DNA Tests Confirm Remains of 16th Century Astronomer

Poland scientists have completed DNA tests on human remains found in a Roman Catholic Cathedrals in Frombork Poland. They have identified the skeleton remains as a 16th century astronomer named Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus was the first astronomer to discover that the Sun was the center of our universe and not the Earth, as most astronomers theorized.

The scientists completed a forensic facial reconstruction of the skills and found that it bears similar facial features found in existing portraits of Copernicus. Furthermore, there was a cut above the left eye which corresponds with the scar in paintings of him. He died in 1543 at the age of 70.

"There has been a project working on Copernicus for some time," Marie Allen, a professor at Uppsala University, told the newspaper. "We tested pieces of bone and tooth from the site in Poland with the hair found at Uppsala. The pieces were tested twice, once in Sweden and once in Poland to ensure the accuracy of the results. The data collected confirmed that the skeleton found in 2005 is that of Copernicus."