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Kepler,
Johann German astronomer Born: Weil der Stadt, Wurttemberg, December 27, 1571 Died: Regensburg, Bavaria, November 15, 1630 | |||||||||
| " But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be" - Kepler Brahe Galileo Herschel Hevelius Hubble Kepler Leavitt Messier Shapley |
Kepler was sickly as a child. An attack of smallpox crippled his hands and weakened his eyes when he was three. It was thought that he would have to be a minister, so he received a religious education. His brilliance in mathematics was, however, soon realised and studying further in astronomy, he secretly embraced the views of Copernicus. He taught at the University of Graz in Austria, where, as an astronomer, he was expected to cast horoscopes for prominent personages. He studied the Greek astronomers intently, trying to make a science out of astrology and corresponded in this regard with Galileo. Unfortunately, his poor eyesight would not allow him to take advantage of the newly invented telescope, even though Galileo sent him several as gifts. Kepler later accepted a position in Prague with the Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe with whom he had corresponded. He later inherited all the observations collected by Brahe over the years, including data on the orbit of Mars. Kepler was strongly influenced by the work of Pythagoras and Plato, and tried to reconcile the recorded observations of the heavens with the theories of the ancients. | |||||||||
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