Copernicus shown at work in a 20th-century painting by Jean-Léon Huens

Copernicus's revolutionary ideas reorganized the heavens

This secretive astronomer devoted his entire life to sun-centered cosmic theories as larger questions of faith were dividing Europe nearly 500 years ago.

His Life's Work

Copernicus is shown at work in a 20th-century painting by Jean-Léon Huens, commissioned by the National Geographic Society.
Photograph by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE/ALAMY/ACI
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