Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) changed how educated human beings viewed the world by constructing the heliocentric theory of Earth's relation to our Sun. ... This heliocentric theory replaced the Ptolemaic geocentric theory, which held that that the Sun and other planets revolve around Earth.

How did Copernicus contribute to society?

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer known as the father of modern astronomy. He was the first modern European scientist to propose that Earth and other planets revolve around the sun, or the Heliocentric Theory of the universe.

How did the heliocentric theory impact the world?

How did it change the world? The understanding that the Earth is not the centre of the universe, and that it is not orbited by other planets and stars, changed people's perception of their place in the universe forever.