Feldkirch celebrates the 450th anniversary of the death of the ingenious rheticus!

Feldkirch celebrates the 450th anniversary of the death of the ingenious rheticus!

Feldkirch, Österreich - Feldkirch is commemorating an important scientist this year: Georg Joachim Rheticus. He was born on February 16, 1514 in Feldkirch and is considered one of the most influential heads of the science discussion of the 16th century. On the occasion of its 450th day of death, the city organizes a festival that is largely supported by mathematicians and science historians Philipp Schöbi. Rheticus, who had remarkable connections to personalities such as Paracelsus, Luther and Copernicus in his time, is particularly honored for his role in the spread of the heliocentric world view. This theory revolutionized the understanding of the universe by explaining that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun, and not the other way around, which was considered groundbreaking at the time, as was "https://vorarlberg.orf.at/stories/3283666/"> vorarlberg.orf.at reported.

rheticus visited Nikolaus Copernicus in Frauenburg between 1539 and 1541 and became his only student. During this time the "Narratio Prima", the first printed description of the heliocentric model was created. This publication laid the foundation for future astronomical discoveries and contributed to the spread of Copernican teaching. Previously, supported by Philipp Melanchthon, professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Wittenberg, where he made important mathematical calculations and later published the first trigonometric tablets in history, such as Wikipedia added.

a legacy of science

Although his life was shaped by dramatic twists, including the execution of his father, who was sentenced to death as a city medicus of Feldkirch for supposed witchcraft, Rheticus left a significant contribution to science. His interest ranged from medicine to astronomy, and he also worked as a cartographer and doctor. His discoveries and publications such as the "Opus Palatinum", which was only published in 1596, 22 years after his death, revolutionized mathematics and astronomy and remained an important reference work for 350 years. In recognition of his achievements, there is a lunar crater and an asteroid named after Rheticus to appreciate his important legacy. Even today the memory of him continues, as the Rheticus Society shows, which was founded in 1976 and is reminiscent of his life's work by events.