Nicolaus Copernicus was a 15th century astronomer, mathematician, translator, artist, and physicist, among other things.
He is best known as the first astronomer to put forward the idea of a system in which the planets and planetary objects orbit the sun.
By 1508, Copernicus had begun to create his model of the planetary system, suggesting that the sun, and not our Earth, was the centre of the universe. His model of the universe was accepted, whereas earlier models had not been, because his was more detailed and accurate. He also had a better formula for the calculation of the positions of the planets at different times of the year.
The Roman Catholic Church criticized Copernicus’ theories. It went so far as to ban his book ‘De Revolution bus Erbium Coelestium,’ after he died, and it remained a forbidden book for almost three hundred years.
The ideas of Copernicus were instrumental in the evolution of the field of astronomy. In fact, almost every notable astronomer who came after him was influenced by his theories.