed as a canon since 1498. Here he began the main duties of a canon, and devoted all his leisure time to astronomy. In addition, he treated the sick free of charge, invented and built a hydraulic machine to supply city houses with water, and he is the author of the project for a new coin system, which will then be introduced in Poland. 
While engaged in astronomical research, Copernicus was working on a new, his own model of the world. Having become acquainted with the works of ancient philosophers, studying the Ptolemaic system of the world, noticing its artificiality and complexity, Copernicus makes a stunning conclusion: it is the Sun, and not the Earth, that is the fixed center of the Universe. Brilliant in depth of consideration, but due to lack of funds, Copernicus was forced to conduct his observations using the simplest instruments made with his own hands. Around 1516, Copernicus wrote his Small Commentary, where he outlined his hypotheses regarding the celestial movements. Copernicus would devote almost 40 years to the complete development of the new system. In 1520, during the war with the crusaders, Copernicus took command of the small garrison of Olsztyn, strengthened the defenses of the fortress and managed to hold it. After the truce, in the spring of 1521, he was appointed Commissioner of Warmia. In 1523 Copernicus became chancellor of the chapter.
Since 1531, the scientist’s health began to deteriorate; he was only engaged in the development of the heliocentric system and medical practice. After decades of hard work, numerous observations and complex calculations, Copernicus proved that all planets, incl. and the Earth revolve around the Sun. Over the course of 365 days, the Earth revolves around the Sun, moving in its orbit. This statement completely refuted the system of the world structure, which was proposed by Ptolemy and had existed by that time for almost 1.5 thousand years. 
Coinciding with the teachings of the Catholic Church, Ptolemy's theory was considered unshakable and was fully supported by the church. Copernicus escaped persecution by the Catholic Church, although he was accused of heresy. And only in 1616 the Catholic Church introduced an official ban on adhering to the theory of Copernicus, which proved the heliocentric system of the world, which contradicted Scripture. From 1616 to 1828 his book was included in the “Index” of banned books. Before his death, friends and like-minded people brought the scientist the first printed copy of his life’s work, “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres.” However, Copernicus, who had fallen into a coma, no longer saw this. The great scientist died at home on May 24, 1543... Here, in Frombork, he was buried in the cathedral. In the 19th century, monuments to Copernicus were erected in Thorn, Krakow, Warsaw, and Regensburg. It is interesting that every year in all countries of the world stamps are issued with portraits of outstanding scientists, artists, writers, politicians, generals. Today you can buy postage stamps in the online store. The Polish astronomer Copernicus is the most popular astronomer in terms of the number of stamps issued in his honor. In 1923, the first stamp dedicated to Copernicus was issued in Poland. For several decades, all countries issued stamps dedicated only to their astronomer. But in 1947, a stamp with a portrait of M. Lomonosov was issued in Romania, and in 1953, a stamp in honor of Copernicus was issued by China, in 1955 by the USSR, and in 1957 by France. In 1973, 47 countries of the world issued about 200 stamps and postage blocks in honor of the 500th anniversary of the famous scientist. It is significant that even the Vatican celebrated Copernicus’s anniversary with four stamps.
Biography
early years
Toruń: the house where Copernicus was born
The question of Copernicus's ethnicity still remains the subject of a (rather unpromising) debate. His mother was German (Barbara Watzenrode), his father's nationality is unclear. Thus, ethnically Copernicus was German or half-German, although he himself may have considered himself a Pole (by territorial and political affiliation). He wrote in Latin and German; not a single document in Polish written by his hand has been found; After the early death of his father, he was raised in the German family of his mother and uncle. Niccolo Komneno Popadopoli spread an unproven - and, according to modern historians, invented by himself - story that Copernicus allegedly enrolled at the University of Padua as a Pole. It should be noted that the concept of nationality in those years was much more blurred than it is today, and some historians suggest that Copernicus be considered a Pole and a German at the same time.
