PROBLEMS BROUGHT ON BY
COPERNICUS’ NEW COSMOLOGY
• WHY WAS THE EARTH SPHERICAL?
ARISTOTLE’S IDEA THAT EARTH ATTRACTED
EARTH MADE IT LOGICAL THAT THE EARTH
WAS A SPHERE.
• WHAT CAUSED BOTH THE ROTATION AND THE
REVOLUTION OF THE EARTH?
TYCHO BRAHE
RENAISSANCE ASTRONOMY
TYCHO BRAHE (1546-1601)
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ORIGINALLY NAMED “TYGE”
ADOPTED THE LATINIZED “TYCHO” WHEN HE WAS 15
HIS FATHER, OTTO, WAS A DANISH NOBLEMAN
HE HAD A TWIN WHO DIED EARLY AFTER HE WAS BORN – HIS FIRST
PUBLICATION , AT AGE 25, WAS AN ODE TO HIS DEAD TWIN
WHEN HE WAS TWO HE WAS TAKEN, APPARENTLY BY A PREVIOUSLY MADE
AGREEMENT, FROM HIS FAMILY BY HIS UNCLE, JORGEN BRAHE, ALSO A
NOBLEMAN
... without the knowledge of my parents took me away with him while I
was in my earliest youth.
JORGEN AND HIS WIFE, INGER, HAD NO CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN
IN HIS EARLY YEARS HE STUDIED LATIN AT THE URGING OF HIS UNCLE
HE BEGAN HIS STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN WHEN HE
WAS 12, STUDYING LAW.
TYCHO BRAHE
• HE BECAME INTERESTED IN ASTRONOMY WHEN HE SAW A SOLAR
ECLIPSE IN 1560. HE WAS AMAZED THAT IT HAD BEEN PREDICTED.
• HIS FIRST STUDIES INVOLVED BOOKS LIKE SACROBOSCO’S DE
SPHAERA MUNDI (SPHERE), APIANUS’, COSMOGRAPHIA SEU
DECRIPTIO TOTIUS ORBIS AND REGIOMONTANUS’, DE TRIANGULIS
OMNIMODIS.
• HE ATTENDED MANY UNIVERSITIES AT THE URGING OF HIS UNCLE
IN ORDER TO BECOME A BETTER CIVIL SERVANT.
• IN 1563 HE BEGAN MAKING REGULAR OBSERVATIONS.
• HE OBSERVED THE CONJUNCTION OF JUPITER AND SATURN IN
1563 AND NOTED THAT THE ALPHONSINE TABLES WERE OFF BY A
MONTH AND THAT THOSE DEVELOPED USING COPERNICUS’
THEORY (THE PRUTENIC TABLES) WERE OFF BY A COUPLE OF DAYS.
• AT AGE 17 HE BECAME CONVINCED THAT BETTER OBSERVATIONS
NEEDED TO BE CONDUCTED AND THAT HE COULD DO IT.
TYCHO BRAHE
• WHEN HE WAS 17 HIS UNCLE JORGEN DIED FROM PNEUMONIA HE
CONTRACTED AFTER RESCUING THE KING WHOSE HORSE HAD
FALLEN INTO THE WATER.
• HIS FATHER AND MOTHER ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR HIM AS
HE WAS STILL UNDER 18.
• WHEN HE WAS 20 HE, ON TWO OCCASIONS, HAD SEVERE
ARGUMENTS WITH ANOTHER DANISH NOBLEMAN, PROBABLY
OVER A WOMAN, WHICH LED TO A DUEL
• DUALING WAS OUTLAWED SO THE DUEL WAS HELD IN THE DARK.
MOST OF HIS NOSE WAS CUT OFF.
• HE IS SAID TO HAVE WORN SEVERAL PROSTHETIC NOSES, ONE OF
GOLD, ONE OF SILVER (AND PERHAPS COPPER)
• AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE LOSS OF HIS NOSE HE BECAME
INTERESTED IN BOTH MEDICINE AND ALCHEMY. HE ACTUALLY
CARRIED ON EXPERIMENTS IN ALCHEMY IN A LAB AT URANIBORG.
