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How on earth did people discover the law of celestial bodies?
Copernicus

Polish name: mikolaj kopernik (1473 ~ 1543).

The founder of modern astronomy, the founder of Heliocentrism.

brief introduction

Copernicus1February 473 19 was born in a wealthy family in Torun-sur-Visva, Poland. 18 years old, studying at the University of Klaikau, the old capital of Poland, became interested in astronomy while studying medicine. 1496, 23-year-old Copernicus came to Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, and studied law, medicine and theology at the University of Bologna and the University of Padua. Novara, an astronomer at the University of Bologna (1454- 1540), had a great influence on Copernicus, from whom he learned astronomical observation techniques and. Later, he received a doctorate in religious law in university of ferrara. As a doctor, Copernicus is known as the "imperial doctor" because of his brilliant medical skills. Copernicus spent most of his adult life as a priest in Flawn Translation Cathedral. Copernicus was not a professional astronomer. His famous masterpieces were finished in his spare time.

During his stay in Italy, Copernicus became familiar with the theory of the Greek philosopher Aristakes (the third century before), and he was convinced that the Heliocentrism of the earth and other planets revolving around the sun was correct. When he was about 40 years old, he began to distribute a short manuscript among his friends, initially expounding his views on Heliocentrism. After years of observation and calculation, Copernicus finally completed his masterpiece "The Theory of the Operation of Celestial Bodies". The numerical accuracy of his observation and calculation in De Revolution ibus orbium coelestium is amazing. For example, he got the sidereal year in 365 days, 6 hours, 9 minutes and 40 seconds, which is about 30 seconds more than the exact value now, and the error is only one in a million; The average distance from the moon to the earth he got is 60.30 times that of radius of the earth, and the error is only five ten thousandths compared with the current 60.27 times.

1533, 60-year-old Copernicus made a series of speeches in Rome and put forward the main points of his theory, which was not opposed by the Pope. But he was afraid of church opposition, and even after his book was finished, he still dared not publish it. It was not until he was nearly 70 years old that he finally decided to publish it. 1543 On the day of his death on May 24th, I received a book written by him from the publishing house.

Introduction to English

Mikolaj kopernik (1Feb. 9,1May 24, 473, 1543) was a European astronomer, and he explicitly proposed the Heliocentrism model of the solar system for the first time. His epoch-making work, The Operation of Celestial Bodies, is generally regarded as the starting point of modern astronomy and an important and decisive epiphany in the whole history of science.

Among the great erudites of the scientific revolution, Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer, jurist, doctor, classical scholar, Catholic priest, governor, administrator, military leader, diplomat and economist. Among his extensive duties, astronomy is just a hobby.

Although Heliocentrism was put forward by Greek, Indian and Muslim scholars centuries before Copernicus, he reiterated that the sun-not the earth-is the center of the solar system, which is considered as one of the most important milestones in the history of modern science.

The Development of Heliocentrism and Its Significance

Before Copernicus' Heliocentrism was published, geocentric theory had been dominant in medieval Europe. Since ancient times, human beings have been thinking about the structure of the universe. As early as in ancient Greece, philosophers put forward the idea that the earth was moving, but there was no basis at that time, so it was not recognized by people.

In ancient Europe, Aristotle and Ptolemy advocated "geocentric theory", believing that the earth was stationary and all other stars revolved around the center of the universe. This theory coincides with what the Christian Bible says about heaven, earth and hell, so the dominant Holy See strongly supports geocentric theory, integrating geocentric theory with God's creation of the world, so as to fool people and safeguard their own rule. Therefore, the geocentric theory is regarded as a biblical classic by the church and has been in a dominant position for a long time.

With the continuous development of things, the accuracy of astronomical observation has gradually improved, and people have gradually discovered the flaw of geocentric theory. In the Renaissance, it was found that the number of equal rounds and present rounds proposed by Ptolemy was as high as 80 or so, which was obviously unreasonable and unscientific. People expect a scientific celestial system to replace the geocentric theory. Under this historical background, Copernicus's earthquake theory came into being.

About 15 15 years ago, Copernicus wrote a paper entitled "A Brief Talk", which expounded his basic views on celestial motion. He believes that celestial movement must meet the following seven points:

No center is the same as the orbit of all celestial bodies or celestial bodies; The earth is only the center of gravity and orbit of the moon, not the center of the universe; All celestial bodies revolve around the sun, and the center of the universe is near the sun; The ratio of the distance from the earth to the sun to the height of the sky can be ignored; Any movement seen in the sky is caused by the movement of the earth; All the phenomena of the movement of the sun seen in the air are not caused by its own movement, but by the movement of the earth, which is moving several times at the same time; The back-and-forth motion of the planet that people see is caused by the motion of the earth. The movement of the earth is enough to explain all kinds of phenomena people see in the air.

