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Top 10 Facts About Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe is a Danish world-famous astronomer to whom many discoveries on the solar system and astronomy, in general, are credited. He also had the titles astronomer and alchemist under his belt. Brahe was born in Denmark in 1546. His uncle 鈥榓bducted鈥� him and raised him- his parents were aware but let it be, as they believed he would have a better life with his uncle who was very wealthy.

Brahe sort of stumbled upon astrology when a partial eclipse of the sun occurred in 1560, intriguing him. The eclipse had been predicted, and when it actually took place, Brahe was hooked!  He decided he wanted to study the stars. He otherwise might have become a lawyer per what his Uncle also his adopted father wanted for him.

A good thing too that he went the astrology way because his work paved the way for many more future discoveries by other astrologers present in his lifetime and otherwise. Tycho Brahe was quite the quirky man as these top ten facts will reveal.

1. Brahe had a fake nose. Quite literally!

Tycho Brahe- by Eduard Ender- Wikimedia Commons

While at the university of Rotack in Germany, Brahe engaged in a contest with fellow student Manderup Parsbjerg. This was to settle the matter of who was the better mathematician. While it may have been prudent to settle the matter in a Math related competition, the two chose to duel and Brahe lost. Part of the consequence was that Parsbjerg sliced off Brahe鈥檚 nose with a sword.

Brahe had a brass nose crafted for him, but claimed it to be gold and silver. The brass was confirmed when his body was exhumed for study in 2010. It must have been a tad tedious to stick on the brass nose with a paste every time and carry a spare one, especially for a young lad facing this tragedy in his early twenties. Brahe had to grapple with this.

2. Brahe kept an Elk for a pet

An Elk- by Its.abhinav.goyal.official- Wikimedia Commons

Brahe was nothing close to mundane. He kept an Elk! A mature male Elk is typically 2.4 meters long, weighing 320 to 330 Kilograms. Notwithstanding, Brahe took his Elk to parties where both he and the Elk would get drunk! His beloved pet died when it got intoxicated to the point of falling down a flight of stairs!

3. Tycho believed his best friend to be psychic

Tycho鈥檚 sidekick Jeppe was a dwarf who would sit at Brahe鈥檚 feet at mealtimes chatting away. Tycho believed that Jeppe had psychic and precognitive abilities.  Brahe would slip morsels of food to Brahe now and again. Jeppe made many utterances that would come to pass hence he did get attention not only from Brahe but from those within their circles.

4. Brahe hoarded his research

Brahe and Keppler- by Josef Vajce- Wikimedia Commons

Brahe鈥檚 death on October 24 1601 gave astronomers like Johannes Keppler access to his closely guarded work. Tycho had hoarded his data since he did not want to share credit with anybody else, should they have benefited from his groundwork.

Keppler was Tycho鈥檚 assistant, who with the data access went on to bring astronomy fully into the realm of science- he formulated his three basic laws of planetary motion and supported his heliocentric model of the solar system.

It was rumored that Keppler poisoned Brahe for his research- perfect modern-day motive! Keppler did admit crossing some ethical lines publishing his work using some of Brahe鈥檚 data.

5. Brahe ran an observatory, monarchy style

Place_of_Uraniborg-by Vitold Muratov- Wikimedia Commmons

With king Christian IV of Denmark鈥檚 blessing, Brahe built an observatory on island Hven, called Uraniborg. Here, Brahe used the instruments he designed or adapted himself to measure the position of the stars and planets with extraordinary accuracy.

The observatory looked like a fortress. It had a castle, a trap door, a dungeon and a torture chamber. Apart from his research assistants, he had soldiers, servants, and research assistants. His 鈥榤onarchy鈥� however fell into ruin after Brahe left for Prague following a quarrel with the King.

6. A bladder infection was the cause of Brahe鈥檚 death

Contrary to the rumors at the time, Tycho was not poisoned as chastisement for having an affair with the queen of Denmark.  His body was exhumed in 2010 and tests carried revealed he died of bladder infection from holding in urine too long.

In case you are wondering why he鈥檇 do that, tradition required that when in the King’s presence, guests sit at the table until the King arose. This is what befell Tycho who was dining with the king. After drinking too much, Tycho sat with crossed legs so long that his bladder burst leading to a bladder infection.

7. Brahe founded one of Denmark鈥檚 earliest paper mills

Brahe鈥檚 observatory, Uraniborg, housed a paper mill and a printing press. These two were among the very first ones in Scandinavia. Tycho was able to publish his own manuscripts. Impressive that he only used locally made paper with his own watermark to boot.

8. Two craters are named after Brahe

Tycho Crater- by James Stuby- Wikimedia Commons

Tycho on the Moon and Tycho Brahe on Mars are two craters named after Tycho Brahe. Tycho on the Moon was given its name by Jesuit astronomer Giovanni Riccioli, while the latter crater鈥檚 name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union鈥檚 (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature in 1973. Brahe鈥檚 name is therefore guaranteed to stay that much longer in the astronomical circles.

9. Brahe鈥檚 wealth totaled 1% of Denmark鈥檚 wealth

Brahe had a biological father as well as a wealthy adoptive father (his uncle) who raised him. When he died, Brahe inherited his wealth. Similarly, he inherited his biological father鈥檚 wealth when he died. This was quite a tidy amount. Research estimates that combined, this wealth would to 1% of all of Denmark鈥檚 entire wealth- not shabby at all for one person!

10. Brahe鈥檚 life may have inspired Hamlet

Hamlet is a widely acclaimed play, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It has been speculated that Brahe鈥檚 mysterious death prompted Shakespeare to write Hamlet. Shakespeare also makes reference to Brahe鈥檚 work in his plays.

Two of the characters in Hamlet are named Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. These names are quite similar to Rosenkrans and Guldensteren, which belong to Brahe鈥檚 ancestors. The family names appear on Brahe鈥檚 most famous portrait engraved in 1590, in which he is encircled by the coats of arms of his ancestors.

The Danish use an expression 鈥渁 Tycho Brahe day鈥� to reference an unlucky day. It is puzzling yet oddly apt that Brahe鈥檚 name is associated with a list of unlucky days in the 1700鈥檚. The reason for this analogy is unknown, but linked to Brahe鈥檚 superstitious nature- it did not come from his personal calamities.

The partial eclipse of the sun in 1560 seems to have enabled Brahe find his true north in astrology. His work in Astrology is influential to date.