Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) is a pivotal figure in the birth of modern science. His vision of a sun-centered universe, shocking to many and unbelievable to most, turned out to be the essential blueprint for a physical understanding of celestial motions, triggering what is commonly called the In Copernican revolution. Owen Gingerich sets Copernicus in the context of a rapidly changing world, revealing that the heliocentric revolution was not dictated by observational 'proofs,' but by a new way of looking at the cosmos in an era when both political and religious beliefs were shifting."--Front flap