Tycho Brahe and the Supernova of 1572

 

bulletbrahe_uburg_s.gif (44281 bytes)  Portrait of Tycho Brahe (1546 - 1601) by Jacob de Gheyn.  Surrounding Tycho are the coats of arms of his ancestors.   "Guildenstern" is at bottom left, and "Rosencrans" is four above "Guildenstern."  Click here for a larger version.  Use your browser's BACK button to return to this page.
bulletNewstar_s.gif (66339 bytes) In Scania, Denmark, Tycho first observed of a "new star" (a supernova) on November 11, 1572.  From Flammarion's Astronomie Populaire (1880), reproduced in Sky and Telescope, November 1998.   Click here for a larger version.  Use your browser's BACK button to return to this page.
bullethven_s.gif (32961 bytes) For his discovery of the new star, the Danish king financed an observatory for Tycho on the island of Hven in the Danish Sound between Denmark and Sweden.  Hamlet's Elsinore ("Helschenor") castle is at left.  From Atlas of the Principal Cities (1588), reproduced in Sky and Telescope, November 1998.  Click here for a larger version.  Use your browser's BACK button to return to this page.
bulleturaniborg_painting_s.gif (39381 bytes) Tycho's observatory "Uraniborg," which means "castle of the heavens."  Click here for a larger version.  Use your browser's BACK button to return to this page.
bulletmquadrant_s.gif (30727 bytes) At Uraniborg, Tycho used a huge mural quadrant to make accurate measurements of the positions of stars and planets.  Tycho remained at Uraniborg until 1597.  Tycho later settled in Prague, where he hired Johannes Kepler as his assistant in 1600.  Click here for a larger version.  Use your browser's BACK button to return to this page.

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Last modified:  Monday, January 24, 2005 11:02 AM