On 19 February Reinhold Kriegler wished Nicholas Copernicus a Happy Birthday as he was born on that date in 1473. I responded with a "Birthday Challenge" to see if anyone could prove the revolutionary theory of Copernicus without using magnifying instruments like telescopes. The best suggestion was the Foucault Pendulum but I doubt that it would have convinced an Inquisition.
I should have noted at that time that there is a significant memorial commemorating the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Copernicus, a pillar sundial in Kingston Ontario Canada. My picture is available in the NASS Registry http://www.sundials.org/registry/canreg.htm . Go to Ontario Kingston # 450. This dial built by a group of Polish engineers also commemorates the four hundredth anniversary of the founding of the city of Kingston as Fort Frontenac by LaSalle. This is ancient history for Canada! Roger Bailey Walking Shadow Designs N 48.6 W123.4 and a long way from Regent Street Park where I played as a kid. -
