Tycho Brahe (December 14, 1546 - October 24, 1601)

Solar Eclipse

Aug 21, 1560

Tycho observed the predicted event which served as a catalyst to him ultimately choosing to leave his studies in law as "he determined to understand for himself a science permitting such wonderful possibilities of prediction" (Lodge, 40). Lodge, Oliver. “TYCHO BRAHÉ AND THE EARLIEST OBSERVATORY.” Pioneers of Science, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pp. 32–55 Petruzzello, Melissa. "The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses". Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed 21 November 2021.

Tycho's First Recorded Observation

1563

Tycho observes a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn; the existing almanacs and tables, recording stellar and planetary positions, were inaccurate. The Copernican tables were several days off in predicting this event. Tycho commits future works to correcting inaccuracies (Egan, 2021). Image and works cited: Egan, Olin Jeuck. "Tycho Brahe". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Oct. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tycho-Brahe-Danish-astronomer. Accessed 21 November 2021

Drinking and Swordplay

1566

Tycho's notorious drinking and partying reportedly leads to a mathematical argument only solvable by a sword dual. History books don't tell us who one the mathematical debate; however, we do learn Tycho walked away less one nose and wore a prosthetic the remainder of his life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FYvy3_egHw

Published Work: De Nova et Nullius Aevi Memoria Prius Visa Stella ("On the New and Never Previously Seen Star)

1573

Based on 11/11/1572 observations, whereupon "looking up to the starry firmament he was surprised to see an extraordinary light in the constellation of Cassiopeia...He noted also its form, its magnitude, its light, and its colour, and he waited with great anxiety for the next night that he might determine the important point whether it was a fixed star, or a body within" (Brewster, 138) Brewster, David. The Martyrs of Science, or, The Lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler. Project Gutenberg.

King Frederick of Denmark Grants Tycho Huen Island

1575

Here, Tycho builds a magnificent observatory capable of housing his instruments. "Every phenomenon that appeared in the heavens, he observed with the greatest care; while he at the same time carried on regular series of observations for determining the places of the fixed stars, and for improving the tables of the sun, moon, and planets (Brewster, 55). Brewster, David. The Martyrs of Science, or, The Lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler. Project Gutenberg.

Johannes Kepler Joins Brahe and is Named "Imperial Mathematician"

1599

Later, in 1967, Kepler publishes Tabulae Rudolphina. "Because of Tycho's observations and Kepler's elliptical astronomy, thee tables in Kepler's Tabulae Rudolphina are much more accurate than any previous tables.(Lodge, 56; The Project) Lodge, Oliver. “TYCHO BRAHÉ AND THE EARLIEST OBSERVATORY.” Pioneers of Science, Cambridge University Press, 2012, pp. 32–55, https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139380904.004. The Galileo Project. 1995. http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/brahe.html.