Tycho Brahe
Born December 14, 1546; Died October 24, 1601
Brahe’s contributions to astronomy were based on observations he was able to make despite not having access to a telescope. He was able to map put planetary motion, which helped in the development of the current model of the solar system. He had observed a supernova, which he was able to conclude wasn’t just a local object based on the fact that it had no parallax. Brahe observed a comet and noticed that its parallax showed that it was further than the moon, so it could not have been gases in the atmosphere as Aristotle predicted. Additionally, he noticed that the stars had no parallax and hypothesized that they were so far away that the parallax was unobservable.
In His Life
One major historical event that happened during Brahe’s lifetime was the invention of the pencil in January 1565. Another historical event occurring during this time was Ferdinand took over the Holy Roman Empire. His reign lead to a period of peace, and crowned the Holy Roman Emperor without the Pope.
Another famous historical figure to live during this time was Queen Mary, also referred to as “Bloody Mary.” During her reign over England, she prosecuted hundreds of Protestants and reestablished the Church of England. She was born February 18, 1516 and died November 17, 1558.
Learning this context helped me realize how limited these astronomers were in their resources and technology that they used in observing, calculating, and hypothesizing about various astronomical phenomena. Many of the early astronomers didn’t even have access to telescopes, so all of their theories and perspectives were based on observations made purely from the naked eye. Also, these scientific discoveries were taking place during the height of religious reformation. These discoveries often suggested the imperfection of the heavens, which the church likely was unhappy about, making it more difficult for the astronomers to have support behind their claims.
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