Tycho Brahe

Term Paper Title	Tycho Brahe
# of Words	524
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.1

Tycho Brahe

     Tycho Brahe was born on December 14th, 1546 in a town called
Knudstrup in Scania, Denmark. His early years were filled with pain, as he
was kidnapped by his uncle and raised in his castle in Tostrup, Scania. His
education was backed by his uncle, and he went to the University of Copenhagen
to study law from 1559-1562. It was during this time that Brahe developed a
love for astronomy. He saw a solar eclipse of the Sun which was predicted for
August 21st 1560, and he found it fascinating how a prediction of that nature
could be made. He also developed small globes with the help of some of his
instructors at Copenhagen. In 1562, Brahe was sent to the University of Leipzeg
where he studied until 1565. During this period, he made his first astronomical
observation. He saw an overlapping of Jupiter and Saturn, and saw that the
almanacs and ephemerides of the time were inaccurate.
     Between 1565 and 1570,
he traveled Europe, studying at Wittenberg, Rostock, Basel, and Augsburg. During
this time he gathered astronomical and mathematical instruments, including
a large quadrant. In 1571, he settled in Scania after inheriting the land of
his father and uncle and built a small observatory. Here, he discovered a star,
one which had not been seen, that was brighter than Venus. This supernova in
the constellation Cassiopeia shocked the scientific community because it suggested
that the universe was not in fact perfect and unchanging, as it was believed
to be at the time.
     With the discovery of this "new" star, Brahe dedicated
himself to astronomy. Frederick II, king of Denmark and Norway, provided Tycho
with funds to construct and equip an astronomica...

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