Free The Story of Astronomy by Peter Aughton

was not the first to suggest the idea of the Earth orbiting the Sun, and we know he had access to the work done by Aristarchus long before him. He himself knew that he was not the first astronomer to propose a heliocentric universe either. But Copernicus was a great thinker and a man of bravery and vision. He knew that his theory would create a revolution in astronomy but he also wanted the world to know that he was right and that his system was the truth. In this respect he succeeded in his ambitions,and he takes his place amongst the greatest of the world’s astronomers.
Great Minds Thinking Alike
    When Copernicus was in his sixties, a 25-year-old professor of mathematics at Wittenburg called Rhaeticus heard about his heliocentric theory. In 1539 he sought out Copernicus, and the two discovered they were in complete agreement about the theory. They enjoyed each other’s company so much that Rhaeticus stayed on for two years. During this time he pressed Copernicus to publish his work. But Copernicus knew there would be a great outcry when his heretical ideas were known, and he intended to delay publication until after his death. The book did indeed remain unpublished until 1543, after Copernicus had died. In the meantime Rhaeticus published a volume called
Narratio Prima
outlining the Copernican theory. Rhaeticus’ work preceded
De Revolutionibus
by several years, but he gave full credit for the idea of the Sun-centered universe to Copernicus. There is a tradition that Copernicus held his own book in his hands as he lay on his deathbed—if true, it epitomizes the problems faced in those times by men with heretical new ideas about the universe.

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CHASING THE PATHS OF THE PLANETS
    In the late 16th and early 17th centuries two astronomers strove to calculate the positions of the planets. Tycho Brahe spent many years measuring the paths of the planets across the sky from his observatory on the island of Hven, while Johannes Kepler was able to prove from this data that the orbits of the planets were ellipses.
    It was Christmas 1566, and in the town of Rostock in Germany a university professor was holding a festive gathering for staff and students. At some point during the proceedings, perhaps fueled by wine, a furious row broke out between two of the guests, both of them Danish noblemen. Before anyone could intervene, one of the participants threw down the gauntlet and challenged his antagonist to a duel. A week later tempers had still not cooled off, and so the duel took place at an appointedplace in the nearby countryside. One of the noblemen was called Manderup Parbsjerg, and the other was called Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). When the swords were drawn and the blades were flashing in anger it was Parbsjerg who got the better of the encounter. Tycho Brahe’s nose received a severe cut, his face was covered in blood and he was forced to concede. Brahe had his nose patched up with a concoction of gold, silver and wax. The doctor did a good job and, apart from a rather startling appearance that sometimes gave him an advantage, Brahe was hardly troubled by his injury. His relationship with Manderup Parbsjerg was also patched up and the two became good friends.
Astrological Shortcomings
    The “man with the golden nose” was a very successful astrologer. When he witnessed an eclipse of the Moon just two months before his duel with Parbsjerg, he forecast that the sultan of Turkey was about to die. Soon afterward, news arrived that the sultan had indeed died. This enhanced Brahe’s reputation and it also convinced him of the truth of astrology. Then news arrived that the sultan had died
before
the eclipse of the Moon and the eclipse was therefore not a valid prediction of the event. This was disturbing, and Brahe soon discovered that there were other problems with his astrological predictions. Hehad to admit that many of them did not seem to work. He was very confident that his methods were correct, so