Introduction
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was a Danish nobleman interested in astronomy. In 1572 a "new star" (in today's language, a nova) appeared in the sky, not far from Polaris, outshining all others. Tycho carefully measured its position, then measured it again 12 hours later, when the the rotation of the Earth had moved the observing point to the other side of the Earth. Such a move was already known to shift the position of the Moon in the sky, helping astronomers estimate its distance. The position of the "new star" did not change, suggesting it was much more distant than the Moon.
This event so impressed young Tycho that he resolved to devote himself to astronomy. The king of Denmark supported him and gave him the island of Hven to build an observatory, with the taxes of the island providing him with the funding. The telescope had not yet been invented, and all measurements were done by eye, aided by sights (similar to those used on guns) which could be slid around circles, marked in degrees. Tycho extended such methods to their ultimate limit, the resolution of the human eye, and his star charts were far more accurate than any earlier ones. He even measured and took into account the very slight shift of star positions near the horizon, due to the bending of light in the Earth's atmosphere, similar to its bending in glass or water. And his observations of the planets became the most stringent test of the theories of Copernicus and Ptolemy
Concerning those theories, Tycho believed that all planets revolved around the Sun, but the Sun circled Earth. That view might have suited Denmark's Protestant church, for Martin Luther, founder of the Protestant doctrine, had rejected the views of Copernicus (who lived at the same time). Tycho's manners, however, were arrogant, and the residents of Hven complained about him, so that after the death of the king who was Tycho's patron, Tycho was forced to leave Denmark.
He settled in 1599 in Prague--now the Czech capital, then the site of the court of the German emperor Rudolf--and there he became court astronomer. It was in Prague, too, where a German astronomer named Johannes Kepler was hired by Tycho to carry out his calculations. When in 1601 Tycho suddenly died, it was Kepler who continued his work.
More about "the Man with the Golden Nose"
Tycho Brahe Measures the Sky (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960915.html).
Tycho Brahe Measures the Sky (Source: NASA-Picture of the Day).
Tycho was also known as "the man with the golden nose" because, having lost the tip of his nose in a duel, he crafted a replacement made of gold-plated brass. Click here for a portrait showing Tycho's distinguishing feature.
In the humorous section "Anti Gravity" of the Scientific American of February 1999, (page 29) Steve Mirsky joked about it: "...and the noseless man in question is the great Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. So how did he smell? Probably pretty bad: daily showers were still a few centuries off... "
A recent, very readable and quite detailed acount of Tycho's life is "Tycho and Kepler" by Kitty Ferguson (Walker & Co, 2002, xiv+402 pp.), telling about his instruments, disputes, discoveries, his controversial marriage and more. The book gives a fair impression of a time when astronomy and alchemy earned about equal amounts of attention.
A tidbit: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the Danish courtiers in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (and in Tom Stoppard's play " Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead") probably got their names from two relatives of Tycho who visited England in 1592 on a diplomatic mission, Frederick Rosenkrantz, 3rd cousin of Tycho, and Knut Gyldenstierne, also a cousin. For more, see p. 265 in Ferguson's book.
External Links
- "The Noble Dane: Images of Tycho Brahe" published in SPHÆRA - Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford (an article about Tycho and several pictures of him).
- "Astronomy Picture of the Day - Tycho Brahe Measures the Sky" (NASA)
Disclaimer: This article is taken wholly from, or contains information that was originally published by, David P. Stern- "Educational Web Sites on Astronomy, Physics, Spaceflight and the Earth's Magnetism." Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of the Cosmos may have edited its content or added new information. The use of information from David P. Stern should not be construed as support for, or endorsement by, that David P. Stern for any new information added by EoC personnel, or for any editing of the original content. The EoC has a specific working relationship with David P. Stern, and any changes to any of his content is to be done only with his approval or the approval of those appointed by him to represent his interests in this content.
Citation
Stern, David P. (Contributing Author); Bernard Haisch (Topic Editor). 2008. "Brahe, Tycho." In: Encyclopedia of the Cosmos. Eds. Bernard Haisch and Joakim F. Lindblom (Redwood City, CA: Digital Universe Foundation). [First published March 5, 2008].
<http://www.cosmosportal.org/articles/view/135474/>
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