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'''Tycho Brahe''', born '''Tyge Ottesen Brahe''' ([[December 14]] [[1546]] – [[October 24]] [[1601]]), was a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[nobility|nobleman]] famed for his accurate and comprehensive [[astronomy|astronomical]] observations. Hailing from [[Skåneland|Scania]], now part of modern-day Sweden, Brahe was well known in his lifetime as an [[astrology|astrologer]] and [[alchemy|alchemist]].
'''Tycho Brahe''', born '''Tyge Ottesen Brahe''' ([[December 14]] [[1546]] – [[October 24]] [[1601]]), was a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[nobility|nobleman]] famed for his accurate and comprehensive [[astronomy|astronomical]] observations. Hailing from [[Skåneland|Scania]], now part of modern-day Sweden, Brahe was well known in his lifetime as an [[astrology|astrologer]] and [[alchemy|alchemist]].
The [[Latinized]] name '''Tycho Brahe''' is usually pronounced {{IPA|[ˈtaɪ.kəʊ ˈbɹɑː.hi]}} or {{IPA|[ˈtaɪ.kəʊ ˈbɹɑː.ə]}} in [[English language|English]]. The original Danish name '''Tyge Ottesen Brahe''' is pronounced in Modern Standard [[Danish language|Danish]] as [ˈtˢyː.y ˈʌ.d̥ə.sn̩ ˈb̥ʁɑː.ʊ]
The [[Latinized]] name '''Tycho Brahe''' is usually pronounced [ˈtaɪ.kəʊ ˈbɹɑː.hi] or [ˈtaɪ.kəʊ ˈbɹɑː.ə] in [[English language|English]]. The original Danish name '''Tyge Ottesen Brahe''' is pronounced in Modern Standard [[Danish language|Danish]] as [ˈtˢyː.y ˈʌ.d̥ə.sn̩ ˈb̥ʁɑː.ʊ]
Tycho Brahe was granted an estate on the island of [[Hven]] and the funding to build the [[Uraniborg]], an early [[research institute]], where he built large astronomical instruments and took many careful measurements. As an astronomer, Tycho worked to combine what he saw as the [[geometry|geometrical]] benefits of the [[Copernican system]] with the philosophical benefits of the [[Ptolemaic system]] into his own model of the universe, the [[Tychonic system]]. From [[1600]] until his death in [[1601]], he was assisted by [[Johannes Kepler]], who would later use Tycho's astronomical information to develop his own theories of astronomy. He is universally referred to as "Tycho" rather than by his surname "Brahe", as was common in Scandinavia.
Tycho Brahe was granted an estate on the island of [[Hven]] and the funding to build the [[Uraniborg]], an early [[research institute]], where he built large astronomical instruments and took many careful measurements. As an astronomer, Tycho worked to combine what he saw as the [[geometry|geometrical]] benefits of the [[Copernican system]] with the philosophical benefits of the [[Ptolemaic system]] into his own model of the universe, the [[Tychonic system]]. From [[1600]] until his death in [[1601]], he was assisted by [[Johannes Kepler]], who would later use Tycho's astronomical information to develop his own theories of astronomy. He is universally referred to as "Tycho" rather than by his surname "Brahe", as was common in Scandinavia.
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Tycho realized that progress in the science of astronomy could be achieved not by occasional haphazard observations, but only by systematic and rigorous observation, night after night, and by using instruments of the highest accuracy obtainable. He was able to improve and enlarge the existing instruments, and construct entirely new ones. Tycho's [[naked eye]] measurements of planetary [[parallax]] were accurate to the [[arcminute]]. His sister, Sophia, assisted Tycho in many of his measurements. These jealously guarded measurements were "usurped" by Kepler following Tycho's death.<ref>{{cite book | title = The Illustrated on the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy | author = Stephen Hawking | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=iNLqkbDGmiQC&pg=PA108&ots=KLcJ5zhIsa&dq=tycho+%22quickly+took+advantage+of+the+absence%22&as_brr=3&sig=3_FJFfbz8MbgLAJkh474uKNPcBg | publisher = Running Press | year = 2004 | isbn = 0762418982 }}</ref> Tycho was the last major astronomer to work without the aid of a [[telescope]], soon to be turned toward the sky by [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]].
