Second Saturday Stars


January 11, 2020

Tycho and Uraniborg: Astronomy just before the telescope

by Monty Robson

Tycho Brahe was the world’s foremost astronomer just before Galileo first turned the telescope on the night sky. It was Tycho’s accurate data that Kepler used to formulate his three Laws of Planetary Motion. Tycho was a superbly educated Danish nobleman who was given his own island by the King of Denmark to use for his observatory.
Tycho led one of the most colorful lives in history. Come and learn who raised him, why he wore a prosthetic nose, what happened to his pet elk, how his good manners killed him, and what has happened to him after he died. The design and construction of his observatory and home will be discussed as well as their reconstruction. His instruments and observations and some of his other work will also be presented.

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