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Tycho Brahe

Astronomer

Tycho Brahe isn't as famous as Galileo or Copernicus, but in some circles he's considered the father of modern astronomy. He spent much of his life compiling the world's first truly accurate and complete set of astronomical tables -- all before the invention of the telescope. Brahe's assistant, Johannes Kepler, later used the tables to deduce the laws of planetary motion. In 1628 Kepler published the Rudolphine Tables, a list of remarkably accurate logarithmic astronomical tables based on Brahe's observations and Kepler's subsequent analysis.

Extra credit: In 1566 Brahe lost most of his nose in a duel, and wore a metal replacement the rest of his life.

Tycho Brahe appears with the Elephant Man in our loop on the Facially Challenged... He makes a cameo appearance in Big Noses... A related loop is Celebs Missing Fingers.

Four Good Links

Tycho Brahe, Danish Astronomer

Fan page with a simple point-by-point guide to his life

Tycho Brahe

Solid bio from Rice University

Noble Dane: Images of Tycho Brahe

From an exhibition at Oxford

Did Tycho Brahe Have A Silver Nose?

'The Straight Dope' tells the tale

Vital Stats

Birth

14 December 1546

Birthplace

Skane, Denmark (now Sweden)

Death

24 October 1601
(gastrointestinal trouble, age 54)

Best Known As

Denmark's hottest stargazer