16th-century skeleton identified as astronomer Copernicus

The long-lost skeleton of Nicolaus Copernicus - the 16th-century astronomer who transformed our understanding of the solar system - has been found, Polish researchers have confirmed.Forensic detective work has successfully matched DNA samples recovered from remains in a cathedral grave with hairs retrieved from a book the scholar priest is known to have owned.The identification is the culmination of four years of investigation and centuries of speculation about the final resting place of the man who challenged the Bible and medieval teachings of the church.Copernicus' planetary observations were the first to place the sun, and not the earth, at the centre of what is now known as the solar system. His heliocentric, cosmological revolution was condemned by Martin Luther.Born in 1473 at Torun on the Vistula, Copernicus studied abroad and was made a Canon at Frombork Cathedral, in Poland. He died in 1543. His grave was unmarked.The hunt for his...

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