Copernicus first described the solar system as being heliocentricWhat does this mean and when did he say it?

Answer 1

Heliocentric is the idea that the sun is the centre of the universe. Copernicus was not the first person to come up with the idea. It had been around at least since the 4th century BC, so around 1900 years before Copernicus. Many people had worked on this theory over those centuries, and he used some of their ideas to form his own. His was the first where the idea of computing the locations of the planets was introduced based on heliocentrism, although similar ideas of calculating positions of planets had also been around before him. Some of his ideas are still used. He published his ideas in a book in 1543, but he had been working on his ideas for many years before that.

Answer 2

We find the idea of a geocentric (earth-centered) system set down in Ptolemy's Almagest, which was written in the 2nd century. We can't be much more accurate as regards the dating of this most remarkable publication. And it should be noted that Ptolemy stated he derived a good portion of his information from several earlier scholars. Ptolemy was not the originator of the geocentric model of our system. The idea had been proposed several hundred years earlier. A link is provided below.

Answer 3

Heliocentrism is the theory that the sun is at the center of the solar system with the planets orbiting around it. Copernicus proposed this idea in his book "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" published in 1543.