The Copernican Revolution and the dawn of modern science

by Leszek Roszkowski (Astrocent at the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences)

Tuesday 14 Oct 2025, 15:00 → 16:00 Portugal

Sala de Conferências (Departamento de Física FCTUC)

The Copernican Revolution — the heliocentric model of the Universe introduced by Nicolaus Copernicus — is considered as one of the most significant achievements in the history of science. And yet, it is the works of Galileo Galilei nearly hundred years later that are often believed to mark the beginning of modern science. In this talk I will argue that, the importance of great contributions of Galileo and others notwithstanding, it was actually the monumental work of Nicolaus Copernicus that provided the basis for subsequent developments that led to what we now call modern science. The year 2023 marked the 550th anniversary of the birth of Copernicus which gave us additional motivation to have a closer look at his highly extraordinary life and achievements.