Historical Astronomers in Context

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)

Tycho Brahe was the best naked eye observer of all time. He lived before the invention of the telescope, and therefore had to rely on his vision for all of his observations. He presented a geo-heliocentric model of the solar system in which the sun and moon revolved around Earth but everything else revolved around the sun. One advantage of this approach is that it got rid of the idea of rotating crystal spheres held in the Ptolemaic view of the universe, because it would be impossible for orbits to intersect if they were made from crystal spheres. Among other things he observed a comet and a supernova, but his most significant lasting impact to astronomy were the extremely accurate measurements that he made of movements in the heavens. While he did not personally use these measurements to their fullest extent, after his death they allowed Kepler to devise his three laws of planetary motion which are still being used to this day.

Historical Events During Brahe’s Life

1. 1580- Francis Drake circumnavigates globe and is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate as well as the first captain of a voyage to fully circumnavigate the globe. (Magellan died in the Philippines)
2. 1588- The Spanish Armada defeated by the English. At that time the Spanish had the best navy in the world and the victory solidified England as an international power. The battle also marked the introduction of long range naval weapons for the first time.

Famous People During Brahe’s Life

1. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)- Shakespeare was alive for a good portion of Brahe’s life and is well known as one of the best playwrights in the history of the English language. Many of his plays were performed in the Globe theater and he is known for such works as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Reflection

I think this was a very beneficial activity because it puts the time period of these astronomers in better context. It’s easy for me to learn about their accomplishments, but the dates just go in one ear and out the other because I don’t have a lot of events in the late 1500s at the forefront of my mind. Learning about the historical context makes their achievements seem a lot more impressive and I think its just really cool to see things like the overlap in the lifetimes of Brahe and Shakespeare.