De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ( On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres ) is great work of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus ( 1473 â `` 1543 ) . De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ( On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres ) is the seminal work on the heliocentric theory of the Renaissance astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus ( 1473 â `` 1543 ) .