When we last left off, Copernicus had had his influential book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, published with his fresh new theory of a heliocentric (Sun- centered) universe. As mentioned, his idea was considered blasphemous by the Church who held that God must have placed them in the center of the universe, for the possibility of Earth being one of the planets would have diminished its importance. This view was also held by the public who disregarded Copernicus's work. This is where we pick up....
Johannes Kepler was a German scientist who supported the Copernican idea. He believed the same as Copernicus, that the center of our cosmos was the Sun. In 1596, 53 years after the theory was put in print, Kepler published his own work, Mysterium Cosmographicum. In it was the first evidence pointing towards a heliocentric universe. Later, he would also develop his three famous laws of planetary motion.
Around the same time, Galileo Galilei was testing his new and incredible design for his telescope. In his observations of the solar system, he discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter. This was a breakthrough, it showed that Earth was not the only heavenly body that had the ability to be orbited by other objects. This was a blow to geocentrism and it received much opposition from many other astronomers. Later, Galileo would go on to write Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. In it, he appeared to insult Pope Urban VIII. As a result, he was placed under house arrest where he wrote his influential book, Two New Sciences. He died while still under house arrest.
Heliocentrism spread throughout Europe as a common notion by the late 1600's. While still not widely accepted, it was beginning to take its roots as a new universal perspective. Well, that's all for today's post. It will be picked up in the next one with Isaac Newton, possibly history's greatest scientist. Until then, salutations!
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