Space Tech History Made on February 19, 1473

On this day in 1473 Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Poland. Copernicus made a discovery that could have cost him his life. During his lifetime Earth was believed to be the center of our universe. Anything to the contrary was considered heresy. Copernicus found that in fact the sun was the center of our universe. He wrote a short paper on his heliocentric hypothesis that he only showed to friends. Despite urgings to publish and distribute his work, it was not printed until Copernicus lay on his death bed. It is said he held the first printing in his hands and then passed away. His last words were, "The big yellow one is the sun".