MADRID, 17 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
This February 19 marks the 550th anniversary of the birth, in 1473, of the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus, who formulated the heliocentric theory: It is the Earth that revolves around the Sun, not the other way around.
Copernicus spent close to twenty-five years working on the development of his model of the universe. At that time it was difficult for scientists to accept it, since it represented a real revolution. His vision of the world can be summed up in the following selected quotes:
– “First of all, we must know that the universe is spherical.”
– “As seated on a royal throne, the Sun governs the family of planets that revolve around it.”
– “Knowing that we know what we know and knowing that we don’t know what we don’t know; that is true knowledge.”
– “The Universe has been forged for us by a supremely good and orderly Creator.”
– “The sky of the fixed stars is the highest of what is visible.”
– “I am not so enamored of my own opinions to ignore what others may think of them.”
– “The things I am saying now may be obscure, but they will become clear in their rightful place.
– “The movement of the Earth alone is enough to explain so many apparent inequalities in the heavens.”