Who was the first to develop a mathematical predictive heliocentric model of the solar system?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. Nicolaus Copernicus.
The first person to develop a mathematical predictive heliocentric model of the solar system was Nicolaus Copernicus. In his work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543), Copernicus proposed that the Sun, rather than the Earth, was at the center of the solar system. His model mathematically described the motion of planets around the Sun, challenging the geocentric model of the universe. Though not entirely accurate, it laid the groundwork for future astronomers like Kepler and Galileo to refine the heliocentric theory.