In addition, Copernicus also described the apparent motion of the sun, the moon, three outer planets (Saturn, Jupiter and Mars) and two inner planets (Venus and Mercury). In the book, Copernicus criticized Ptolemy's theory. Scientifically expounded the movement of celestial bodies, overthrew the long-standing dominant geocentric theory, fundamentally denied the Christian fallacy that God created everything, and realized the fundamental change in astronomy.

He correctly expounded the fact that the earth revolves around its axis, the moon revolves around the earth, and the earth and all other planets revolve around the sun. But he also seriously underestimated the size of the solar system like his predecessors. He thinks that the orbit of a star is a series of concentric circles, which is of course wrong. The mathematical operations in his theory are both complicated and inaccurate. However, his book immediately attracted great attention and prompted other astronomers to observe the motion of planets more accurately, the most famous of which was the great Danish astronomer Taishou Brejo. Kepler finally deduced the correct law of star motion according to the observation data accumulated by the satrap.

This is an unheard-of theory that opens a new era, which is undoubtedly a blow to Ptolemy's geocentric theory, which has been regarded as a thousand-year conclusion by academic circles.

Although Aristakes suggested that Heliocentrism was earlier than Copernicus 1700 years ago, actually Copernicus got this reputation. Aristakes just made a guess by inspiration, without discussing it in detail, so his theory is useless in science. After Copernicus solved the mathematical problems in the conjecture one by one, he turned it into a useful scientific theory-a theory that can be used to make predictions. By examining the observation results of celestial bodies and comparing them with the old theory that the earth is the center of the universe, you will find its great significance.

Obviously, Copernicus' theory is a revolution in human understanding of the universe, which has greatly changed people's whole world outlook. But when evaluating Copernicus' influence, we should also note that astronomy is not widely used like physics, chemistry and biology. Theoretically, even if people don't know anything about the knowledge and application of Copernicus, they will make TV sets, cars, modern factories and the like. But it is inconceivable not to apply the theories of Faraday, Maxwell, lavoisier and Newton.

Only considering the influence of Copernicus theory on technology will completely ignore its real significance. Copernicus's book is an indispensable prelude to the work of Galileo and Kepler. They became Newton's main predecessors again. It was the discovery of these two things that enabled Newton to determine the laws of motion and gravity.

Since Copernicus' Heliocentrism cosmos system is the product of the times, it cannot but be limited by the times. Oppose the incompleteness of theology, and at the same time, Copernicus' system is flawed in some viewpoints. The universe referred to by Copernicus was confined to a very small scope. Specifically, his cosmic structure is the solar system we are familiar with today, that is, the celestial system centered on the sun. Since the universe has a center, it must have boundaries. Although Copernicus denied Ptolemy's "cloud nine", he kept a layer of star sky. Although he avoided the question of whether the universe was finite, he actually thought that the celestial sphere was the "shell" of the universe, and he still thought that celestial bodies could only move in the so-called perfect circular orbit, so Copernicus's universe system still contained the motionless central celestial body. But as the founder of modern natural science, Copernicus's historical contribution is enormous. Recognizing that the earth is not the center of the universe, but one of the planets has set off a fundamental revolution in astronomy and is a milestone on the road of human exploration of objective truth.

Copernicus' great achievements not only paved the way for modern astronomy, but also initiated a new era for the development of the whole natural science. Since the Copernican era, natural science and philosophy that got rid of the shackles of the church began to develop by leaps and bounds.

On the operation of celestial bodies

The first volume of "On the Operation of Celestial Bodies" is the essence of the book, which successively discusses that "the universe is spherical", "the earth is spherical" and "the motion of celestial bodies is uniform and eternal circular motion or compound motion". Copernicus said, "This rotation of celestial bodies is an inherent property of the ball and reflects its characteristics. The shape of the ball is characterized by simplicity, no starting point and no ending point, and it is impossible to distinguish parts when rotating. The shape of the sphere is also caused by the rotation itself. "

Copernicus agreed with the Pythagorean school that concise geometric images should be used to represent the structure of the universe and the operation law of celestial bodies. Copernicus correctly arranged the orbits of the planets and the earth around the sun in Chapter 10 of Volume I, and published his model diagram of the universe. At that time, this seemingly ordinary celestial sphere sequence diagram was a great leap for human beings to understand the universe.