Tycho realized that progress in the science of astronomy could be achieved not by occasional haphazard observations, but only by systematic and rigorous observation, night after night, and by using instruments of the highest accuracy obtainable. He was able to improve and enlarge the existing instruments, and construct entirely new ones. Tycho's [[naked eye]] measurements of planetary [[parallax]] were accurate to the [[arcminute]]. His sister, Sophia, assisted Tycho in many of his measurements. These jealously guarded measurements were "usurped" by Kepler following Tycho's death. (The Illustrated on the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy, Stephen Hawking, [http://books.google.com/books?id=iNLqkbDGmiQC&pg=PA108&ots=KLcJ5zhIsa&dq=tycho+%22quickly+took+advantage+of+the+absence%22&as_brr=3&sig=3_FJFfbz8MbgLAJkh474uKNPcBg ]| ISBN 0762418982 .Tycho was the last major astronomer to work without the aid of a [[telescope]], soon to be turned toward the sky by [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]].
===Tycho's nose===
===Tycho's nose===
===Tycho's moose and dwarf===
===Tycho's moose and dwarf===
Tycho was said to own one percent of the entire wealth of [[Denmark]] at one point in the 1580s and he often held large social gatherings in his castle. He kept a dwarf named Jepp (whom Tycho believed was [[clairvoyant]]) as a court [[jester]] who sat under the table during dinner. [[Pierre Gassendi]] wrote<ref name="fn_1">{{cite web | url=http://www.nada.kth.se/~fred/tycho/nose.html | title=Tycho Brahe's Nose And The Story Of His Pet Moose | work=www.nada.kth.se |accessmonthday=31 March | accessyear=2005}} from a translation from Gassendi</ref> that Tycho also had a tame [[moose]], and that his mentor the Landgraf [[William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|Wilhelm]] of [[Hesse-Kassel]] asked whether there was an animal faster than a deer. Tycho replied, writing that there were none, but he could send his tame [[moose]]. When Wilhelm replied he would accept one in exchange for a horse, Tycho replied with the sad news that the moose had just died on a visit to entertain a nobleman at [[Landskrona]]. Apparently during dinner the moose had drunk a lot of beer, fallen down the stairs, and died: why the moose was indoors was not specified.<ref name="fn_2">{{cite book | author=J. L. E. Dreyer | title=Tycho Brahe: A Picture of Scientific Life and Work in the Sixteenth Century | publisher=Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh | year=1890 | id=unknown ISBN }} page 210<!-- found using print.google.com and nd.edu --> refers to Tycho's elk as cited by:</ref>
Tycho was said to own one percent of the entire wealth of [[Denmark]] at one point in the 1580s and he often held large social gatherings in his castle. He kept a dwarf named Jepp (whom Tycho believed was [[clairvoyant]]) as a court [[jester]] who sat under the table during dinner. [[Pierre Gassendi]] wrote (http://www.nada.kth.se/~fred/tycho/nose.html)| Tycho Brahe's Nose And The Story Of His Pet Moose, [www.nada.kth.se] from a translation from Gassendi that Tycho also had a tame [[moose]], and that his mentor the Landgraf [[William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel|Wilhelm]] of [[Hesse-Kassel]] asked whether there was an animal faster than a deer. Tycho replied, writing that there were none, but he could send his tame [[moose]]. When Wilhelm replied he would accept one in exchange for a horse, Tycho replied with the sad news that the moose had just died on a visit to entertain a nobleman at [[Landskrona]]. Apparently during dinner the moose had drunk a lot of beer, fallen down the stairs, and died: why the moose was indoors was not specified.(Tycho Brahe: A Picture of Scientific Life and Work in the Sixteenth Century)
===Death===
===Death===
Recent investigations have suggested that Tycho did not die from urinary problems but instead from [[mercury (element)|mercury]] poisoning: extremely toxic levels of it have been found in his hair and hair-roots. Tycho may have poisoned himself by imbibing some medicine containing unintentional [[mercuric chloride]] impurities, or may have been poisoned.<ref>http://www.tychobrahe.com/eng_tychobrahe/myt.html</ref> According to a 2005 book by Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder, there is substantial circumstantial evidence that Kepler murdered Brahe; they argue that Kepler had the means, motive, and opportunity, and stole Tycho's data on his death.<ref name="fn_4">{{cite book | author=Joshua Gilder and Anne-Lee Gilder| title=Heavenly Intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and the Murder Behind One of History's Greatest Scientific Discoveries | publisher=Anchor | year=2005|id=ISBN 978-1-4000-3176-4 }}</ref> According to the Gilders, they find it "unlikely"<ref name="fn_4"/> Tycho could have poisoned himself since he was an alchemist known to be familiar with the toxicity of different mercury compounds.
