Google Doodle Celebrates Nicolaus Copernicus` 540th Birthday
Popular search engine Google has put a special doodle on its home page to mark 540th birthday of renowned Polish Renaissance astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus who formulated a comprehensive heliocentric model which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center of the universe.
Copernicus’ is remembered for his heliocentric theory that proved Sun as the center of the solar system and not Earth. His theory put an end to the notion that the Sun revolves around the Earth.
Born on February 19, 1473, in the province of Royal Prussia, in the Kingdom of Poland, the Renaissance astronomer and mathematician pursued his education with mathematical achievements.
Copernicus in his seminal work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium publicly expressed his views about the heliocentric hypothesis. The work argued that the solar system is comprised of eight spheres in which the Sun stood at the center motionless. And the other planets each in its own sphere revolved around the Sun.
His epochal book created controversy and raised the fear of accusations of blasphemy as it was not understandable to most of the astronomers of his time. His work was not published for many years until before his death in 1543.
“Doodles are the fun, surprising, and sometimes spontaneous changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists,” a Google webpage on doodles says.