TYCHO BRAHE
• WHEN HE WAS 25 HIS FATHER DIED
• ANOTHER UNCLE HELPED HIM BUILD AN OBSERVATORY AND AN
ALCHEMICAL LABORATORY
• HE MARRIED A COMMONER WHOM HE COULD NOT MARRY
OFFICIALLY SO SHE BECAME HIS COMMON-LAW WIFE. AFTER
THREE YEARS THEIR MARRIAGE WAS RECOGNIZED UNDER THE LAW
BUT SHE WOULD ALWAYS BE A COMMONER.
• THEY HAD EIGHT CHILDREN
• HE HAD A PET MOOSE WHICH HE SAID COULD RUN FASTER THAN A
HORSE. A RACE WAS ARRANGED. HOWEVER, THE MOOSE
COULDN’T SHOW UP FOR THE RACE AS JUST BEFORE THE RACE
THE MOOSE DRANK TOO MUCH BEER AT THE DINNER HONORING A
VISITING NOBLEMAN, FELL DOWN THE STAIRCASE AND DIED.
TYCHO BRAHE
THE NOVA (SUPERNOVA) OF 1572
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DISCOVERED IN THE CONSTELLATION
CASSIOPEIA
HE COINED THE TERM “NOVA”
IT WAS VISIBLE DURING THE DAY
SN 1572, 7500 LY DISTANCE – SEE PANEL
TO THE RIGHT
HE DETERMINED, USING PARALLAX
MEASUREMENTS, THAT IT WAS FAR
ABOVE THE MOON
THEREFORE, THE CHANGE HAD
OCCURRED IN THE HEAVENS
THIS WAS A NEW STAR
ARISTOTLE’S COSMOLOGY SAID THAT
TRANSIENT LIGHT PHENOMENA LIKE
COMETS, METEORS AND NOVA
OCCURRED WHEN THE FIRE (THE HIGHEST
OF THE FOUR ELEMENTS) WASSTIRRED BY
THE ROTATING QUINTESSENCE, FLAMES
APPEARED.
TYCHO’S SUPERNOVA
• SN 1572 IN UPPER LEFT
HAND CORNER
• OPEN CLUSTER OF
STARS TO LOWER LEFT
• BRIGHT NEBULA IN
CENTER (STAR
FORMING REGION)
TYCHO BRAHE
PORTRAITS
TYCHO BRAHE
• IN 1574 HE LECTURED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
BUT, WHEN INCOME FROM HIS FATHER’S ESTATED ALLOWED
HIM TO QUIT AND TRAVEL, HE VISITED KASSEL, GERMANY.
• IN KASSEL THERE WAS AN OBSERVATORY WHICH HE PLANNED
TO EMULATE IN BUILDING HIS OWN.
• IN 1575 HE VOWED TO LEAVE DENMARK AND SETTLE IN
BASEL, GERMANY.
• KING FREDERICK OF DENMARK WANTED HIM TO STAY AND,
AFTER SOME NEGOTIATION, THE KING AGREED TO GIVE HIM
THE ISLAND OF HVEN (IN THE DANISH SOUND) AND
UNDERWRITE THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN OBSERVATORY.
• THE KING BELIEVED IN ASTROLOGY AND HOPED THAT, WITH
SUPERIOR OBSERVATIONS, TYCHO WOULD BE ABLE TO CAST
MORE RELIABLE HOROSCOPES.
HVEN SWEDEN
ABOUT 4,500 ACRES
ISLAND OF HVEN – IN THE DANISH SOUND OF THE
NORTH SEA
• URANIBORG (HEAVENLY CASTLE)
– BUILT BETWEEN 1576 AND 1580
• THE GREAT MURAL QUADRANT –
BRASS RING GREATER THAN 6
FEET IN RADIUS
• SIGHTED STARS (PLANETS) BY
ALIGNING TWO PINS, MUCH AS
IN A GUN SIGHT
• OBSERVATIONS ACCURATE TO
WITHIN AN ARC MINUTE
• HE KNEW OF AND CORRECTED
FOR ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION
(UP TO ONE DEGREE FOR
OBJECTS NEAR THE HORIZON) –
OBJECTS NEAR THE ZENITH HAD
NO ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION
TYCHO BRAHE
ISLAND OF HVEN
• IN 1584 HE BUILT ANOTHER OBSERVATORY,
“STJERNEBORG” (CASTLE OF THE STARS) AT HVEN
• MOST OF THE OBSERVATORY WAS BELOW GROUND –
THE OBSERVERS LOOKED THROUGH WINDOWS OR
THROUGH A MOVABLE ROOF
• IT WAS CLIMATE CONTROLLED – A MISTAKE AS
TEMPERATURE CHANGES AFFECT THE DIMENSIONS,
HENCE THE ACCURACY OF THE INSTRUMENTS
• HE HAD ANOTHER SET OF OBSERVERS OBSERVE THE
SAME OBJECTS THAT THOSE AT URANIBORG OBSERVED
TO CANCEL OUT ANY BIASES OF THE OBSERVING
TEAMS.
