Tycho

One night in 1572, Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe saw what he thought was a brilliant new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. (We now know he was observing a supernova.) In 1604, a second supernova was observed. These discoveries caused scientists to seriously question Ptolemy's theory that all stars were contained in an outermost sphere of the universe that never changed.

All of the instruments Tycho Brahe used to observe the sky were made in his own workshop. He also printed all of his books on his own presses.

Tycho Brahe was born in 1546 in Denmark.

Tycho Brahe was a favorite of the king of Denmark, King Fredrik II. King Fredrik gave him an island to live on.

Tycho Brahe was the nephew of Jorges Brahe, a sailor who gave his life in an effort to save the life of King Fredrik II of Denmark.

Tycho Brahe benefited greatly from King Fredrik's generous support.

In 1597, Tycho Brahe lost the Danish king's support, so he went to Wandsbek in what is today known as Germany.

Over a 20 year period of time, Tycho Brahe made consistent observations which supported the heliocentric theory proposed earlier by Copernicus. These observations were made using only a compass and a sextant.

Tycho Brahe proved that comets were not just components of Earth's atmosphere, but actual objects traveling through space.

In 1600, Tycho Brahe hired Johannes Kepler as his assistant. In later years, Kepler would use Brahe's work as the basis for the laws of planetary movement which he developed.