Yes; it made considerable advances, being cultivated by the greatest
geniuses, and patronized by the greatest princes. The system of the
Ptolemies, called the Ptolemaic, had hitherto been used, with some
slight alterations; but Copernicus, an eminent astronomer, born at
Thorn, in Polish Prussia, in 1473, adopted the system which had been
taught by Pythagoras in Greece, five or six hundred years before the
time of Ptolemy. About the same time with Copernicus flourished Tycho
Brahe, born in Denmark, 1546.

_Geniuses_, men gifted with superior mental faculties.

_Mental_, belonging to the mind.

_Faculties_, powers of doing anything, whether menial or
bodily; abilities; powers of the mind.


What next greatly forwarded this interesting science?

The introduction of telescopes by Galileo, who by their means
discovered the small stars or satellites which attend the planet
Jupiter; the various appearances of Saturn; the mountains in the Moon;
the spots on the Sun; and its revolution on its axis.

_Satellites_, attendants.


What celebrated Astronomer arose in England?