Heliocentrism

Heliocentrism dismantled 1,400 years of geocentric cosmology with a single, elegant model. Nicolaus Copernicus's 1543 De Revolutionibus placed the Sun at the center, reducing planetary orbit complexities by 75% compared to Ptolemy's system. This paradigm shift ignited the Scientific Revolution and outperforms #7 (pulsars) in historical impact, as it fundamentally redefined humanity's place in the cosmos.