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You are here: Home / Science / Which Other Astronomer Was Instrumental In Johannes Kepler’s Discoveries On the Laws of Planetary Motion?

Which Other Astronomer Was Instrumental In Johannes Kepler’s Discoveries On the Laws of Planetary Motion?

April 28, 2020 by Karen Hill

When Kepler started his experiments, he knew he needed the most accurate measurements of the planets’ movements available.

Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer who had his own observatory and the most advanced instruments of the time.

He had giant sextants and quadrants and a tool called an equatorial armillary that measured the angles between the stars and the planets.

Brahe’s instruments and the meticulous care he took in his work gave him the most accurate observations of the skies that had ever been made.

As accurate as his measurements were, however, Brahe still believed Earth to be the center of the universe. He did believe the other planets revolved around the Sun, but thought the whole solar system revolved around Earth at a very great distance.

Kepler was more interested in Brahe’s records than his theories, and he was hired to work as Brahe’s assistant.

Within a year, Brahe died and left Kepler all his notes and calculations. It was the accuracy of these records that allowed Kepler to make his discovery.

As a tribute to his fellow astronomer, Kepler completed Brahe’s Rudolphine Tables, the first nautical almanac that showed the planetary positions for years to come.

Related Facts

  • Who Discovered the laws of planetary motion and that planets orbit around the sun in ellipses?
  • Who was Tycho Brahe and What were Tycho Brahe’s Contributions to Astronomy?
  • Who Was Johannes Kepler and What Were Johannes Kepler’s Most Important Contributions To Astronomy?
  • How Did Johannes Kepler Improve on Nicolaus Copernicus’s Theory of a Heliocentric Model of the Universe?
  • How Is the Copernican System Different From the Ptolemaic System of Planetary Motion?
  • Who first Discovered that the Sun Is the Center of the Solar System and the earth rotates around it and When?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Who Was Johannes Kepler and What Were Johannes Kepler’s Most Important Contributions To Astronomy?
Next Post: What Did Nicolaus Copernicus Do With His Findings and Why Was Copernicus Reluctant To Publish His Book? »

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