Copernicus also explained in detail a series of phenomena caused by the three major movements of the earth (rotation, revolution and declination), such as precession, moon movement, planetary movement, latitude deviation between Venus and Mercury, and inclination of orbital plane. The birth of celestial theory made the position and motion of celestial bodies in the solar system known at that time more complete.

Copernicus' theory was opposed by the church because it violated Christian teachings. His works were even banned. But the truth is unstoppable, and Copernicus's theory has been inherited and developed by many scientists. 1882, the Pope had to admit that Copernicus' theory was correct. After three centuries of hard struggle, this brilliant theory has finally won a complete victory and been recognized by the society.

Historical background

Copernicus' scientific achievements are the product of his time, which in turn promoted the development of the times.

15 to the 6th century, Europe was in a critical period of transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society. During these two hundred years, great changes have taken place in society. /kloc-Before 0/4th century, Europe was full of small divided city-states. Later, with the rise of urban industry and commerce, especially the development of mining and metallurgy, many emerging big cities appeared, and small city-states tended to unite to form a country. By the end of 15, many countries are basically centralized monarchies. At that time, there were not only big cities like Krakow and Poznan in Poland, but also many cities with prosperous handicrafts. Warsaw, 1526 merged into Poland and became an important commercial, political, cultural and geographical center. 16 became the capital of Poland.

Consistent with this political and economic change, it has also begun to be reflected in culture and science. At that time, Europe was "the unity of politics and religion", the Vatican controlled many countries, the Bible was declared as the supreme truth, all doctrines that violated the Bible were denounced as "heresies", and all those who opposed theocracy were burned at the stake. For their own survival and development, the emerging bourgeoisie set off a struggle against feudalism and church superstition, and humanism came into being. The fighting weapons they used were ancient Greek philosophy, science, literature and art that were not polluted by theology. This is the Renaissance that shocked Europe. The Renaissance first took place in Italy and soon spread to Poland and other European countries.

At the same time, commercial activities also promote the development of foreign trade. Driven by the "golden" spell, many European adventurers sailed to Africa, India and the whole Far East. Ocean voyage needs rich knowledge of astronomy and geography, and the observation data accumulated in practice makes people think that the popular "static and dynamic" cosmology at that time is doubtful, which requires people to further explore the mysteries of the universe, thus promoting the development of astronomy and geography. 1492, the famous Italian navigator Columbus discovered the new continent, and Magellan and his companions circled the earth once, which proved that the earth was round and made people really understand it.

Under the strict control of the church, a vigorous religious revolution also took place in the Middle Ages. Because many Catholic doctrines do not conform to the teaching of the Bible, plus too many popes' personal wishes and the achievements of various theologians, many believers began to question the Catholic doctrines and organizations and launched the action of returning to the Bible.

Jan Huss (1369 ~ 14 15), a Czech patriot and president of Prague University, publicly condemned the oppression and exploitation of the Czech Republic by German feudal lords and the Catholic Church at the religious conference in Constantinople. Although he was burned at the stake by the reactionary church, his revolutionary activities aroused strong repercussions in society. Czech farmers held an uprising under the banner of Hus, and this movement also spread to Poland. 15 17. In Germany, Martin Luther (1483 ~ 1546) opposed the sale of atonement symbols by the church and publicly broke with the Pope. 152 1 year, Luther exposed the sins of the holy see in Vorm's parliament and put forward the idea of establishing Protestantism. Protestantism is supported by many countries, and Poland is also deeply influenced.

In such an era of great change and turmoil, Copernicus was born in Torun City on the Vistula River on February 9, 473. His father is a wealthy businessman and a member of parliament. He has a brother and two sisters. When Copernicus/Kloc-0 was 0/0 years old, his father died, and he was sent to the home of his uncle and archbishop Kasch to raise him. Wukash is a humanitarian. He was closely related to the progressive Polish intelligentsia at that time, and was close friends with the outstanding Italian revolutionary and humanist Filippo BuOnac. When Copernicus was in middle school, Vukash took him to a humanist party. 149 1 year, Copernicus went to Cracow University to study astronomy and mathematics according to his uncle's arrangement.

