Copernicus Technology Ltd took the root of its name from the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), who has just been back in the news after an absence of 5 centuries!  Copernicus was a Canon at Frombork Cathedral in Poland.   He was originally buried in an unmarked grave because the Church believed his theories were heretical; however, last weekend, he was reburied and honoured in a ceremony at Frombork Cathedral. 

He is most famous for his advances in astronomy.  In his treatise:  'On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres,' he asserted that the earth revolved around the sun – the ‘Copernican System’ - contrary to the medieval belief that the earth was the centre of the universe.  His revolutionary model was based on complex mathematical calculations and his naked-eye observations of the heavens because the telescope had not yet been invented.  The treatise was viewed with suspicion by the Church, and not published until the year he died; in fact, he only received a copy of the printed book on the day he died. It was to become the cornerstone for future generations of scientists including Kepler and Galileo, but one of its strongest advocates, Italian priest Giordano Bruno, was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1600.

The Vatican only removed Copernicus' treatise from its list of banned books in 1835 and, barely 20 years ago, the Vatican rehabilitated Galileo Galilei, who was persecuted by the Inquisition for further developing Copernican theory.

DNA tests in 2005 had identified Copernicus’ remains by comparing them with hair found in his books kept at theUniversity of Uppsalain Sweden.  His remains were carried in procession, with several stops on the way, at places where he had lived and worked in northern Poland, in a tour which began at Olsztynin February.

Finally, on Saturday 22^nd May 2010, he was buried under a black granite tombstone describing him as the creator of heliocentrism and decorated with a golden sun encircled by six of the planets.