Tycho Brahe, by Mark D. Bowles. Understand T ho Brahe’s contributions to astronomy during the Scientific Revolution, his life on the Island of Hveen, and his mysterious death. Intro During a period of time loosely known as __The Scientific Revolution__, when modern science came of age (1550-1700), a few critical thinkers were responsible for transforming our understanding of the cosmos. Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was one of these individual who helped overturn the __geocentric__ (the Earth was the center) to a __heliocentric__ (the Sun was the center) model of our solar system. The key individuals responsible for this were Brahe, along with Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo Galilee. We know today that the Sun is indeed at the center of our solar system, and that the Earth is a planet revolving around it. What is remarkable is that despite Brahe’s astronomical observations that eventually helped to prove this, he personally believed that the Earth was motionless. Brahe the Man Tycho Brach was born in Denmark in 1546 to a wealthy family. As a Danish nobleman he had the freedom to devote his life to the study of the cosmos. He was someone with a great passion for life, an extrovert in social situations, and a great lover of food and wine. He famously lost part of his nose in a sword duel with his third cousin, Manderup Parsberg. The reason for the disagreement? A mathematical formula. To compensate for his disfigurement he wore a prosthetic nose made of precious metals, glued to his face. The Danish King knew of Brahe’s interest in the stars, and so he gave him the Island of Hveen to carry out his work. It was there that he hired many people to build advanced astronomical instruments, and carry out observations on the heavens. Brahe also provided opportunities for his family to participate in his astronomical pursuits. Most notably was his sister, Sofia, who assisted with instrument making, illustrations, and astronomical observation. This was highly unusual for women to be involved in the male-dominated scientific profession, yet Brahe enabled an important opportunity for his sister to demonstrate her skills. Astronomical Observations at the Island of Hveen Brahe believed his island was a magical place whose inhabitants (himself especially) were gods that walked the Earth. The image of the divine was reflected in the Temple of Urania, which was the building where all of his astronomers worked. Brahe built other structures on the island including an observatory, an administrative center, a grand residence, and an alchemical laboratory. One would think that a telescope would be the prominent scientific instrument, but it was not. Instead the first person to make practical use of the telescope was Galileo Galilee in 1609, which was eight ears after Brahe’s death. As a result, Brahe was extremely limited in his view of the universe and his observations relied on what he could see with the naked eye. However, he was able to construct instruments which aided this observations. The __armillary spheres__ (also known as a spherical astrolabe) were able to physically represent a model of the sky, enabling him to develop maps. With instruments like these Brahe and his team made some of the most accurate observations of the moon, planets, and stars in history. He created detailed mathematical tables that astronomers used for centuries. Brahe also correctly established the positions of 1000 fixed stared. In 1588 he published Introduction to the New Astronomy which included observations of comets and his system of the world. Brahe remained a believer in geocentrism, and all of his models of the solar system placed the Earth at its center, with the other planets and Sun revolving around it. In order to help prove that geocentrism was correct, Brahe extended an offer to a German astronomer, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). This offer might have cost Brahe his life. Brahe’s Most Fa ous Stude t From the start, Brahe and Kelpler’s relationship was contentious. In fact, some have today called it the most argumentative in this history of science. The two could not have been more different both personally and professionally. Brahe a nobleman, and Kepler was from a family who barely had enough money to eat. Brahe was frie ds ith a Ki g, a d Kepler’s mother was tried for witchcraft, and his aunt was actually burned at the stake as a witch. The most significant difference though was their vision of the solar system. Kepler was convinced the sun was the center. Brahe’s Death The working relationship between Brahe and Kepler lasted just 18 months, until Brahe unexpectedly died. He was 54 years old at the time and in very good health. Just before his passing and despite their differences, Brahe willed all of his equipment and work to Kepler. Shortly thereafter he died. Ever since people have speculated that Kepler had a hand in his death. In 1991 scientists conducted a forensic e a i atio of so e of Brahe’s hair, a d the deter i ed that his death was due to mercury poisoning. Was Kepler to la e? That is still u k o . After his death, Kepler o ti ued to use Brahe’s observations (particularly his study of the motions of Mars) and most significantly developed his Laws of Planetary Motion with them. Conclusion Towards the end of his life Brahe conceded that both the Earth and the Sun might share the center and proposed an even more complicated geo-heliocentric model. Nevertheless soon after his death astronomers like Kepler, Galileo, and Isaac Newton disproved this view once and for all. Nevertheless, Brahe was an extremely important figure in establishing the astronomical advances of the Scientific Revolution. His team-based organization of science is how nearly all scientific knowledge is created today. He had a progressive view of women in science which was ahead of his time. Finally his emphasize on exact measurements was influential in transforming astronomy into an exact and objective science. Today there is a crater on the Moon named Tycho and the crater Tycho Brahe is found on Mars. The Tyco Brahe planetarium in Copenhagen, Denmark opened in 1989. I 1 , Isaa Ne to , o e of the greatest s ie tists i histor rote, If I ha e see farther, it is standing on the shoulders of gia ts. Brahe as o e of those shoulders to hi h he as referri g. Christianson, J. R. (2000). On Tycho’s island: Tycho Brahe and his assistants, 1570–1601. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. Gilder, J., & Gilder, A.-L. (2004). Heavenly intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and the murder behind one of history’s greatest scientific discoveries. New York, NY: Doubleday Thoren, V. E., & Christianson, J. R. (1990). The Lord of Uraniborg: A biography of Tycho Brahe. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.