Transcript Day 07

Announcements
•Exam 1 is one week from Thursday. It will
cover chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Sample
questions have been posted. Format will
be 15 MC’s (3 points each) and 3 essays
(18 points each) from a list of 5. Open
Book!
•First 1st Quarter Observing Night next
Monday. IT WILL NOT BE CANCELLED.
Set-up will start at 6:30pm. Meet here at
that time.
Tycho Brahe
1546 – 1601
Born to Otte and Beate Brahe, it
his uncle Jorgen Thygesen
Brahe who raises him
Tycho is only two when his uncle takes him to raise at Tosterup
Castle. It was his uncle that pushed Tycho to be educated
While studying at the University
of Rostock he lost his nose
Some historians claim it was an
argument over calculations while
others say it was over a girl. Whatever
the argument, his third cousin
whacked it off in a duel in 1566.
In 1572 he observed a
supernova in Cassiopeia
His publication on the new star in
1573 didn’t get much attention
The publication De Nova Stella did give us the term
“Nova” for exploding stars
His next measurements were of
the comet of 1577
Through careful measurements
he showed that it was not
atmospheric but celestial
This time his publication got
attention
The publication
included more details
of his observations of
the supernova of 1572
and the comet of 1577
His early observations were
done in Augsburg where he had
several instruments built
The small sextant was
one of the first
instruments he had made
In 1575 Wilhelm IV granted him a
lordship over the island of Hven
On Hven he built Uraniborg
The largest of
the
instruments
was the mural
quadrant
He also
constructed
a detailed
celestial
globe
Eventually the
indoor
instruments
weren’t good
enough so he
built
Stjerneborg
At Stjerneborg he built
instruments of all sorts
The Armillary was
one of the larger
instruments
The large quadrant was housed in
a dome which opened to the sky
His sextant was one of the largest
While at
Hven, Tycho
develops his
own model
of the
universe
He kept the Earth at the
center with the Sun and
Moon going around it. All
the other planets went
around the Sun.
Tycho left Hven in 1597
After the death of
Frederic II, his patron,
his family and friends
ran the regency for the
young king Christian
IV. As the king comes
of age, though, Tycho
falls from favor and is
forced to leave Hven.
Tycho packs up most of his
equipment and moves to Prague
Tycho established
himself at Benatky
Palace near
Prague. He
receives a
commission from
Rudolph II as the
Astronomer Royal
While at Benatky Palace he
invites Johannes Kepler for a visit.
Johannes Kepler 1571 – 1630
Born in Weil der Stadt Germany
His grandfather had been the Lord Mayor but by the time
Johannes is born the family had fallen on hard times. His
father is a mercenary who comes and goes frequently
and eventually goes for good when Johannes is 5
He was able to attend school
Because grandfather was the mayor of Wiel der Stadt
he was able to attend school at Maulbronn seminary
He studied at the University of
Tubingen
As a teacher in Graz he wrote
Cosmographic Mysteries
After receiving a
copy of
Cosmographic
Mysteries,
Tycho invited
Kepler to Hven
Kepler doesn’t go to Hven but he
does go to Prague after Tycho
leaves Hven
Tycho had
established himself
at Benatky Palace
near Prague. Kepler
visited for three
months on leave
from his school in
Graz. Negotiations
for a permanent
position fail and he
returns to Graz
Eventually, Kepler permanently
leaves Graz for Prague
Kepler’s duties did not include
observations, just calculations
He calculated the
locations of
conjunctions of
Jupiter and Saturn
with a geometrical
model.
At Tycho’s death, Kepler is
appointed his successor
Kepler explains his astronomy to Rudolph II