Tycho died on [[October 24]] [[1601]], eleven days after suddenly becoming very ill during a banquet. He was ill for eleven days, and toward the end of his illness he is said to have told Kepler "Ne frustra vixisse videar!", "Let me not seem to have lived in vain”.<ref>Pierre Gassendi, "Tycho Brahe", 1654, Feynman's Lost Lecture: The Motion of Planets Around the Sun, David L. Goodstein and Judith R. Goodstein [dhttp://books.google.com/books?id=ysZI5NcksUcC&pg=PA28&ots=NJU2NTP1jT&dq=%22let+me+not+seem+to+have+lived+in+vain%22+Kepler&sig=0uK8JpIYDdfzefBUQCB1J8M22fo] ISBN 0393039188 . For hundreds of years, the general belief was that he had strained his [[Urinary bladder|bladder]]. It had been said that to leave the banquet before it concluded would be the height of bad manners, and so he remained, and that his bladder, stretched to its limit, developed an infection which he later died of. This theory was supported by Kepler's first-hand account.
Recent investigations have suggested that Tycho did not die from urinary problems but instead from [[mercury (element)|mercury]] poisoning: extremely toxic levels of it have been found in his hair and hair-roots. Tycho may have poisoned himself by imbibing some medicine containing unintentional [[mercuric chloride]] impurities, or may have been poisoned. [http://www.tychobrahe.com/eng_tychobrahe/myt.html] According to a 2005 book by Joshua and Anne-Lee Gilder, there is substantial circumstantial evidence that Kepler murdered Brahe; they argue that Kepler had the means, motive, and opportunity, and stole Tycho's data on his death.(Joshua Gilder and Anne-Lee Gilder, Heavenly Intrigue: Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe, and the Murder Behind One of History's Greatest Scientific Discoveries, ISBN 978-1-4000-3176-4 ) According to the Gilders, they find it "unlikely" Tycho could have poisoned himself since he was an alchemist known to be familiar with the toxicity of different mercury compounds.
Tycho Brahe's body is currently interred in a tomb in the [[Church of Our Lady in front of Týn]] near [[Old Town Square (Prague)|Old Town Square]] near the [[Astronomical Clock]] in [[Prague]].
Tycho Brahe's body is currently interred in a tomb in the [[Church of Our Lady in front of Týn]] near [[Old Town Square (Prague)|Old Town Square]] near the [[Astronomical Clock]] in [[Prague]].
On [[November 11]], [[1572]], Tycho observed (from [[Herrevad Abbey]]) a very bright star which unexpectedly appeared in the constellation [[Cassiopeia (constellation)|Cassiopeia]], now named [[SN 1572]]. Since it had been maintained since [[Ancient history|antiquity]] that the world beyond the orbit of the moon, i.e. that of the fixed stars, was eternal and unchangeable (a fundamental axiom of the [[Aristotelian]] world view: celestial immutability), other observers held that the phenomenon was something in the Earth's atmosphere. Tycho, however, observed that the [[parallax]] of the object did not change from night to night, suggesting that the object was far away. Tycho argued that a nearby object should appear to shift its position with respect to the background. He published a small book, ''De Stella Nova'' ([[1573]]), thereby coining the term [[nova]] for a "new" star (we now know that Tycho's star in Cassiopeia was a [[supernova]] 7500 [[Light-year|light years]] from earth). This discovery was decisive for his choice of astronomy as a profession. Tycho was strongly critical of those who dismissed the implications of the astronomical appearance, writing in the preface to ''De Stella Nova'': "O crassa ingenia. O caecos coeli spectatores" ("Oh thick wits. Oh blind watchers of the sky").
