nicolaus copernicus, a renowned polish astronomer and mathematician, is best known for his heliocentric model of the universe. born in 1473 in toruń, poland, copernicus was the first european scientist to propose that the earth and other planets revolved around the sun in a heliocentric system. early life and education copernicus was born into a family of merchants and was educated at the university of krakow. he studied mathematics, a…