Description
Book SynopsisThe Danish aristocrat and astronomer Tycho Brahe personified the inventive vitality of Renaissance life in the sixteenth century. Brahe lost his nose in a student duel, wrote Latin poetry and built one of the most astonishing villas of the period, as well as the observatory Uraniborg, while virtually inventing team research and establishing the fundamental rules of empirical science. This illustrated biography presents a new and dynamic view of Tycho's life, reassessing his gradual separation of astrology from astronomy, and his key relationships with Johannes Kepler, his sister, Sophie, and his kinsmen at the court of King Frederick II.
Trade Review"This fascinating and rich biography successfully explains the aims of Tycho's startling and ambitious enterprise, to rebuild the sciences of heaven and earth in a new vision of organized inquiry and the accumulation of nature's treasures. With gripping detail and brilliant illustrations, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the cosmos and culture of early modernity."--Simon Schaffer, Professor of History of Science, University of Cambridge
Table of ContentsPreface: Denmark and the Renaissance 1 Birthright Challenged, 1546-70 2 Cloister into Observatory: The New Star, 1570-73 3 Finding a New Life, 1573-6 4 Treasures of the Sea King: Kronborg and Uraniborg, 1576-82 5 Star Castle: Going Down to See Up, 1582-8 6 On the Move, 1588-99 7 The Emperor's Astrologer and His Legacy, 1599-1687 References Further Reading Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements Index
