Which Renaissance astronomer is credited with first proposing the heliocentric model of the solar system, suggesting that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun?

💡 Explanation:

Nicolaus Copernicus was the first astronomer to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric model, which placed the Sun rather than Earth at the center of the universe. His work, 'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium' (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), published shortly before his death in 1543, was a pivotal moment in the history of science, sparking the 'Copernican Revolution'.