However, a key figure in this development was Nicolaus Copernicus. He published his heliocentric model in 1543 in his book "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres). While Copernicus didn't have direct evidence that Venus orbited the sun, he observed its phases, similar to those of the moon. This strongly suggested that Venus orbited the sun, not the Earth.
Copernicus's model wasn't immediately accepted. It took observations and calculations by later astronomers like Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler to provide further evidence and refine the heliocentric model.
Galileo's observations of Venus' phases with his telescope provided crucial evidence that Venus orbited the sun. These observations directly contradicted the prevailing geocentric model, which held that the Earth was the center of the universe.
Therefore, while Copernicus's work was foundational, it was the combined efforts of multiple scientists and their observations, particularly Galileo's, that ultimately solidified the understanding that all planets, including Venus, orbit the sun.