In the Copernicus family, besides Nicholas, there were three more children: Andrei, later a canon in Warmia, and two sisters: Barbara and Katerina. Barbara went into a convent, and Katerina married and gave birth to five children, to whom Nicolaus Copernicus was very attached and cared for them until the end of his life.
Bust of Copernicus in Krakow
Having lost his father as a 9-year-old child and remaining in the care of his maternal uncle, Canon Luke ( Lucas) Watzenrode (Watzelrode), Copernicus entered the University of Krakow in 1491, where he studied mathematics, medicine and theology with equal zeal, but he was especially attracted to astronomy.
To continue his education, Copernicus went to Italy () and entered the University of Bologna. In addition to theology, law and ancient languages, he also has the opportunity to study astronomy there. It is interesting to note that one of the professors in Bologna was then Scipio del Ferro, with whose discoveries the revival of European mathematics began. Meanwhile, thanks to the efforts of his uncle, in Poland Copernicus was elected in absentia as a canon in the diocese of Warmia.
Death
A. Lesser. Death of Copernicus
The book of Copernicus has remained as an outstanding monument to human thought. From this moment dates back to the beginning of the first scientific revolution.
grave
The location of Copernicus's grave remained unknown for a long time, but in November 2008, DNA analysis confirmed the discovery of his remains.
Scientific activity
Heliocentric system
Celestial spheres in the Copernicus manuscript
Title page "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium"
In the preface to the book, Copernicus writes:
Considering how absurd this teaching must seem, I hesitated for a long time to publish my book and thought whether it would not be better to follow the example of the Pythagoreans and others, who transmitted their teaching only to friends, spreading it only through tradition.
The Nuremberg theologian Osiander, to whom Rheticus entrusted the printing of Copernicus’s book, out of caution, provided it with an anonymous preface, in which he declared new model conditional mathematical technique, invented to reduce computation. At one time, this preface was attributed to Copernicus himself, although he, in response to Osiander’s request, resolutely refused to make such a reservation. The preface is followed by a letter of praise from Cardinal Schoenberg and a dedication to Pope Paul III.
In structure, Copernicus’s main work almost repeats the “Almagest” in a somewhat abbreviated form (6 books instead of 13). The first part talks about the spherical shape of the world and the Earth, and instead of the position about the immobility of the Earth, another axiom is placed - the Earth and other planets rotate around an axis and revolve around the Sun. This concept is argued in detail, and the “opinion of the ancients” is convincingly refuted. From a heliocentric position, he easily explains the reciprocal motion of the planets.
The second part provides information on spherical trigonometry and rules for calculating the apparent positions of stars, planets and the Sun in the firmament.
The third talks about the annual movement of the Earth and precession (precedence of the equinoxes), and Copernicus correctly explains it by displacement earth's axis, which causes the line of intersection of the equator and the ecliptic to move.
In the fourth - about the Moon, in the fifth about planets in general, and in the sixth - about the reasons for changes in the latitudes of the planets. The book also contains a star catalog, an estimate of the sizes of the Sun and Moon, the distances to them and to the planets (close to the true ones), and the theory of eclipses.
Assumption I: The sun is the center of the universe and, therefore, motionless. Everyone believes that this statement is absurd and absurd from a philosophical point of view, and, moreover, formally heretical, since its expressions largely contradict Holy Scripture, according to the literal meaning of the words, as well as the usual interpretation and understanding of the Church Fathers and teachers of theology.
Assumption II: The Earth is not the center of the universe, it is not motionless and moves as a whole (body) and, moreover, makes a daily revolution. Everyone believes that this position deserves the same philosophical condemnation; from the point of view of theological truth, it is at least mistaken in faith.Original text(lat.)
Propositio I: Sol est centrum et omnino immobilis motu locali. Censura: omnes dixerunt dictam propositionem esse stultam et absurdam in philosophia et formaliter hereticam, quatenus contradicit expresse sententiis sacrae Scripturae in multis locis, secundum proprietatem verborum et secundum expositionem et sensum SS, Patrum et theologorum doctorum. Propositio II: Terra non est centrum mundi nec immobilis, sed secundum se totam movetur etiam motu diurno. Censura: omnes dixerunt hanc propositionem recipere eandem censuram in philosophia et spectando veritatem theologicam ad minus esse in fide erroneam..