At that time, Poland had produced some famous astronomers, such as Ma Qing Klohr, who wrote the book 1450 Revised Catalogue of alfons and gave speeches in many countries. Another example is the famous astronomer Wojciech, who compiled an astronomical calendar. He lectured at Krakow University and was a professor of mathematics and astronomy while studying in Copernicus. Copernicus's "Heliocentrism" was conceived when he was studying in Krakow University.

Although the Bible does not cover all kinds of astronomical knowledge such as "the earth is the center of the universe" and "the sky is round and the earth is round". But in the Middle Ages, astronomy also had an official argument, which extended to ancient Greece and was framed by scholastic theologians. In order to consolidate feudal rule, the inquisition of the Catholic Church burned many precious scientific works, sometimes burning 20 cars a day. 1327, Italian astronomer Tseko Dascori was burned alive. His "crime" is against the teaching of the Bible, proving that the earth is spherical and there are people in the other hemisphere.

Great theory

In that era when science became the handmaid of theology, many theories were distorted and castrated to serve feudal rule. In medieval Europe, few people knew the true content of ancient scientific classics. At this time, an important task for scientists is to explore the ancient cultural heritage.

Ptolemy, a great astronomer in ancient Greece, summed up the observation results of predecessors for 400 years in the second century A.D., wrote a book "Selected Astronomies" (that is, "Great Theory") and put forward the theory that "the earth is the center of the universe". This theory has been accepted by people and circulated for 1400 years.

Ptolemy believed that the earth was motionless at the center of the universe, and all celestial bodies, including the sun, revolved around the earth. However, in the observation, people found that the operation of celestial bodies has a phenomenon of good and bad, fast and slow. In order to explain the round-trip phenomenon, Ptolemy said that it is not the celestial body itself that makes a balanced motion around the earth, but the center of the round wheel where the celestial body runs. He called the round wheel around the earth "even wheel" and the smaller round wheel "present wheel". In order to explain the phenomenon of fast and slow, he added some auxiliary "current wheel" besides the main "current wheel" and adopted the word "virtual wheel" to make the unbalanced movement of the center of "current wheel" seem to be "balanced" from the center of "virtual wheel". Ptolemy thus gave a far-fetched explanation to the ancient observation data.

However, in the following centuries, a large number of observation data accumulated, Ptolemy's "current round" was not enough to explain the operation of celestial bodies, and more and more "current rounds" were needed. Later scholars devoted themselves to this "mending" work, which made Ptolemy's system more and more complicated, and the research on astronomy also stayed at this level.

The statement that "the earth is the center of the universe" is the basis of "the sky of theologians". Medieval theologians praised Ptolemy's conclusion, but concealed Ptolemy's methodology: Ptolemy established a set of gifted mathematical theories, trying to discover the causes and laws of celestial bodies by means of observation, calculus and reasoning with human wisdom, which is a crucial part of Ptolemy's theory. Therefore, Ptolemy's geocentric theory coincides with theologians' view of the universe, but they are essentially different. One is a wrong conclusion in science, and the other is a big lie that fools human beings and tries to make feudal rule eternal. Copernicus made a correct evaluation of this. He said, "You should shoot your arrow in the same direction as Ptolemy, but the material of the bow and arrow should be completely different from his."

Copernicus studied Ptolemy's works very diligently. He saw the contradiction between Ptolemy's wrong conclusion and scientific method. It was Copernicus who discovered the root of Ptolemy's mistake and the truth.

Copernicus realized that the development of astronomy should not continue to "repair" Ptolemy's old theory, but should discover a new theory of the structure of the universe. He made an analogy: those scholars who stood in Ptolemy's position made individual and isolated observations and pieced together some overlapping "wheels" to explain the phenomenon of the universe, just like someone looking around for limbs and heads and describing them, and the result was not like a person, but like a monster.

Copernicus began to think about the operation of the earth when he was studying at Krakow University. In the preface of "Celestial Movement", he said that predecessors had the right to fabricate round wheels to explain the starry sky phenomenon, and he also had the right to try to find a more appropriate way to explain celestial movement than round wheels.

The purpose of Copernicus's observation of celestial bodies is contrary to that of scholars in the past. He didn't force the phenomena of the universe to obey Copernicus's famous saying, "Phenomena guide astronomers." The question he wants to answer is precisely the phenomenon of the universe, and the observed phenomenon confirms a newly founded theory-"the sun center" theory. His targeted observation eventually led to a radical change in astronomy.

