"To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge."
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"I am aware that a philosopher's ideas are not subject to the judgment of ordinary persons, because it is his endeavor to seek the truth in all things, to the extent permitted to human reason by God." -Nicolaus Copernicus
Famed astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik in German) was born on February 19, 1475 in Torun, Poland. His first language was German, however he spoke a little Polish as well. Copernicus grew up under the care of his loving maternal uncle after his father passed away whenever he was ten years of age. His uncle ensured that he got the best education possible so he enrolled in the University of Cracow where he studied mathematics and painting. However, he did not study astronomy, but he was extremely enthused on the topic. After schooling, he somehow managed to fulfill the position as a canon, which he held onto for the rest of his life , allowing him to further continue his academic interests.
Copernicus developed his own model of a heliocentric planetary system in 1508. In Copernicus's heliocentric solar system he had the sun, not the Earth as the center of the solar system. Copernicus believed that the size of each planet's orbit depended on its distance from the sun. He shared his findings in a book called Commentariolus in about 1514. He also published the idea in his second book, De revolutionibus orbium colestium, the book then got banned by the Roman Catholic Church after he died in 1543. Although, Copernicus was not the first astronomer to propose this theory, it was still an extremely controversial topic.