The most famous consequence of this decision in the 17th century was the trial of Galileo (1633), who violated the church ban in his book “Dialogues about two major systems peace."
Contrary to popular belief, the book of Copernicus itself " "was formally banned by the Inquisition for only 4 years, but was subject to censorship. In 1616 it was included in the Roman Index of Forbidden Books with the notation "until correction". The required censorship amendments that needed to be made by the owners of the book to allow further use were made public in 1620. These corrections mainly concerned statements that suggested that heliocentrism was not just a mathematical model, but a reflection of reality. Many copies of the first (Nuremberg,), second (Basel,) and third (Amsterdam,) editions have survived, belonging, in particular, to famous astronomers and others historical figures, in which the owners complied with censorship instructions from to varying degrees loyalty: from completely obscuring the required fragments of Copernicus and inscribing the recommended text, to completely ignoring the instructions. About 2/3 of the surviving copies from Italy were corrected by their owners, while the vast majority of copies from other countries were not corrected. The Spanish index of banned books explicitly allowed the book. Interestingly, copies of the second and third editions were brought to China by Jesuit missionaries in 1618 during the formal prohibition. The book was removed from Rome's Index of Prohibited Books in 1835. .
Other advances in astronomy
Copernicus was one of the first to express the idea of universal gravitation. One of his letters says:
I think that heaviness is nothing more than a certain tendency with which the divine Builder bestowed upon the particles of matter so that they would unite in the shape of a ball. This property is probably possessed by the Sun, Moon and planets; These luminaries owe their spherical shape to him.
He confidently predicted that Venus and Mercury have phases similar to those of the Moon. After the invention of the telescope, Galileo confirmed this prediction.
Economy
Copernicus was the first to draw attention to a pattern known as the Copernicus-Gresham Law (also independently discovered by the English banker Thomas Gresham). According to this principle, money that is more stable in its exchange rate (for example, gold) will be forced out of circulation, as people will accumulate savings in it, and “worse” (for example, copper) money will participate in real circulation.
List of works
- N.C. Meditata XV. Augusti anno domini MDXVII.,
- Tractatus de monetis,
- Monetae cudendae ratio,
- De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium- Nuremberg, Germany:
Perpetuation of memory
Named after Copernicus:
see also
Notes
Literature
Essays
- Copernicus Nicholas. On the rotation of the celestial spheres. Per. I. N. Veselovsky. M.: Nauka, 1964.
About him
- Ambartsumyan V. A. Copernicus and modern astronomy. Report at the Anniversary meeting General meeting Academy of Sciences of the USSR, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the birth of N. Copernicus, March 6, 1973. “Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR”, No. 5, 1973, pp. 46-56.
- Akhutin A.V. Copernican innovation and the Copernican revolution. In the book: Akhutin A.V. Litigation about existence. M.: RFO, 1997, p. 181-243.
- Bely Yu. A. Copernicus, Copernicanism and the Development of Natural Science. IAI, Vol. XII, p. 15.
- Veselovsky I. N., Bely Yu. A. Copernicus, 1473-1543. M.: Nauka, 1974.
- Gerasimenko M. P. Nicolaus Copernicus is an outstanding economist of the era of early capitalism. Kyiv: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, 1953.
- Grebenikov E. A. Nicolaus Copernicus. M.: Nauka, 1982.
- Dmitriev I. S. The Temptation of Saint Copernicus: The Unscientific Roots of the Scientific Revolution. St. Petersburg University Publishing House, 2006.
- Idelson N. I. Sketches on the history of celestial mechanics. M.: Nauka, 1975.
- Levin A. The Man Who Moved the Earth // Popular mechanics. - 2009. - № 6.
- Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). To the four hundredth anniversary of his death. M.-L.: Publishing house. USSR Academy of Sciences, 1947.
