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Who had a heliocentric view of the universe?
Nicolas Copernicus
Who was Copernicus and what was the heliocentric theory?
He was a Polish mathematician who disagreed with Ptolemy's view that the earth is the center of the universe. The heliocentric theory is the theory that the sun is the center of the universe, not the earth.
How did Copernicus and Kelper change people's view of the universe?
they proved that the earth rotate around the sun not the other way making people doudt the ancient greek authorities
Why do you think other religious men condemned the ideas of Copernicus if he was providing that god created a more perfect system?
Copernicus produced an alternative model of the planets that had the Sun at the centre, which contradicted the religious view at the time. The church was unwilling to change its theology without adequte proof. The wisdom of the church's attitude was eventually proved when Copernicus's model was rejected in favour of one discovered by Kepler with elliptical orbits. It also had the Sun at the centre, and when the elliptical orbits were confirmed by Newton's theoretical discoveries the model was generally adopted.
Why did it take so long for Copernicus' ideas to become widely accepted?
Copernicus's model of the solar system was published in 1543. This model had the Sun at the centre and was taken up by Galileo in a way that caused a big row with the catholic church. Kepler produced a later model in 1609 that eventually replaced all the earlier models. It used Copernicus's idea of placing the Sun at the centre, but it used the novel idea of elliptical orbits. From a scientific point of view, whether the Earth or the Sun is at the centre is not a highly significant part of the theory. However it is of religous significance because it involves interpretation of the scriptures, and this is how Galileo's intervention led him into trouble. Newton's discoveries in gravity and the laws of motion showed that elliptical orbits, with the Sun at the centre, could be explained by theory, and so we use Kepler's model today, and everyone accepts that including the Church.
