The Copernican Revolution
A Milestone Documents E-text
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Abstract

The “Copernican Revolution” denotes the change from an earthcentered picture of the universe to a sun-centered one, and it had repercussions far beyond astronomy. It began with the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and his publication of On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres in 1543. The traditional geocentric, or “Ptolemaic,” picture had been heavily modified since the days of Ptolemy, but Copernicus was the first to suggest discarding it entirely.

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