Monday, May 24, 2010
 
Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was buried for the second time yesterday, in the Catholic church of Frombork, Poland. Copernicus is considered the founder of modern astronomy, and known for declaring that the Earth revolved around the Sun, contrary to popular belief at the time.
His body was discovered and exhumed in 2005 by Polish archaeologists in a nameless tomb in the same church. After the extraction, the body was sent for DNA testing, which confirmed it was Copernicus, who died in 1543.
His funeral was presided over by Archbishop Józef Kowalczyk. In his time, Copernicus was considered a heretic due to his theory, which was published shortly before his death.
He studied in the Kraków University and in the Bologne University.  In his work De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium he demonstrated, through mathematical and astronomical calculations, that the planets –including Earth– rotated around the Sun.


Sources
 Los restos de Copérnico reciben sepultura en Polonia — La Vanguardia (Spain), May 22, 2010 (Spanish)
 Entierran de nuevo a Copérnico — BBC Mundo, May 22, 2010 (Spanish)