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For all his efforts, Nicolaus Copernicus is at the centre of the space-exploration universe. The astronomer, born 540 years ago today, has a crater on the moon and a NASA trajectory system. In 2009, German scientists honoured Copernicus with his own element on the periodic table: copernicium.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Nicolaus Copernicus becomes the centre of Google's universe as the search giant marks astronomer's 540th birthday Back to video

U.S. and British scientists launched his namesake was launched into orbit by U.S. and British scientists in 1972 a Copernicus observatory (OAO-3) into orbit. And, the most tribute of all, Captain Kirk and Spock got a lift on the shuttlecraft Copernicus in Star Trek: The Final Frontier.

Tuesday, he added another one more tribute to his name as Google created a solar system-themed doodle to mark his 540th birthday.

Widely regarded as the father of modern astronomy, Copernicus made his most significant mark on science in his dying days with De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) — which disposed entirely of the belief that Earth is the centre of the universe.