EuropeEvent

Publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium

When: 1543
Where: Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire
Episodes: 1

Nicolaus Copernicus's De revolutionibus orbium coelestium was printed in Nuremberg in 1543, presenting a heliocentric model that challenged the prevailing Ptolemaic geocentric system. The work was published shortly before the author's death, following earlier distribution of his ideas through the Commentariolus and a trigonometry treatise.

Episodes

1543 · Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire1543 Nuremberg Publication
De revolutionibus was printed in Nuremberg in 1543, offering a heliocentric alternative to Ptolemy's geocentric model.

Background and detail

Publication. The book was first printed in 1543 in Nuremberg, within the Holy Roman Empire. It offered a mathematical alternative to the Ptolemaic geocentric system, which had been widely accepted since ancient times. The publication occurred just before Copernicus's death in the same year.

People involved

Nicolaus Copernicus · Author and astronomer

Sources

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-25

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.