Copernicus' suggestion explained the observations much more simply, but it did get him in trouble with The Church, and Copernicus made some attempt to portray the proposition as "theoretical" and not applying to our Solar System.

Nevertheless, the original treatise was dedicated to Pope Paul III:

(left) Copernicus: http://www.nasm.si.edu/ceps/etp/discovery/disc_ren.html ; (right) Pope Paul III: http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/t/tiziano/2portrai/

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