On [[November 11]], [[1572]], Tycho observed (from [[Herrevad Abbey]]) a very bright star which unexpectedly appeared in the constellation [[Cassiopeia (constellation)|Cassiopeia]], now named [[SN 1572]]. Since it had been maintained since [[Ancient history|antiquity]] that the world beyond the orbit of the moon, i.e. that of the fixed stars, was eternal and unchangeable (a fundamental axiom of the [[Aristotelian]] world view: celestial immutability), other observers held that the phenomenon was something in the Earth's atmosphere. Tycho, however, observed that the [[parallax]] of the object did not change from night to night, suggesting that the object was far away. Tycho argued that a nearby object should appear to shift its position with respect to the background. He published a small book, ''De Stella Nova'' ([[1573]]), thereby coining the term [[nova]] for a "new" star (we now know that Tycho's star in Cassiopeia was a [[supernova]] 7500 [[Light-year|light years]] from earth). This discovery was decisive for his choice of astronomy as a profession. Tycho was strongly critical of those who dismissed the implications of the astronomical appearance, writing in the preface to ''De Stella Nova'': "O crassa ingenia. O caecos coeli spectatores" ("Oh thick wits. Oh blind watchers of the sky").
Tycho's discovery was the inspiration for [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s poem, "[[Al Aaraaf]]."{{Fact|date=July 2007}} In 1998, ''[[Sky & Telescope]]'' magazine published an article by Donald W. Olson, Marilynn S. Olson and Russell L. Doescher arguing, in part, that Tycho's supernova was also the same "star that's westward from the pole" in Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]''.
Tycho's discovery was the inspiration for [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s poem, "[[Al Aaraaf]]." In 1998, ''[[Sky & Telescope]]'' magazine published an article by Donald W. Olson, Marilynn S. Olson and Russell L. Doescher arguing, in part, that Tycho's supernova was also the same "star that's westward from the pole" in Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]''.
===Heliocentrism===
===Heliocentrism===
*Skautrup, Peter, 1941 Den jyske lov: Text med oversattelse og ordbog. Aarhus: Universitets-forlag.
*Skautrup, Peter, 1941 Den jyske lov: Text med oversattelse og ordbog. Aarhus: Universitets-forlag.
*Wittendorff, Alex. 1994. Tyge Brahe. Copenhagen: G. E. C. Gad.
*Wittendorff, Alex. 1994. Tyge Brahe. Copenhagen: G. E. C. Gad.
*{{cite web | url=http://www.nd.edu/~kkrisciu/strange/strange.html | title=Strange Cases from the Files of Astronomical Sociology | work=University of Notre Dame | accessmonthday=31 March | accessyear=2005 }}
*[http://www.nd.edu/~kkrisciu/strange/strange.html] Strange Cases from the Files of Astronomical Sociology
*Olson, Donald W.; Olson, Marilynn S.; Doescher, Russell L., "The Stars of ''Hamlet''," ''Sky & Telescope'' (November 1998)
*Olson, Donald W.; Olson, Marilynn S.; Doescher, Russell L., "The Stars of ''Hamlet''," ''Sky & Telescope'' (November 1998)
*{{cite journal | author=R. Cowen | title=Danish astronomer argues for a changing cosmos | journal=Science News | year=1999 | volume=156 | issue=25 & 26 | url=http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc99/12_18_99b/fob6.htm | accessdate = 2006-09-25 | language = English }}
*Danish astronomer argues for a changing cosmos | journal=Science News | year=1999 | volume=156 | issue=25 & 26 | [http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc99/12_18_99b/fob6.htm]
*[http://libraries.theeuropeanlibrary.org/Denmark/treasures_en.xml Brahe, Tycho. 'Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanica', 1598] European Digital Library Treasure
*[http://libraries.theeuropeanlibrary.org/Denmark/treasures_en.xml Brahe, Tycho. 'Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanica', 1598] European Digital Library Treasure
==External links==
==External links==
*[http://turnbull.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Brahe.html Brahe, Tycho] MacTutor History of Mathematics
*[http://turnbull.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Brahe.html Brahe, Tycho] MacTutor History of Mathematics
*[http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/tycho.html Tycho Brahe] pages by Adam Mosley at Starry Messenger: An Electronic [[History of astronomy|History of Astronomy]], University of Cambridge
*[http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/starry/tycho.html Tycho Brahe] pages by Adam Mosley at Starry Messenger: An Electronic [[History of astronomy|History of Astronomy]], University of Cambridge