Today, we take many scientific theories for granted. In
Copernicus’s time a geocentric cosmic model was still in place, which did not
accurately predict celestial motions. In the sixteenth century many
adventurers were embarking on long sea voyages, without an exact way to navigate
once they lost sight of land. Today we have GPS, which can tell you what
room in your house you’re standing in, and can definitely allow you to calculate
if you have enough water and food to make it the New World. Although
Copernicus did not set out to create an accurate navigation system for sailors
on the high seas, by theorizing a system that corresponded with astronomical
observations he set the game in motion that allowed people to pinpoint their
location on the planet. But perhaps his greatest accomplishment was
changing people’s perception of the Universe; very few individuals in history
have done that.