Nicholas Copernicus was born on February 19, 1473 in Torun, Poland. His real name was Mikolaj Kopernik but later changed his name to the Latin form. At age 10, his father died, and his Uncle became his legal guardian. In 1491, Copernicus was sent to Cracow University to study math, Latin, astronomy, geography, and philosophy. After returning from school, Copernicus' uncle influenced him to become "canon" of the cathedral of Frauenburg by sending him to the University of Bologna. After graduating, he went back to the cathedral. He continued studying here, until he figured out he really enjoyed astronomy. It grew into his primary interest, which previously was painting and translating Greek poetry to Latin. When studying astrology, it was very difficult, considering the invention of the telescope was not yet around. On March 9, 1497, Copernicus watched the Moon eclipse the star of Aldebaran. Copernicus made all his observations with the naked eye...