TYCHO BRAHE
ISLAND OF HVEN
• AFTER STUDYING THE ROMAN AQUADUCTS HE
INTRODUCED RUNNING WATER TO HIS
OBSERVATORIES
• HE INTRODUCED FLUSH TOILETS
• HE COLLECTED GREAT PAINTINGS FROM THE
PERIOD AND DISPLAYED THEM FOR ALL OF HIS
SERFS TO ENJOY
• HE USED SOUND TUBES IMPLACED IN THE WALLS
OF THE GALLERY TO PRODUCE THE EFFECT THAT
SOUND WAS ORIGINATING OUT OF THE
PAINTINGS.
TYCHO BRAHE
COMET OF 1577
• CONCLUDED, AGAIN USING PARALLAX MEASUREMENTS,
THAT THE COMET WAS “AMONG THE PLANETS”
• PROBLEM – HOW DID THE PLANET MOVE AMONG THE
SPHERES WHICH PURPORTEDLY CARRIED THE PLANETS?
• MAYBE COPERNICUS WAS RIGHT – THESE SPHERES DIDN’T
EXIST
• HE WROTE AN EXHAUSTIVE ANALYSIS OF HIS
OBSERVATIONS (OVER 200 PAGES LONG) – IT WAS PRINTED
IN 1588. NOTE: IT TOOK 11 YEARS TO GET TO PRESS.
• HE DETERMINED THAT THE TALE OF A COMET ALWAYS
FACED AWAY FROM THE SUN
TYCHO BRAHE
INSTRUMENT MAKER
• TYCHO WAS BOTH AN “EXPERIMENTALIST” AND A
“THEORIST”
• HE MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY GOOD MACHINIST – V.E.
THOREN WRITES, “Because of the number and variety of
instruments made and described by Tycho, previous
commentators have assumed that he made instruments for
the sheer sake of keeping his instrument-makers busy. In
fact, however, their construction can be traced in his logs
and rationalized as several series of experiments which only
produced his major instruments in the mid-1580's. The tenyear process had considerable consequences for progress of
Tycho's theoretical work during his life. It has also obscured
historical understanding of the accuracy of his instruments.”
TYCHO BRAHE
• TYCHO TRIED TO MEASURE THE DISTANCE TO
MARS USING PARALLAX TECHNIQUES
• HE OBSERVED MARS, FIRST ON THE HORIZON,
THEN AT TRANSIT
• SINCE THE DISTANCE TO THE SUN WAS GREATLY
UNDER ESTIMATED HE THOUGHT HE COULD
MEASURE IT.
• IN FACT, THE PARALLAX OF MARS IS ABOUT .004
DEGREES, MUCH SMALLER THAN THE LIMIT OF
HIS MEASUREMENTS WHICH WERE MORE LIKE
.01 DEGREES (~ONE ARCMIN).
TYCHO’S COSMOLOGY
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SINCE HE COULD OBSERVE NO PARALLAX OF
THE STARS HE CONCLUDED THAT THE EARTH
WAS INDEED FIXED
TO KEEP COPERNICUS’ SOLUTION TO
RETROGRADE MOTION HE HAD THE SUN ORBIT
THE EARTH AND ALL THE OTHER PLANETS ORBIT
THE SUN.
HE RETAINED THE EARTH AS BEING AT THE
CENTER OF THE CELESTIAL SPHERE.
