Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe was a 16th century Danish astronomer remembered for the high quality of his astronomical instruments and observations. Brahe is also remembered for developing an incorrect geocentric theory.
Contents |
[edit] Observations
Notably Brahe's observations of planetary motion were of exceptionally high quality for the time. This decisively helped Kepler develop his laws of planetary motion and demonstrated to Kepler that Mars moves in an ellipse. Though he never intended it, Brahe helped develop heliocentrism.
He understood the need to check and calibrate instruments regularly, and published observations demonstrating that a comet was above the moon. He observed that a supernova had no parallax, and therefore was in the heavens. This showed that the heavens are not immutable as previous astronomers from Aristotle onwards had generally believed.[1] [2] Tycho Brahe's observations had far more lasting impact than his theoretical work below.
[edit] Geocentrism
Tycho Brahe developed his own version of geocentrism, according to Tycho the Earth is motionless while the moon and sun move round the Earth. The other planets orbited the sun rather than the earth. Tycho Brahe's system was popular during the early 17th century among people who rejected both the systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus, which was reasonable at the time. Most modern geocentrists subscribe to the Tychonian system, as contrasted to the Ptolemaic system, where everything orbits the Earth despite plenty of more recent evidence against geocentrism. The Tychonian system and a fixed Earth cannot be reconciled with Einstein's relativity because among other reasons all parts of the universe outside the Solar System would have to rotate daily round the Earth much faster than light.
[edit] Fun
- Tycho Brahe's beard was inferior to that of Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei and Charles Darwin. Still his mustache was impressive. [3]
- Part of his nose was cut off in a duel (the source of contention was a mathematical point); the missing portion was replaced with a gold prosthesis.
- He had a pet elk which died after it got drunk and fell down the stairs.
- He died after he held it too long and ruptured his bladder, all for a piece of etiquette which he considered silly and trivial.