Glossary term: Copernican Principle
Description: This principle in its original form is an outcome of the Copernican model for the Solar System. This "heliocentric" model stated the planets orbit the Sun and replaced the previously held belief that the Earth was in a special place in the center of the Solar System. Philosophically, the Copernican Principle represents a fundamental shift in the human perception of our place in the Universe. This shift was revolutionary in the time of Copernicus. The Copernican Principle has been extended to cosmology where it is called the Cosmological Principle, which provides one of the key foundations of modern cosmology – there is no special location or direction within the observable Universe. Both principles are constantly being tested through a range of observations at various scales, using ground and space-based telescopes.
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Term and definition status: This term and its definition have been approved by a research astronomer and a teacher
The OAE Multilingual Glossary is a project of the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) in collaboration with the IAU Office of Astronomy Outreach (OAO). The terms and definitions were chosen, written and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits here. All glossary terms and their definitions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE".
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In Other Languages
- Arabic: مبدأ كوبرنيكوس
- German: Kopernikanisches Prinzip
- Spanish: Principio de Copérnico
- French: Principe copernicien
- Indonesian: Prinsip Copernicus
- Italian: Principio copernicano
- Korean: 코페르니쿠스 원리
- Brazilian Portuguese: Princípio de Copérnico
- Simplified Chinese: 哥白尼原理
- Traditional Chinese: 哥白尼原理
Related Media
Copernicus's heliocentric system
Caption: Sketch of Copernicus's heliocentric model of the Solar System, from his book "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" (On the revolution of the heavenly spheres) published in 1543. Shown are the Sun as well as the orbits of Mercury, Venus, the Earth (itself orbited by the Moon), Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The outermost circle represents the sphere of the stars.
In this model, the Earth is not special – it is merely one planet, among several, orbiting the Sun. This was the first example for what is now known as the Copernican Principle: that our positions as observers in the universe is not special or privileged in any way. The shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric model of our universe is known as the Copernican revolution.
Credit: Nicolaus Copernicus
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License: PD Public Domain icons