Copernicus' observation made a good start at Krakow University. He used the famous astrologer Ma Qing Blitcha (about 1433 ~ 1493) to observe the eclipse and study the boundless starry sky.

Copernicus stopped studying in Cracow University for three years and went to Italy to study "Church Law". It was his uncle Wukash's idea. Because at that time, the Cross Knights based in northern Poland often violated the border and did bad things. To fight against them, someone must be proficient in the "church law." Copernicus believed that it was an unshirkable responsibility to fight against the Knights Cross. He said: "There is no more solemn obligation than the obligation of the motherland. It is not hesitant to give one's life for the motherland." So he agreed to Wukash's suggestion. In order to get the travelling expenses abroad and the living expenses for studying abroad for a long time, he once again accepted the arrangement of his uncle and decided to hold the post of the church for life. /kloc-in the autumn of 0/496, Copernicus put on his robe and set off for Italy.

He studied "canon law" at the University of Bologna in northern Italy, and studied astronomy hard at the same time. Here, he met Dominique Maria, a famous astronomer at that time, and studied the theory of the moon with him. He began to expose the contradiction between Ptolemy's theory and objective phenomena with practical observation. He found that Ptolemy's explanation of the moon's motion, as Reggie Monte pointed out, would surely lead to an absurd conclusion: the volume of the moon sometimes expands and sometimes contracts, the full moon is the result of expansion, and the new moon is the result of contraction. 1497 On March 9th, Copernicus and Maria made a famous observation together. That night, the night was clear, the stars were shining and a crescent moon was floating in space. Standing on the tower of St Joseph's Church, they observed the bright star "Bi Su Wu" of Taurus to understand how it was covered by the waning moon approaching. When "Su Biwu" met the moon, there was still some gap, and "Su Biwu" soon disappeared. They accurately measured the time when Bi Su Wu disappeared, and calculated irrefutable data, which proved that those gaps were all part of the moon's lack of food. "Bi Su Wu" was covered by the shadow of the moon itself, and the volume of the moon did not shrink. Thus Copernicus opened a gap in Ptolemy's geocentric theory.

/kloc-in 0/500, Copernicus went to Rome as a math teacher due to financial difficulties. The following summer, Copernicus returned to China, and later went to Padua to study medicine because of the funding of the church. 1503, Copernicus received a doctorate in church law from Farallo University.

At this time, Copernicus also made great efforts to study ancient books, with the aim of seeking reference materials for Heliocentrism. He read almost all the literature he could find. Later, he wrote: "The more I seek help in my own work, the more I am with the people who founded this subject. I am willing to combine my findings with their findings. " When he was studying ancient books, he wrote some bold ideas like this:

"The sky, the sun, the moon, the stars and everything in the sky are still. There is nothing moving in the universe except the earth. The earth rotates around its axis at a great speed, creating a feeling that the earth is still and the sky is turning. "

"Most scholars think that the earth is stationary, but Philovos and Pythagoras told it to revolve around the fire."

"In the center of the planet stands a huge and majestic sun, which is not only the master of time, but also the master of the earth, and the master of the stars and the sky."

The outstanding opinions of these ancient scholars were considered to be "deviant" at that time, but for Copernicus, they were like lighthouses flying in the night, illuminating his direction.

1506, Copernicus ended his ten-year study abroad career in Italy and left for home.

The birth of "surgery"

Copernicus left Italy on a rainy day. At that time, there was a scene of a comet breaking the sky, and the plague was widespread. Just then, Pope Alexander accidentally drank the poisoned wine of murder and died. The Italian church took the opportunity to put forward various "warnings", swindling and fooling people. When Copernicus returned to Poland, there was another rare astrology in the sky, and the church was in full swing, making the capital Krakow smoky.

It turned out that the church announced that there would be four consecutive visions of Saturn and Jupiter "meeting" in the sky, saying that this was a serious warning from heaven to the world. There will be false prophets in the world, and floods and plagues will follow, causing social unrest and national collapse. These rumors are disturbing, and rich people are desperately looking for fun, hoping to get rid of their fear of the future; In order to buy the "atonement symbol" from the church, the poor have nothing and it is difficult to survive. The sky has always been a cash cow for the church to extort money. They put "the place in heaven" in their wallets and sell a lot of "atonement symbols" to collect people's wealth. At that time, Tiezheer, a well-known religious magistrate in Poland, said that those who honor his money can eliminate disasters and even the dead can atone. His mantra is: "Money goes to the holy cabinet, and the soul goes to heaven!" "

At this time, Copernicus and his friends were still studying the "rendezvous" of two stars in Krakow. Copernicus found that there were data errors in the church's statement, which was obviously a myth that confused people. Therefore, he and his friends decided to observe in different areas in order to expose the evil tricks of the church together.

