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Essay on Johannes Kepler and Brahe
Tycho Brahe, the son of a Danish nobleman of Swedish descent, is supposed to have been one of twins. His brother, however, was either stillborn or died soon after birth. Tycho (usually known by his first name only, a Latinized version of the Danish, Tyge) was the last and, with the possible exception of Hipparchus, the greatest of the naked-eye astronomers. In early life he studied law and philosophy at the University of Copenhagen, which he entered at the age of thirteen. He originally intended to go into politics, but in 1560 he observed an eclipse of the sun and switched to astronomy and mathematics. Later he went to Germany for more training.
In observing a close approach of Jupiter and Saturn in 1563, Tycho noticed that it came a month away form the time predicted for it by the tables prepared under Alfonso X. Consequently he began to buy instruments with which to make observations for the preparation of new tables. He also began to cast horoscopes, and retained a lifelong interest in astrology, as did many astronomers of early modern times. (Astrology was a far more lucrative pursuit than was genuine astronomy and patrons would far more willingly pay for horoscopes than for scientific findings.)
In 1572, after a period in which alchemy temporarily claimed Tyco’s attention, he finally made his mark, on the occasion of the flaring out of a new star. Hipparchus had noted one and used it as an occasion to prepare the first star map of importance. Another appeared in 1054, but it was observed only by Chinese and Japanese astronomers. These are not new starts, but existing ones that explode and increase enormously in brightness. Prior to the explosion they may be too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Before the days of the telescope, they did indeed seem to be new stars....
