"Of all discoveries and opinions, none may have exerted a greater effect on the human spirit than the doctrine of Copernicus."
Dethroning Earth from the "Center of the Cosmos" is not a spiritual achievement but a technical one. See KleinBottle. "Are we inside it or outside it?" --PhlIp
Related (in principle): AddingEpicycles, EinsteinPrinciple, JustIsaDangerousWord - Copernicus's fundamental contribution was simplifying astronomical computations with a small shift in assumptions. Admittedly, it was a big shift from religious point of view, and the interplay with religion can teach another useful lesson, but in terms of the model of the universe it was one small change in perspective.