Heliocentrism is an astronomical model that places the Sun at the center of the Solar System with all the planets, including Earth, revolving around it. Early civilizations believed in the Ptolemaic model of the Solar System. This model theorized that Earth was the center of the universe and that all planetary objects revolved around it. This belief was called Geocentricism. In the 16th century, Renaissance mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus came up with his ingenious theory of Heliocentrism. Copernicus became the first person to state this model in public. However, it led to the Catholic Church denouncing his theory and accusing him of committing blasphemy. The church strongly believed in the concept of Geocentricism, and considered Copernicus’s theory a violation against nature. People considered his beliefs absurd, as he did not have any proof to back his theory. It was in the 18th century when astronomers William Herschel and Friedrich Bessel confirmed that the Sun was in fact the center of the solar system. Which word in the passage helps the reader understand the meaning of the word blasphemy?

astronomical

theory

violation

absurd