The burial place of Nicholas Copernicus, whose heliocentric theory for
the solar system inspired Galileo among others. Interestingly he was a
Catholic priest as well as an astronomer, but did not let his religion
blind him to the facts.
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Copernicus remains believed found in Poland
Sat Nov 5, 9:13 AM ET
Polish archaeologists are all but certain they have located the skeletal
remains of Nicholas Copernicus, the 16th-century cleric whose
heliocentric theory was to revolutionize astronomy.
Professor Jerzy Gassowski, whose team of archaeologists had been
searching for the astronomer's final resting place for over a year, told
a symposium on Thursday he believed the remains found beneath an altar
of medieval Frombork Cathedral on Poland's Baltic coast were those of
Copernicus.
The age of the skull and bones, the place of burial reserved for canons
like Copernicus, as well as certain facial features prompted Gassowski
to declare he was "97 percent certain these are Copernicus' remains, but
only DNA testing could fully authenticate the find."
A computer reconstruction of the skull carried out in cooperation with
police forensic experts showed the head of a grey-haired man of 70, the
age Copernicus died. It matched the scar above the left eye and broken
nose seen in the astronomer's contemporary portraits.
A Catholic priest, he left no known descendants, but a search for the
burial sites of his relatives, including his uncle Lukasz Watzenrode,
may provide the necessary DNA samples.
In his treatise "On the Revolution of Celestial Bodies," Copernicus
asserted that the earth and the other planets revolved around the sun,
toppling the then widespread belief that the world was the center of the
universe.
The astronomer did not announce his heliocentric theory during his
lifetime for fear of antagonizing his Church.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051105/sc_nm/poland_copernicus_dc
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John Hachmann aa #1782
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities"
-Voltaire
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