"When Copernicus in 1543 published his hypothesis that the sun, and not the earth, is the centre of the universe, he was roundly condemned by some senior members of the religious establishment. And when Galileo proved by the use of telescopes that this was indeed correct, he was tried and later put under house arrest for the rest of his life.

The view that the sun, and not the earth, is indeed the centre of the universe, is not new. As early as about 270 BCE, a Greek called Aristarchus had already postulated that this was the case."