Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th-century astronomer whose findings were condemned by the Roman Catholic Church as heretical, was reburied by Polish priests as a hero on Saturday, nearly 500 years after he was laid to rest in an unmarked grave.
His burial in a tomb in the cathedral where he once served as a church canon and doctor indicates how far the church has come in making peace with the scientist whose revolutionary theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun helped usher in the modern scientific age.
Copernicus, who lived from 1473 to 1543, died as a little-known astronomer working in what is now Poland, far from Europe's centers of learning. He had spent years laboring in his free time developing his theory, which was later condemned as heretical by the church because it removed Earth and humanity from their central position in the universe.
His revolutionary model was based on complex mathematical calculations and his naked-eye observations of the heavens because the telescope had not yet been invented.
After his death, his remains rested in an unmarked grave beneath the floor of the cathedral in Frombork, northern Poland, the exact location unknown.
Thursday, Dec 26th
Last update09:02:29 AM GMT
Headlines
On Dec. 24, NASA's Parker Solar Probe will get closer to the sun than any human-made...
Two astronauts who traveled to the International Space Station aboard Boeing's troubled Starliner more than six...
Patient One was 24 years old and pregnant with her third child when she was taken...
Google on Monday announced Willow, its latest, greatest quantum computing chip. The speed and reliability performance...
