Actually, no one challenged his theory. In fact the next real astronomer, to even come back to his theory was Galileo, who came around fifty years later. There were absolutely no challenges to his theory, but between the fifty years of Copernicus's death, and Galileo proving Copernicus right, his theory was shunned, and the church passed a law that saying his name was illegal.
Chat with our AI personalities
Nicolaus Copernicus was the first person to propose the heliocentric model of the solar system in his book "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" published in 1543. He suggested that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, contrary to the prevailing geocentric model.
Galileo's observations through his telescope, such as the phases of Venus and the moons of Jupiter, provided evidence for the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus. These discoveries supported the idea that Earth was not the center of the universe and that there were other celestial bodies orbiting around the Sun.
Not by the scientific community, but his extensive data was used by Keppler to figure out that planets had eliptical orbits. this led to kepplers laws of planetary motion.
His views went against traditional beliefs, including those of the Roman Catholic Church.
Galileo Galilei was put on trial by the Inquisition for advocating the heliocentric model of the universe, which contradicted the geocentric views of the Catholic Church at the time. His writings that supported the findings of Copernicus were considered heretical by the Church, leading to his trial and subsequent conviction.