From Mary Bellis,
Your Guide to Inventors.
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Before 1450, nearly everyone thought that the earth was flat and that wheels drove the sun, stars and the moon. People also thought that the earth was the center of all stars which were stuck in some giant awning that covered the earth. Then along came the astronomer Nicholas Copernicus who proved that the sun was the center of the solar system and that the sun, earth and the moon were all shaped like round balls.

Invention of Armillary Spheres and Terrestrial Globes

Miniature representations of the earth in the form of globes and terrain models called armillary spheres have a long history. Copernicus might have invented the first globe to demonstrate his ideas. However, there is no date given for any Copernicus made globe (he made many). The first globe actually noted in history was the 1492 world globe made by the German map-maker Martin Behaim .

Nicholas Copernicus

Nicolas Copernicus
A biography of the astronomer Nicolas Copernicus.
Copernican System
The copernican system of astronomy was introduced in Nicolas Copernicus's book De Revolutionibu.
Copernican Model: A Sun-Centered Solar System
The Earth-centered Universe of Aristotle and Ptolemy held sway on Western thinking for almost 2000 years; then, in the 16th century a new idea was proposed by the Polish astronomer Nicolai Copernicus.
Nicholas Copernicus' The Autograph: De revolutionibus
You can read Nicholas Copernicus' book online.
Timeline of the Life of Nicolaus Copernicus
This simply timeline outlines Nicolaus Copernicus's life.
Timeline of The Copernican Revolution
Nicolaus Copernicus published De Revolutionibus, with a dedication to the Pope just before he dies. This timeline briefly describes what happened in astronomy history post Copernicus.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Opposition was first raised against the Copernican system by Protestant theologians for Biblical reasons.

Continue > History of the Armillary Sphere