While the idea of planets going around the sun was proposed by ancient Greek philosophers, the person who is generally credited with proving that planets orbit the sun is Nicolaus Copernicus.

Here's a breakdown:

* Ancient Greeks: Philosophers like Aristarchus of Samos suggested a heliocentric model (sun-centered) but lacked sufficient observational evidence. The prevailing geocentric model (Earth-centered) remained dominant.

* Copernicus (1543): He published his groundbreaking work "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), which proposed a heliocentric model with the sun at the center and planets orbiting it. This model explained astronomical observations more accurately than the geocentric model.

* Galileo (early 1600s): He provided further observational evidence for heliocentrism through his telescopic observations of Venus' phases, which could only be explained by Venus orbiting the sun.

So, while Copernicus didn't invent the idea, his work, combined with Galileo's observations, provided the scientific foundation for understanding the solar system as we know it.