The first astronomer to formulate the heliocentric theory, thus created the starting point for astronomy and began the scientific revolution. I'm pleased to be able to interview the father of astronomy, Nicolaus Copernicus.
Rt: Copernicus, thank you for being willing to spend your time for this interview. This may surprise you but, i come from the 21st century. Being able to see you in person is my honor as until now, your name is deep rooted into astronomy.
Nc: It's great to know that. But fame was not what i was looking for.
Rt: Was it true that you were a mathematician, astronomer, physician, classical scholar, translator, Catholic cleric, jurist, governor, military leader, diplomat and economist?
Nc: Yes.
Rt: Wow, it must have been a great responsibility.
Nc: Amid all this, astronomy was still my primary interest.
Rt: Not to forget, the field that will make your mark upon the world.
Nc: My father died when i was young and i was left to my maternal uncle, Lucas Watzenrode. My uncle was a church canon and later Prince-Bishop governor of the Archbishopric of Warmia, thus in his position he appointed me as a canon in the cathedral of Frauenburg. I then led a sheltered life which enable me to pursuit my interest, astronomy.
Rt: What led you to your strong interest for astronomy?
After long thinking.
Nc: I think it was from my education at Kraków Academy in 1941 where i first encountered astronomy. I collected a large library on the subject. My uncle had a big part to play in my interest in astronomy. He hoped that i would become a bishop, thus financing my education in canon law. It was then, i met Domenico Maria Novara da Ferrara who was then a famous astronomer. I attended all this lectures and soon became his disciple and assistant. Which was the start of my interest towards astronomy.
Rt: He must have earn your respect then.
Nc: Yes, i looked up to him, he was a man of knowledge.
Rt: In the 21st century, your teacher and you are described as free minds and free souls. Do you have any opinions about that?
Nc: Oh. Interesting. I think it is because Novara and i were not afraid to voice our findings of the heliocentric theory.
Rt: Would you mind if you would tell me the story of the journey towards the heliocentric theory?
Nc: Sure. As i mentioned, after Novara became my teacher, it was then i began to record my astronomy discoveries. It was until 1514 i showed my friends, my Commentariolus which is a a short hand-written text describing my ideas about the heliocentric hypothesis. I then gathered more data for a hope to produce a detailed idea on the heliocentric theory. Then in 1533, my friend, Johann Albrecht Widmannstetter brought my idea of the heliocentric theory to Rome by delivering lectures outlining my findings. Unexpectedly, the Pope Clement VII and several Catholic cardinals attended Johann lectures and they were interested with the idea.
Rt: Were you excited that finally your findings were reached to powerful people.
Nc: Definitely, the heliocentric theory was my life's hard work. But, on the other hand, i was afraid.
Nc: Continuing the story, as i said, the Pope Clement VII and several Catholic cardinals were interested in the heliocentric theory. On 1st November 1536 if i remembered correctly, the Archbishop of Capua Nicholas Schönberg wrote a letter to me from Rome. Heres the letter.
This is the actual content in the letter from the Archbishop.
Some years ago word reached me concerning your proficiency, of which everybody constantly spoke. At that time I began to have a very high regard for you... For I had learned that you had not merely mastered the discoveries of the ancient astronomers uncommonly well but had also formulated a new cosmology. In it you maintain that the earth moves; that the sun occupies the lowest, and thus the central, place in the universe... Therefore with the utmost earnestness I entreat you, most learned sir, unless I inconvenience you, to communicate this discovery of yours to scholars, and at the earliest possible moment to send me your writings on the sphere of the universe together with the tables and whatever else you have that is relevant to this subject...
Nc: As you can see, the Archbishop wanted information about the heliocentric theory. By then, my work was nearing it's definite form. My colleagues urged me to publish my findings in a book called De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. However, they didn't know how much pressure i was facing to publish the book. At that time, the geocentric theory was still in use. People wanted to believe that we are on the planet that was the core of the universe. It fed man's ego. Moreover, the idea that we are on a moving planet was absurd at that time. Therefore by publishing my findings, the public would most probably not accept and create a stir. In addition, the publication of the book would create a religious stir.
Rt: Wow, you really had much perseverance to go against such a strong obstacle.
Nc: I couldn't possibly let man live in a universe that they had misconcepts in. They needed to know the truth.
Rt: You indeed deserve the name, Father of astronomy.
Nc: But i wasn't really very brave, i had a trick up my sleeve. I dedicated the book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium to Pope Paul the third.
Rt: Whats that trick?
Nc: The Pope held a lot of power. By dedicating the book to the Pope Paul the third, the public would know that the Pope had contributed in the book and go easy on the criticism. Secondly, my genuine fear came from the reaction of the scientist. Other churchmen had discussed about the possible movement of the earth before me and that the reappearance of the idea would not cause a serious religious stir.
Editor's note, the reason for a religious stir was because of these sentences written in the bible.
- Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10, and Chronicles 16:30 state that "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved."
- Psalm 104:5 says, "[the LORD] set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved."
- Ecclesiastes 1:5 states that "the sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises."
Rt: So you had it planned already in case of a stir the heliocentric theory could cause.
Nc: Yes. You can say that.
Nc: However, after all that planning i still hesitated in publishing the book. Then last year (1539) i finally decided to hand over De revolutionibus to his close friend, Tiedemann Giese, bishop of Chełmno (Kulm), to be delivered to Rheticus for printing by Johannes Petreius at Nuremberg. I'm not sure when the book is going to be publish.
Rt: Are you excited?
Nc: Oh, a little. After all i worked hard for it. But i still hope it won't cause much of a stir. But not to forget the negative impact the book may bring.
Rt: I would like to ask, what gave you that determination to work towards your dream.
Nc: I'm sure most of it came from my deep love for astronomy and my strong passion as an astronomer. I knew i need to correct man's mistake.
Rt: I'm sure it was also the source of power that kept you going towards your book.
Nc: I guess so.
Rt: If you had a chance to go back into youpast, would you continue to walk towards the path of the study towards the helicentric theory that you spent your life's effort in?
Nc: I will have no regrets.
Rt: Luckily you would. After all you will be the one who will set the landmark in the history of science. Good luck with the publication. It's been a pleasure interviewing you. Thank you very much.
Nc: Thank you.
Editor's dictionary.
- Heliocentric theory: The sun is at the center of the Universe and/or the Solar System.
- Geocentric: having or representing the earth as a center: a geocentric theory of the universe.
- De revolutionibus orbium coelestium: First printed in 1543 in Nuremberg, is the seminal work on heliocentric theory and the masterpiece of the great astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). The book offers an alternative model of the universe to the Ptolemaic .
Bibliography
- Wikipedia. 13 Dec. 2007. wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus.
- Landry, Peter. Blupete. Feb. 1998. 10 Dec. 2007. blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Copernicus.htm.
P.s Rt means Reporter. Nc means Nicolaus Copernicus.
Reflection(why you have chosen this character)
I have chosen to interview Nicolaus Copernicus mainly because he is the father of astronomy. He discovered about the heliocentric theory that changed the history of science. The theory changed the life of many as it corrected the misconcept man believed in. He posses true courage as at that time the power of the church was powerful, yet he dared to challenge them. Moreover, despite countless of criticism from the public and the possibility of causing religious stirs, Copernicus continued to spread his theory and even published a book about it. He was not afraid of the trouble he could get into, therefore his determination and perseverance deserves our respect. His book is regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy. Due to that, he is known as the father of astronomy. Without him, we may still believe that we are on a immobile earth that the Sun rotates around. Therefore, he is indeed significant enough to be written about.