- Engelhardt M. A. Nicolaus Copernicus. In the book: Copernicus. Galileo. Kepler. Laplace and Euler. Quetelet. Biographical narratives (F. Pavlenkov library, volume 21, pp. 5-73). Chelyabinsk, "Ural", 1997.
- Dmitriev I. S. The Temptation of Saint Copernicus: The Unscientific Roots of the Scientific Revolution. St. Petersburg University Publishing House, 2006.
Nicolaus Copernicus.
Based on the original from the Royal Observatory in Berlin.
Copernicus (Kopernik, Copernicus) Nicholas (1473-1543), Polish astronomer, creator of the heliocentric system of the world. He made a revolution in natural science, abandoning the doctrine of the central position of the Earth, accepted for many centuries. Explained visible movements celestial bodies by the rotation of the Earth around its axis and the revolution of the planets (including the Earth) around the Sun. He outlined his teaching in the work “On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres” (1543), which was banned by the Catholic Church from 1616 to 1828.
Copernicus (Kopernik, Copernicus), Nicholas (1473-1543) - Polish astronomer and thinker. From criticizing and denying the truth of the geocentric system of the world canonized by the church, Copernicus gradually came to the approval of a new system of the world, according to which the Sun occupies a central position, and the Earth is one of the planets revolving around the Sun and rotates around its axis. Copernicus's main work is “On the Rotations of the Heavenly Bodies” (1543, Russian translation, 1964).
Philosophical Dictionary / author's comp. S. Ya. Podoprigora, A. S. Podoprigora. - Ed. 2nd, erased - Rostov n/a: Phoenix, 2013, p. 176.
Copernicus Nicholas (1473 1543) - Polish astronomer, creator of the heliocentric system of the world, economist. In the history of science, the teaching of Copernicus was a revolutionary act by which the study of nature declared its independence from religion. Copernicus's theory of the Earth's revolution around the Sun and the Earth's daily rotation around its axis meant a break with the geocentric system of Ptolemy and the religious ideas based on it about the Earth as a “chosen by God” arena in which the struggle of divine and devilish forces for human souls was played out. This theory rejected what came from Aristotle and the opposition of the movements of heavenly and earthly bodies used by scholasticism dealt a blow to the church legend about heaven and hell, creating the possibility of the emergence in the future of teachings about natural origin and development solar system. For the theory of knowledge, Copernicus’s distinction between the visible (apparent) and real states of bodies (the Earth) became important. Copernicus's discoveries became the object of a fierce struggle: the church condemned and persecuted them, the progressive thinkers of his time and subsequent eras made them their battle banner and developed them further ( Bruno , Galileo etc.), eliminating, for example, such erroneous positions of the Copernican system as the location of all the stars on a single “sphere” and the Sun in the center of the universe. The main works of Copernicus, “On the revolutions of the celestial spheres” (1543), testify to Copernicus’s familiarity with the achievements of ancient atomism and the astronomical hypotheses of the ancients (Heliocentric and geocentric systems of the world).
Philosophical Dictionary. Ed. I.T. Frolova. M., 1991, p. 204.
