Google celebrates Nicolaus Copernicus' 540th birthday

The latest Google doodle animation celebrates the birthday of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus

15:41 19 February 2013

Google’s latest doodle celebrates the 540th birthday of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. People who want to surf the internet using the giant search-engine’s homepage on February 19th, 2013, will be greeted by an animated image of our solar system.

Nicolaus, who died in 1543, was well-known for his theory on the universe as he stated that the sun was at the centre of the universe and that other planets and moons rotated around it. This was contrary to what was previously believed, as it was thought that planet Earth was at the centre of the universe.

The Renaissance man’s thesis therefore challenged beliefs which had been held for a long time, and thus shaped our understanding of the universe today.

Nicolaus, who was born in Poland in 1473, published a book called On The Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, but died soon after it was released.

Other Renaissance figures include; Italian Galileo Galilei, who was born in 1564, Isaac Newton, who was born in England in 1642, and Luca Pacioli (or Luca di Borgo which he was also called), who is believed to have worked with Leonardo da Vinci.

This comes as the latest Google doodle, following last week’s image that celebrated the creator of the Ferris wheel, George Ferris, on Valentine's Day.

 

Other animated doodles to have been displayed on Google’s homepage this year include the 150th anniversary of the London Underground.