What you know about Tycho, Brahe?
Hello brohemians, Julian here for Dnews.
People who have been following this show for a while know that we like science.
But there would be no science without scientists and some of them have been truly remarkable
characters.
Today I’d like to profile a personal favorite of mine.
A man with a larger-than-life personality whose work changed how we view the heavens,
and yet you’ve probably never heard of him.
A man named Tycho Brahe.
Brahe lived a remarkable life and is remembered as one of the early pioneers of astronomy.
He observed the stars in the finest detail possible before the invention of the telescope
and invented his own instruments to measure the movement of celestial bodies, making his
measurements accurate to as much as one 120th of a degree when his contemporaries were at
best within a quarter of a degree.
His accounts of a particular supernova were so detailed we now call it Tycho’s supernova.
His observations debunked the idea that the stars were unchanging, and his later study
of a comet quashed the notion that planets were stuck on heavenly spheres.
Brahe dedicated himself to the stars and studied them every night…
When he wasn’t partying in more epic fashion than you could hope to duplicate.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s start at the beginning.
Born to Danish nobility in 1546, Tycho — or Tee-Ko — Brahe — or Bra-HEE — was raised
by his uncle Jørgen Brahe after Jørgen straight up stole a two year old Tycho.
Jørgen died after saving King Frederick II of Denmark from drowning, because nothing
about this family is average.
He left some of his substantial wealth to his adopted/kidnapped son, who by this point
was 18 and had developed an interest in the sciences.
Actually interest probably isn’t a strong enough word.
He was so passionate that at the age of 20, Brahe actually lost a chunk of his nose in
a duel… over math.
This was before the peer review process after all, but even so I don’t think scientists
typically settled disagreements with swords.
The carved-up Brahe wore a brass nose prostheses the rest of his life, and he may have had
gold and silver ones for special parties.
And he would have plenty of occasions to use them.
Brahe threw parties that were the stuff of legend.
On a private island.
In his observatory/castle.
At these parties you might meet his court jester or his prized pet elk — although
some say it was a moose.
Everybody was probably too drunk to tell, including the elk/moose, which got drunk on
beer one night, fell down a flight of stairs, and died.
Talk about a party animal.
Also please don’t make your animals party.
In the end Brahe’s fondness of drink would be his undoing too.
After Frederick II’s death Brahe regularly clashed with the new King of Denmark, eventually
leaving his island home to party and couch surf nobility style all over Europe.
He ended up in Prague for his last few years in the employ of King Rudolph II, before falling
ill at a party and dying 11 days later at the age of 54.
One rumor has it that he was poisoned by none other than the King of Denmark, who was enraged
that Brahe had an affair with his mother.
Some even believe the story gave Shakespeare his inspiration for Hamlet.
The truth has less political intrigue, but is no less epic.
Scientists have exhumed Brahe’s body twice and in 2012 the University of Rostock, Brahe’s
alma mater, concluded that there was not enough mercury in Brahe’s 411 year old beard to
suggest he was poisoned.
Instead Brahe, seen here as this heap, may have simply partied too hard.
While at a fancy dinner party, he had a lot to drink.
He had to relieve himself but didn’t want to be rude and excuse himself from the table,
so he held it until his bladder burst.
The resulting infection was the end of him, though his work would live on.
After his death the question of who would inherit his notes was up in the air, as he
had married a commoner and his children were not eligible to receive them.
Eventually the notes were acquired somewhat dubiously by his former assistant, German
astronomer Johannes Kepler.
Thanks in part to Brahe’s detailed measurements, Kepler showed that the planets moved in elliptical
orbits around the sun and established his three laws of planetary motion that we still
teach to this day.
The history of science is chock full of fascinating people you may have never heard of, like Ada
Lovelace.
Trace has the story of the first computer geek here.
Do you have a favorite scientist you’d like us to profile?
We want to do a whole series on them.
So let us know in the comments, subscribe for more and I will see you next time on DNews.