Copernicus, Nicolaus

A Polish cleric and scholar of the sixteenth century. In 1543, Copernicus produced the first workable model of the sun and planets that had the sun at the center. ( See Galileo , Ptolemaic universe , and solar system .)

A Polish scholar who, in 1543, first produced a workable model of the solar system that had the sun at the center. His model eventually took the place of the Ptolemaic universe and provided the foundation for modern astronomy .