Copernicus (Kopernik, Copernicus) Nicholas (February 19, 1473, Torun, Poland - May 24, 1543, Frombork) - Polish astronomer and thinker who revived and scientifically substantiated the heliocentric system of the world. He studied mathematics, the theoretical foundations of astronomy, medicine at the University of Krakow (1491-95), studied at the Faculty of Church Law at the University of Bologna (1496-1501), where he also studied astronomy and participated in the research of the famous astronomer Domenico de Novara. He studied medicine at the University of Padua and received the degree of Doctor of Canon Laws in Ferrara (1503). Performed numerous duties: canon in Frombork, chancellor of the Warmia Chapter, initiator monetary reform. In addition, he organized protection from attacks by soldiers of the Teutonic Order; as a doctor, he participated in the fight against the epidemic of 1519, gave lectures on mathematics, and published translations. At the same time, Copernicus was constantly engaged in astronomical observations and mathematical calculations of the movements of the planets, and by 1532 he completed the work “On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres,” which he did not dare publish for a long time, although he was convinced of the fallacy of the Ptolemaic system and the truth of the heliocentric model of the Universe. The work was published only in 1543, the year of his death. From 1616 to 1882, at the request of the Vatican, the work of Copernicus was in the Index of Prohibited Publications. The main work was preceded by the “Small Commentary” (1505-07), which set out the main assumptions of heliocentrism. All spheres move around the Sun as the center of the world, the center of the Earth is the center of gravity and the lunar orbit, all movements of the “firmament”, the Sun and planets belong not to them, but to the Earth. These provisions were developed in detail in the main work of Copernicus, where it was substantiated that the Earth, together with other planets, rotates around the Sun in the ecliptic plane, around its axis perpendicular to the ecliptic plane, and around its own axis perpendicular to the equatorial plane. In addition, it is proven that the world and the Earth are spherical, the movement of celestial bodies is circular and constant, the Earth occupies only a small part of the infinitely large space of the heavens. According to T. Kuhn, Copernicus's innovation was not simply an indication of the movement of the Earth, but constituted new way vision of the problems of physics and astronomy, in which the meaning of the concepts “earth” and “movement” necessarily changed (see T. Kuhn. The structure of scientific revolutions. M., 1975, p. 190).
L. A. Mikeshina
New philosophical encyclopedia. In four volumes. / Institute of Philosophy RAS. Scientific ed. advice: V.S. Stepin, A.A. Guseinov, G.Yu. Semigin. M., Mysl, 2010, vol. II, E – M, p. 309-310.
Copernicus (Kopernik, Copernicus) Nicholas (19.2.1473, Toruń, -24.5.1543, Frombork), Polish astronomer and thinker. In Copernicus’s main work “On the Rotations of the Celestial Spheres” (1543, Russian translation, 1964), the long-forgotten ancient idea of heliocentrism (Aristarchus of Samos, 3rd century BC) is revived, developed, proven and justified as a scientific truth . From a scientific point of view, the advantages of heliocentrism are immediately apparent: for the first time in the history of astronomy, possible definition from observations of actual planetary distances; the specific mathematical and geometrical features of Ptolemy’s scheme (which previously were of an incomprehensible and random nature) receive a clear physical meaning; new system of the world makes a strong aesthetic impression, establishing the actual “shape of the world and the exact proportionality of its parts” (“On rotations...”, p. 13). The teachings of Copernicus refuted the centuries-old geocentric tradition of Aristotle - Ptolemy, dealt a decisive blow to religious and theological ideas about the Universe and the place of man in it, and served as the starting point for the development of new astronomy and physics (in the works of Galileo, Kepler, Descartes, Newton). Engels called the publication of Copernicus’s main work “a revolutionary act by which the study of nature declared its independence... From here the liberation of natural science from theology begins its chronology...” (Marx K. and Engels F., Works, vol. 20, p. 347). In philosophical terms, the transition to heliocentrism means a revolution in epistemology, the basis of natural scientific knowledge. Up until Copernicus, epistemology dominated, an attitude according to which the visible was identified with the real. In the teachings of Copernicus, the opposite principle is realized for the first time - what is visible is not certainty, but an “inverted” reflection of the reality hidden behind the phenomena. Subsequently, this principle becomes epistemology, the basis of all classical science.
Philosophical encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Soviet encyclopedia. Ch. editor: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983.
Works: Opera omnia, t. l-2, Warsz., 1972-75; in Russian lane - in the collection: Polsk. thinkers of the Renaissance, M., I960, p. 35-68.
Literature: Nicolaus Copernicus. [Sat.]. To the 500th anniversary of the birth. 1473-1973, M., 1973 (lit. about K. published in Russia and in the Soviet Union); Veselovsky I. I., Bely Yu. A., Nikolai K., M., 1974; Idelson N.I., Studies on the history of celestial mechanics, M., 1975; Kühn T. S., The copernican revolution, Camb., 1957; B l s k u p M., D o b r z u s k i J., Mikolaj Kopernik- uczony i obywatet, Warsz., 1972.