When the fourth "rendezvous" happened, Copernicus was in the bishop's residence of his uncle Vukash in Fort hoels, presiding over the struggle with the Knights Cross. Despite his busy government affairs, Copernicus insisted on observing the stars.

The observation results confirmed Copernicus' foresight. The date of the "rendezvous" is inconsistent with what the church said, but it is consistent with Copernicus' calculation-it is more than a month ahead of schedule. Copernicus's friends also observed the same astrology.

In Holsburg, due to the constant urging of friends, Copernicus wrote down the outline of his "Heliocentrism", took a simple name, called "Hypothesis on the Operation of Celestial Bodies", and copied it to several of his confidants. It announced: "All celestial bodies revolve around the sun, and near the sun is the center of the universe. The earth moves in a circle like other planets. It rotates around the earth's axis day and night and once a year around the sun ... "

What Copernicus announced was the outline of a huge theoretical system, which caused many controversies among friends attending the party. Copernicus answered many questions. At the end of the debate, he quoted Cicero, a great Roman poet: "Nothing can compare with the integrity of the universe and the purity of virtue." He used this sentence to express a belief that the universe is complete, symmetrical and harmonious, with understandable laws and order.

On the Hypothesis of the Movement of Celestial Bodies is the first cornerstone of Copernicus's theory, but a great deal of preparatory work is needed to build a magnificent theoretical building on this cornerstone.

15 12 years, Ukash died of illness, and Copernicus left Fort hoels and moved to Furong Fort, the temple where the parish cathedral is located. Furong Fort is a small fishing port near the Baltic Sea. After Copernicus settled in Fort Furong, he bought a watchtower in the castle. The watchtower was originally used for fighting, and the triangular roof tilted forward, almost sticking out of the fence. There are three windows on the top floor of the building, which is Copernicus' studio. The two floors below are bedrooms, each with a gun hole for shooting. From the window on the top floor, you can observe the sky in all directions. When the roof interferes with observation, the terrace outside becomes his observation platform. He lived here until his death.

At this time, Copernicus has named his future work "Operation". In his view, sports is the true meaning of life-sports exist in everything, from the sky to the deep sea. Nothing is static, everything is growing, changing and disappearing, and it will continue from generation to generation. The book Operation is to reveal the most essential secrets of nature. This view of Copernicus affirms the existence and regularity of the objective world and shines with the brilliance of simple materialist philosophy.

Copernicus made many indirect observations on the shape of the earth. As early as 1500,165438+10.6, he observed the eclipse on a high mountain in the suburb of Rome and studied the arc shadow cast by the earth on the surface of the moon, thus confirming Aristotle's assertion that the earth is spherical. When he settled in Fort Furong, he stood on the shore of the Baltic Sea many times to observe sailboats. On one occasion, Copernicus let a sailboat tie a luminous object to the masthead. He stood on the shore and watched the sailboat sail slowly. Describing this observation, he said, "As the sailboat goes away, the glowing objects gradually land and finally disappear completely, just like the sun is setting." This observation led him to a conclusion: "Even the sea surface is round."

On the wet and foggy shores of the Baltic Sea, there is not a cloud in the sky on a cold winter night, and the stars are shining with dazzling cold light in the blue sky. Copernicus always took advantage of this rare opportunity to put on a fur coat, tighten the hood, and move the instrument to the terrace of the arrow tower for overnight observation. All the instruments he uses are made by himself, and there are three kinds. The "three-arc instrument" for measuring the distance between planets is made of Chinese fir poles, marked with ink and engraved with collimators. The "star catcher" for measuring the position of the moon and planets is a circle formed by six tree strips. The quadrant for measuring the height of transit is a large square plate with a graduated wooden ring in the upper right corner. There is a "level" on the shelf, which is actually just a glass tube filled with water. Observing the solar eclipse was originally to observe the reflection in the water. In order to reduce the trouble of carrying water to the arch tower, he broke the routine and reflected the shadow to the wall with a perforated window guard. Copernicus made more than 50 recorded observations before and after Furong Bao, including solar eclipse, lunar eclipse, Mars and solar eclipse. /ca & gt;