Final answer:
Copernicus stated in his Revolution that Earth is a planet and that the planets all circle about the Sun, dethroning Earth from its position at the center of the universe. His ideas were further developed and confirmed by Galileo through telescopic observations. Copernicus' heliocentric model revolutionized astronomy and laid the foundations for modern astronomy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Nicolaus Copernicus introduced the heliocentric cosmology to Renaissance Europe in his book De Revolutionibus. He suggested that Earth is a planet and that the planets all circle about the Sun, dethroning Earth from its position at the center of the universe. This idea revolutionized astronomy and laid the foundations for modern astronomy. It challenged the geocentric model proposed by Ptolemy and provided a more accurate understanding of the solar system.
Copernicus' ideas were further developed and confirmed by Galileo, who made telescopic observations that supported the heliocentric model. Galileo's discoveries, including the phases of Venus and the moons of Jupiter, provided further evidence for the validity of Copernicus' theory. Although Copernicus' ideas were not widely accepted in his time, they eventually became the foundation of modern astronomy.