<p align="center">On The Revolution of The Heavenly Sphere’s</p>
&nbsp;

          <em>On The Revolutions of The Heavenly Sphere</em> deserves a spot in the time capsule because it outlines many theories and mathematical models of the early heliocentric universe.

Early astronomy was based on Ptolemy’s geocentric views on the Universe. This put the Earth in the middle with the sun and remaining planets orbiting around.  Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer and mathematician, saw flaws in his ideas and threw out the geocentric model and switched to his, the heliocentric. He “started to believe the earth went around the sun around 1507” (3). The Heliocentric model puts the sun at the very center of the universe. Nicolaus visioned a system where distances from the sun, directly influenced size and orbit of the planets. Nicolaus didn’t put his ideas out until after 1500. His first writing on the heliocentric universe was the <em>Commentariolus</em>. It was written to be an intro to his ideas. It gained some notice by local astronomers but was never officially published. “He received discouragement because it disagreed with the bible” (2)

Copernicus took his time in the release of<em> On the Revolutions</em> because many of his theories and mathematical models required observation. The rough draft of this work was completed by 1539. The book is made up of 6 different volumes. He received mixed reviews on his previous writing, Commentariolus, and expected the same which was a contributing factor in his delayment of its release as to avoid charges of heresy.

A protestant minister, Georg Joachim Rheticus was the final piece in the puzzle that would complete <em>On the Revolutions</em>. “A supportive and stimulating colleague in mathematics and astronomy” (1), Rheticus caught wind of the budding astronomer. He brought useful information from fellow colleagues that helped Copernicus tremendously. Rheticus also opened up the possibility of using Johann Petreius as a candidate to publish <em>On the Revolutions</em>. Rheticus greatly encouraged the publication of his new work and wrote the <em>Narratio Prima</em> was written in 1539. <em>The Narratio Prima</em> was a letter written to Johann Shroner outlining Copernicus’ ideas and theories in <em>Revolutions</em>. The printing of <em>Narratio Prima</em> didn’t cause as much controversy as Nicolaus would have liked so he published <em>On The Revolutions</em>. In this, he added a dedication to Pope Paul III for political reasons. He explained his reluctance towards publication and why he finally chose to do so. He didn’t mention Rheticus as he was a protestant minister and the Pope is catholic.

Copernicus received many mixed reviews. Many people had trouble dealing with the Biblical contradictions his writing exposed. Tycho Brahe described Copernicus as a “second Ptolemy”. Pope Clement reacted well towards his theories. Also, since there was no official stand by the Catholic Church, he wasn’t committing heresy.

My initial reaction was positive. I thought it was pretty amazing that he correctly predicted the celestial spheres movement around without high-tech gear. Also, this book deserves to be in the time capsule because this is an early record of how the universe was perceived when knowledge of the era wasn’t enough to prove what he was saying. “On The Revolutions of The Heavenly Spheres stands as one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of all times and profoundly influenced among others, Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton.”(3). 

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

 Works Cited

&nbsp;

1.         "On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres - Free EBooks Download." Free EBooks Download - Ebook3000.com. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. &lt;http://www.ebook3000.com/On-the-Revolutions-of-Heavenly-Spheres_94014.html&gt;.

&nbsp;

2.         "Nicolaus Copernicus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. &lt;http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/copernicus/&gt;.

&nbsp;

3.         "Internet History Sourcebooks." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. &lt;http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1543copernicus2.asp&gt;.