revolutionibus

De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, commonly abbreviated as De revolutionibus, is a 1543 astronomical treatise by Nicolaus Copernicus. Published in Nuremberg and dedicated to Pope Paul III, the work presents a heliocentric model of the cosmos in which the Sun sits near the center and the Earth, along with other planets, orbits it. It is regarded as a cornerstone of the Scientific Revolution and a turning point in the history of astronomy.

The book comprises six books that lay out the Copernican system. Copernicus argues that the Earth rotates on its axis once daily and, together with the other planets, orbits the Sun on a yearly term. This arrangement provides an explanation for the observed retrograde motion of the planets without invoking complex epicycles as in the geocentric models. He also posits a distant sphere of fixed stars and suggests that the apparent motions of the heavens result from the Earth’s motion rather than celestial spheres themselves.

Publication history and reception are notable for the involvement of Andreas Osiander, who appended an unsigned preface to the first edition claiming the model was a mere mathematical hypothesis, not a description of physical reality. This preface stirred controversy and was not retained in all later editions. The work faced opposition from some religious authorities; in 1616 the Church placed heliocentrism on a list of condemned propositions, though De revolutionibus continued to influence astronomical thought. Its legacy lies in opening the way for Copernican cosmology and influencing later figures such as Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, helping to transform the framework of Western science.

The Latin title translates to On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. The term revolutionibus denotes orbital revolutions, reflecting the book’s central claim of a Sun-centered solar system.