Final answer:
The surname of the 16th-century Polish astronomer meaning 'one who works with copper' is Nicolaus Copernicus, who proposed the revolutionary heliocentric model of the solar system.
Step-by-step explanation:
The surname of the 16th century Polish astronomer, which means "one who works with copper," refers to Nicolaus Copernicus. Born in Poland, Copernicus was a cleric, mathematician, and an astronomer whose contributions laid the foundation for modern astronomy. His heliocentric theory suggested that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun, rather than the Earth being the center of the universe. This model contradicted the widely accepted geocentric model of the time, which placed the Earth at the center. Although he could not definitively prove his theory during his lifetime, his work greatly influenced other scientists like Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler, who furthered the study of planetary motion.