|
|
Post by Jaga on Feb 18, 2013 22:56:36 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Feb 18, 2013 22:57:27 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by kaima on Feb 18, 2013 23:59:11 GMT -7
That is really neat, and worth repeating! |
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Feb 19, 2013 10:49:56 GMT -7
yes, this is really a nice sign, very clear and worth repeating by you, Nictoe and me....
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Feb 19, 2013 10:54:34 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Feb 19, 2013 15:48:01 GMT -7
There is a story about Copernicus/google in today Washington Post but it suggests that Copernicus was more German than Polish. I think that Copernicus by blood was rather German but by heart, probably more Polish: NICOLAUS COPERNICUS: With Google’s head-turning Doodle animation, the sun also rises www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/nicolaus-copernicus-with-googles-head-turning-doodle-animation-the-sun-also-rises/2013/02/19/9c4c9992-7aaf-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_blog.html?tid=pm_pop“At rest, however, in the middle of everything is the sun.” -- Copernicus TODAY, IF ONLY for a single revolution, Google’s world revolves around Nicolaus Copernicus. Fittingly, though, the famed scientist was all about astronomical revolution. How often does one person rock our world by reconfiguring our entire sense of it? 2013 is the Earth’s 540th spin ‘round the sun since the birth of Copernicus on Feb. 19. So the home page of Google — if not indirectly, Google Earth, as well — celebrates his birthday by featuring an early heliocentric model of our solar system, as six planets “heretically” orbit the sun (and our moon orbits the Earth). “Heretical,” of course, because the Poland-born astronomer and mathematician delivered a swift kick in the axis to the belief of his time: that the rest of the planetary system, if not the universe, orbited the Earth. (Yes, scientifically, the 16th century was not so different in worldview from a typical toddler.) Copernicus (in German, says Biography.com, it’s “Kopernik” — which has a certain Super ring of a young upstart) grew up toddling in a well-to-do family of copper merchants. He was German by birth, and that was his first language, but was raised in the ceded land of Torun. His father died when he was 10, but a good education continued to revolve around the son. An uncle, the bishop of Varmia Lucas Watzenrode, made sure of that, and Copernicus would go on to attend the University of Cracow/Krakow Academy, the University of Bologna (religious law), the University of Padua (practical medicine) and the University of Ferrara (canon law) — eventually securing a lifelong post as a canon at Frombork’s cathedral, thanks to that same good-nay-great uncle. ... |
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Feb 19, 2013 23:52:13 GMT -7
The google icon prompted lots of info about Copernicus today! Here is one, quite interesting - explaining that Copernican theory was first condemned by Protestants, only later Catholic Church started opposing it: Copernicus and the Church: What the history books don’t say www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/19/copernicus-and-the-church-what-the-history-books-dont-say/Legend has it that Nicolaus Copernicus and the church were at odds over his development of the heliocentric theory, a principle that disputed the widely held belief that Earth was the center of the universe. Unlike Galileo and other controversial astronomers, however, Copernicus had a good relationship with the Catholic Church. It may come as a surprise, considering the Church banned Copernicus' "Des revolutionibus" for more than 200 years. Copernicus was actually respected as a canon and regarded as a renowned astronomer. Contrary to popular belief, the Church accepted Copernicus' heliocentric theory before a wave of Protestant opposition led the Church to ban Copernican views in the 17th century. Throughout his lifetime, Copernicus was active in the religious community. Copernicus was born in 1473 in Torun, Poland, the youngest of four children. At age 10, his father died and he were sent to live with his uncle Lucas Watzenrode, who would later become the bishop of Warmia (Ermland). Copernicus studied at St. John’s Church in Torun's parochial school before going to Krakow Academy in 1491 to pursue astronomy and astrology. He became known as a skilled mathematical and astronomer, but he also maintained his ties to the church. He became a canon of the cathedral chapter of Frombork through his uncle, and he served the church of Warmia as a medical advisor. .... Copernicus gained ridicule from poets and Protestants, who condemned it as heresy. While the Catholic Church initially accepted heliocentricity, Catholics eventually joined the wave of Protestant opposition and banned the book in 1616. The Protestant churches accepted Copernicus’ findings after more evidence emerged to support it. The Catholic Church, however, remained ground in its anti-Copernican beliefs until the 19th century. The ban on Copernicus's views was lifted in 1822, and the ban on his book until 1835. It is worth noting, as Stanford University does, that the Catholic Church had no official stance on Copernican teachings. Pope Clement VII, who died about a decade before Copernicus, was said to have been receptive about the astronomer’s theories. While there was no recorded response from Pope Paul III, one of his advisors intended to condemn the book before dying. Phil Lawler, editor of Catholic World News, also says Copernicus was in good standing with the Church when he died. He notes that while heliocentric theory was controversial during Copernicus’ lifetime his work did not cause him any conflict with the Catholic Church. "Yes, he delayed because he feared an adverse reaction — not from Church leaders, but from his fellow scholars. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Copernicus was worried about a hostile reaction from the Church.” Despite the resistance to Copernican views in the future, the astronomer’s life was one immersed in religion. And while it may be forgotten, it is under the auspices of the Catholic Church that Copernicus made his theories known. |
|
|
|
Post by pieter on Feb 20, 2013 8:44:47 GMT -7
|
|
|
|
Post by kaima on Aug 15, 2014 15:43:58 GMT -7
