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Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th-century astronomer whose findings were condemned by the Catholic Church as heretical, has been reburied by Polish priests as a hero, nearly 500 years after he was laid to rest in an unmarked grave.

Researchers say they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer’s books.

ON October 31, 1992, Pope John Paul II apologised on behalf of the Vatican for the persecution of Galileo Galilei over 350 years earlier. Poor Galileo had the nerve to say that the sun, not the earth, was the centre of our universe.

Polish archaeologists have launched a search for the grave of an uncle of Nicolaus Copernicus in hopes the relative’s DNA can confirm that remains they found last year are indeed those of the 16th-century astronomer, the head of the research team said today.