Nicolaus Copernicus, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (Basel, 1566), 2d ed.
Copernicus argued that the Sun rather than the Earth lies in the center of the universe. The Earth moves as a planet around the Sun, carrying its Moon along as a satellite. In 1543 little proof was available that the Earth moves; there were many reasons not to accept it. Ptolemaic astronomy was neither overly complex nor inaccurate. The most important advantage offered by Copernicus was a vision of the universe as a coherent and integrated system, where all the planets move together in elegant harmony.
This copy is the 2d ed.; the 1st ed., published in 1543, was on display in Bizzell Memorial Library, and the 3d edition at the National Weather Center. The 2d ed. also includes the First Report (Narratio prima) of Rheticus, who was one of the astronomers who helped Copernicus complete the 1st ed. in 1543.