There is a story about Copernicus/google in today Washington Post but it suggests that Copernicus was more German than Polish. I think that Copernicus by blood was rather German but by heart, probably more Polish: NICOLAUS COPERNICUS: With Google’s head-turning Doodle animation, the sun also rises www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/nicolaus-copernicus-with-googles-head-turning-doodle-animation-the-sun-also-rises/2013/02/19/9c4c9992-7aaf-11e2-9a75-dab0201670da_blog.html?tid=pm_pop“At rest, however, in the middle of everything is the sun.” -- Copernicus TODAY, IF ONLY for a single revolution, Google’s world revolves around Nicolaus Copernicus. Fittingly, though, the famed scientist was all about astronomical revolution. How often does one person rock our world by reconfiguring our entire sense of it? 2013 is the Earth’s 540th spin ‘round the sun since the birth of Copernicus on Feb. 19. So the home page of Google — if not indirectly, Google Earth, as well — celebrates his birthday by featuring an early heliocentric model of our solar system, as six planets “heretically” orbit the sun (and our moon orbits the Earth). “Heretical,” of course, because the Poland-born astronomer and mathematician delivered a swift kick in the axis to the belief of his time: that the rest of the planetary system, if not the universe, orbited the Earth. (Yes, scientifically, the 16th century was not so different in worldview from a typical toddler.) Copernicus (in German, says Biography.com, it’s “Kopernik” — which has a certain Super ring of a young upstart) grew up toddling in a well-to-do family of copper merchants. He was German by birth, and that was his first language, but was raised in the ceded land of Torun. His father died when he was 10, but a good education continued to revolve around the son. An uncle, the bishop of Varmia Lucas Watzenrode, made sure of that, and Copernicus would go on to attend the University of Cracow/Krakow Academy, the University of Bologna (religious law), the University of Padua (practical medicine) and the University of Ferrara (canon law) — eventually securing a lifelong post as a canon at Frombork’s cathedral, thanks to that same good-nay-great uncle. ... |
|
|
|
Post by kaima on Aug 15, 2014 15:48:11 GMT -7
Copernicus book believed to have been destroyed in a library fire is found after 10 years
Weston WilliamsThe Christian Science Monitor
August 15, 2014
In 2004, the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar, Germany housed one of the most important collections of books and manuscripts in the country, including "De Revolutionibus Orbium coelestium, Libri VI" (1543), a work by famed Renaissance astronomer and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus.
In that same year, the oldest part of the library went up in flames, destroying thousands of books. Copernicus' book was one of many believed lost.
Now, 10 years later, Copernicus' book has been found again among the many damaged works still waiting to be restored.
The historic library building had been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, according to the library's official site. On September 2, 2004, however, the building caught fire, destroying the top two floors completely. The bottom floors managed to largely escape damage from the fire.
Thousands of books weren't so lucky.
According to the Help for Anna Amalia website, the conflagration was the worst Germany library fire had seen since World War II, when a number of libraries were destroyed by fires sparked by Allied bombing runs. In all, 50,000 books at the Duchess Anna Amalia Library were lost, a quarter of which are considered irreplaceable. In addition, 37 historic oil paintings went up in flames.
The damage wasn't as bad as it could have been, however. On the night of the fire, 6,000 historic books and manuscripts were saved by passing them hand-over-hand outside the burning building. However, many of the books left inside were heavily damaged by water being pumped in to put out the fire and had to be immediately taken away and freeze-dried to prevent rotting. 62,000 books were damaged by fire, water, or both.
According to German news outlet Deutsche Welle, the books were put into groups based on damage rather than content. The Copernicus volume, which contains mathematical proofs that the Earth rotates around the sun and spins on its own axis, was in the fourth group of the most heavily damaged books. Groups one through three were restored first, which is why it took so long to be rediscovered by library officials.
Nicolaus Copernicus lived from 1473 to 1543. His "De Revolutionibus Orbium coelestium" ("On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres"), completed just before his death, is considered to be one of the most important works in the history of science. While he was not the first to theorize that the Earth travels around the sun, he was the first to provide solid mathematical proof for the phenomenon and his theories would become an important model on which later astronomers like Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler would build.
A printing of the sixth part of this monumental work was the volume thought to have been lost in 2004.
According to DW, restoring the books and manuscripts that were damaged in the fire has been a long and expensive process. 38.8 million euros ($51.9 million) have been collected for the restoration of the books and the library so far and 20 million euros ($26.7 million) have already been spent. The library was able to re-open in 2007, but restoration of the books is expected to continue for the next 15 years.
Thirty-six thousand of the 62,000 books that need restoration have been repaired. The process is complex, expensive, and time-consuming; each page of a damaged book has to be individually washed, meshed with a new paper substance so it can be handled, and then dried. Often, this is only the beginning of an even longer process to restore the most damaged books.
Restoring such an important and prestigious collection should be worth the cost and effort, however. According to DW, one of the first overseers of the library was none other than Wolfgang von Goethe himself, the great German poet. Since the days of Goethe's leadership, the library has amassed an incredible collection that includes a Bible connected to Martin Luther, original musical manuscripts from the likes of Johann Sebastian Bach, ancient ancestral records, unique medieval manuscripts, and, of course, the newly rediscovered Copernicus masterpiece.
According to DW, the estimated worth of the "De Revolutionibus Orbium coelestium, Libri VI," even in its damaged state, is about 1.4 million euros ($1.8 million). The feeling of finding such an important piece of history that was thought to be destroyed, of course, is priceless.
|
|
|
|
Post by Jaga on Aug 15, 2014 19:40:11 GMT -7
Kai, great news, really and thanks for restoring the old thread
|
|
