Mikuláš Kopernik

Mikuláš Kopernik, known as Nicolaus Copernicus in English, was a Renaissance astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at its center. Born in Poland in 1473, his groundbreaking work, 'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium' (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres), challenged the geocentric theory that had dominated for centuries and laid the foundations for modern astronomy. His theories sparked the Copernican Revolution, significantly influencing the scientific revolution and changing humanity's perception of the universe.