The scientific revolution was a transformational period from the mid-sixteenth through early eighteenth century. The Renaissance era influenced curiosity and challenged old beliefs about society and nature. This resulted in the creation of laws and careful observations in mathematics, astronomy, and science created to better explain their surroundings. This began with Nicolaus Copernicus, a renaissance-era astronomer, that propeosed a heliocentric solar system. Another significant astronomical pioneer in the scientific revolution was Tycho Brahe.
This Danish astronomer changed from studying in the field of law to astrology due to an eclipse and made observations as precise as one could since the telescope had yet to be invented. Brahe finished his studies as he travelled through Europe to places like Germany and Denmark to gain mathematical knowledge and invent tools for astronomy. Brahe finally settled down in Scania in 1571 and built a miniature observatory, which he names Uraniborg, where he continued his work until his death in 1601.
In 1572, Brahe studies proved that the supernova in the sky was actually a star. In 1573, Brahe published a very popular study of the star, which inclined his presence and position in astronomy. He discovered that the later Great Comet of 1577 had an orbit that lay past the moon. Brahe spent over a year making precise astronomical tools for observations. He also, proposed a concept in which the planets orbit around the Sun known as the modified Copernican system or the Tychonic system. The model he created contained both Ptolemy and Copernicus’ theories of the planetary positions. As well as, the idea that the moon, sun and stars don’t orbit the sun- instead they orbit the Earth like Ptolemy suggested.
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The Great Comet of 1577 was an important occurrence in history, as people used to see comets as dangerous and to be feared. By using the Hipparchus’s parallax method, Brahe recoded its positions until it was no longer visible to him. He was able to determine that the comet was not a threat to the Earth due to its great distance from the planet. Although, he was not sufficiently able to find the exact location or distance of the comet- he was able refute a popular theory that comets traveled in the planet’s atmosphere.
Tycho Brahe’s ideas were popular and un like the works of other revolutionary scientists, his systems were not criticized by Catholic churches. Although, Brahe’s ideas and theories were not always completely accurate, his observations led to the development of modern day astronomy. Brahe set a standard for the collection of scientific data being shared by peers. The Renaissance innovator created a path of acceptance and understanding for a natural phenomenon. His curiosity resulted in the creation of instruments and attentive record keeping. Brahe’s legacy follows him for his original and inspirational research, and emphasis on exact science.
