The Life and Times of Tycho Brahe

Hello again, followers. I am a bit more sober at this point and I can remember most of my childhood and life. I am known for the more colorful aspects of my life, so why don't I share it with you?

My Birthplace

I was born into a noble Danish family, and was destined for an aristocratic lifestyle. I was raised by my uncle, who would later be the only member of my family to support my interest in astronomy.

My uncle wanted me to have a career as a lawyer, and sent me to the University of Copenhagen when I was thirteen to study law and philosophy. An event took place, however, that changed my life and career path drastically. There was a partial eclipse of the sun that had been predicted, and took place when people said it would. I found this fascinating. There is something incredible about men being able to predict the motion of stars so accurately, so far before an event takes place. I then bought a copy of Ptolemy's Almages, and my obsession only continued from that point on.

While I was traveling around Europe, I got into a fight with a man over who was the better swordsman. Unfortunately I lost part of my nose, and I had to wear a prosthetic nose that resembled gold. Stuff happens, right?

After returning to Denmark in 1570, something significant took place that changed my life. In 1572, I observed a new star in the sky that was brighter than Venus. I could not believe it! As it turns out, it was a "new star" (actually a supernova), and I observed it for about 16 months, and then described it in my book, "Stella Nova". This was my first great accomplishment in the world of atronomy, and made me famous as an astronomer.

Thanks the generous support of King Frederick II, I was able to construct an observatory and develop many precise instruments that allowed me to observe the stars and planets, along with the help of many assistants. Unfortunetly, I died in 1601 after relocating to Prague because I refused to relieve myself during a feast. It would have been completely rude, I would think so. People have attributed my death to uremia or perhaps mercury poisoning. Whatever it was, I hope that I did not live in vain. I do not believe that I did.


That is all I think you need to know about my life, right? I will go into much more detail about my work and relationship with Johannes Kepler in later blogs. Until then,


Tycho Brahe