Nicolaus Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in the Polish city of Toruń into the family of a merchant who came from Germany. He was the fourth child in the family. He received his primary education, most likely at the school at the Church of St. Yana. After the death of Nicolaus Copernicus, his father, during the plague, his nephew’s care was taken over by Lukasz Wachenrode, his mother’s brother.
In the second half of October 1491, Nicolaus Copernicus, together with his brother Andrzej, arrived in Krakow and enrolled in the Faculty of Arts at the local university.
In 1496, Nicholas and his brother Andrzej found themselves in Bologna, which was then part of the Papal States and famous for its university. Nikolai enrolled in the Faculty of Law with departments of civil and canonical, i.e., church law. On March 9, 1497, together with the astronomer Domenico Maria Novara, Nicholas made his first scientific observation.
In 1498, Nicolaus Copernicus was confirmed in absentia as a canon of the Frombork Chapter.
Then Nikolai a short time returns to Poland, but just a year later he goes back to Italy, where he studies medicine at the University of Padua and receives a doctorate in theology from the University of Ferrara. Copernicus returned to his homeland at the end of 1503 as a comprehensively educated man. He settled first in the city of Lidzbark, and then took the position of canon in Frombork, a fishing town at the mouth of the Vistula.
In Frombork, Copernicus deployed his astronomical observations, despite the inconvenience due to frequent fogs from the Vistula Bay.
The most famous instrument used by Copernicus was the triquetrum, a parallactic instrument. The second device used by Copernicus to determine the angle of inclination of the ecliptic, "horoscopes", sundial, a type of quadrant.
In the Small Commentary, written around 1516, Copernicus gave a preliminary statement of his teachings, or rather of his hypotheses.
At the height of the war with the crusaders, at the beginning of November 1520, Copernicus was elected administrator of the chapter's properties in Olsztyn and Pienienzno. Having taken command of the small garrison of Olsztyn, Copernicus took measures to strengthen the defense of the castle-fortress and managed to defend Olsztyn. Soon after the truce was concluded in April 1521, Copernicus was appointed commissar of Warmia, and in the autumn of 1523 - chancellor of the chapter. .
By the beginning of the thirties, work on the creation of a new theory and its formalization in the work “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres” was basically completed. By that time, the system of the world structure proposed by the ancient Greek scientist Claudius Ptolemy had existed for almost one and a half millennia. It consisted in the fact that the Earth rests motionless in the center of the Universe, and the Sun and other planets revolve around it. The provisions of Ptolemy's theory were considered unshakable, since they were in good agreement with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Observing the movement of celestial bodies, Copernicus came to the conclusion that Ptolemy's theory was incorrect. After thirty years of hard work, long observations and complex mathematical calculations, he proved that the Earth is only one of the planets and that all planets revolve around the Sun.
Copernicus believed that a person perceives the movement of celestial bodies in the same way as the movement various items on Earth when he himself is in motion. To an observer on Earth, it seems that the Earth is motionless, and the Sun is moving around it. In fact, it is the Earth that moves around the Sun and makes full turn in its orbit.
Copernicus was dying when his friends brought him the first copy of “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres,” printed in one of the Nuremberg printing houses.
For some time his work was freely distributed among scientists. Only when Copernicus had followers, his teaching was declared heresy, and the book was included in the “Index” of prohibited books.
Reprinted from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/
Read further:
World famous scientists(biographical reference book).
Essays:
Opera omnia, t. 1-2. Warsz., 1972-1975;
On the rotations of the celestial spheres. M., 1964.
Literature:
Nicolaus Copernicus. To the 500th anniversary of his birth, ed. V. A. Kotelnikova. M., 1973;
Veselovsky I. N., Bely Yu. A. Nikolai Copernicus. M., 1974;
Kuhn T. S. The Coperniean Revolution. Cambr. (Mass.), 1957.
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