BESSEL MADE THE FIRST SUCCESSFUL
MEASUREMENT OF STELLAR PARALLAX IN 1838
WHEN HE MEASURED THE STELLAR PARALLAX
OF 61 CYGNI. IT WAS 0.3 ARCSEC, 100 TIME
SMALLER THAN THE LIMIT OF TYCHO’S
INSTRUMENTS. (ONE ARC SEC IS THE ANGULAR
DIAMETER OF A DIME AT THE DISTANCE OF
ABOUT 1 ½ MILES)
TYCHO’S THEORY AND COPERNICUS’ THEORY
ARE INVARIANT UNDER A LORENTZ
TRANSFORMATION, I.E. BOTH SYSTEMS ARE
EQUALLY VALID IN RELATIVITY THEORY.
TYCHO – THE PERSON
• HIS ENTERPRISE AT HVEN WAS CONDUCTED BY
WHAT WE WOULD CALL A “FIEFDOM”.
• HE WAS GIVEN A “PATENT” WHICH ELEVATED
URANIBORG TO THE STATUS OF A UNIVERSITY. IT
ALSO ALLOWED HIS CHILDREN TO INHERIT IT
EVEN THOUGH HE HAD MARRIED A COMMONER.
• AS HE BECAME MORE FAMOUS HE BECAME LESS
TOLERANT OF THOSE WHO WORKED FOR HIM.
• HE THOUGHT OF HIMSELF AS THE NATURAL
SUCCESSOR OF HIPPARCHUS AND PTOLEMY – FAR
MORE IMPORTANT THAN A KING.
TYCHO’S LAST DAYS
• KING FREDERICK II DIED IN 1588
• AFTER SOME TIME HE HAD A FALLING OUT WITH THE NEW KING,
CHRISTIAN IV, A MINOR.
• HIS FAMILY’S CONNECTIONS IN THE CASTLE MAINTAINED HIS
SUPPORT FROM THE KING FOR SOME TIME.
• WHEN HE REFUSED TO REPAIR THE CHAPEL WHERE THE KING’S
FATHER WAS BURIED, HIS PATENT TO HVEN WAS RESCINDED.
• THE KING’S ACCOUNTANTS CALCULATED THAT ABOUT 1% OF THE
ENTIRE STATE’S BUGET WAS USED TO BUILD URANIBORG AND THAT
ITS ENTIRE OPERATION COST AT ABOUT “ONE TON” OF GOLD.
• AFTER ALMOST 20 YEARS OF OPERATION HE CLOSED THE
OBSERVATORY IN 1597 AND MOVED TO COPENHAGEN.
• IN 1599, AFTER SOME NEGOTIATION, HE WAS APPOINTED
IMPERIAL MATHEMATICIAN TO THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR,
RUDOLPH II IN PRAGUE.
TYCHO’S LAST DAYS CONTINUED
• IN PRAGUE HE TOOK ON JOHANNES KEPLER, A MATHEMATICIAN, TO
ASSIST HIM EVEN THOUGH KEPLER BELIEVED IN A COPERNICAN
COSMOLOGY AND TYCHO DID NOT.
• IN 1601 WHEN HE INTRODUCED KEPLER TO KING RUDOPH II, THE KING
COMMISSIONED KEPLER TO WORK WITH TYCHO ON A NEW AND BETTER
SET OF PLANETARY TABLES, TO BE CALLED “THE RUDOLPHINE TABLES”.
• AFTER A STATE DINNER, BOWING TO ETIQUETTE, HE IS SAID TO HAVE
REFUSED TO RISE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE KING IN ORDER TO RELIEVE
HIMSELF. HE DIED 11 DAYS LATER, SOME SAY OF A BURST BLADDER.
• HOWEVER RECENT FORENSIC ANALYSIS OF SOME OF THE HAIR FROM HIS
EXHUMED BODY INDICATE THAT HE HAD A GREAT AMOUNT OF MERCURY
IN HIS BODY AND THAT HE MAY HAVE DIED OF MERCURY POISONING.
• IN FACT SOME “WAY OUT” THEORIES SUGGEST THAT KEPLER MAY HAVE
MURDERED HIM CLAIMING THAT KEPLER HAD ACCESS TO TYCHO’S
ALCHEMY LAB AND DESPERATELY WANTED TO GET HIS HANDS ON
TYCHO’S DATA WHICH TYCHO HAD REFUSED TO GIVE HIM.