Who was Tycho Brahe and why should you care?
Tycho Brahe was born on 14th December 1546 at the castle of Knutstorp in Scania
which at that time was a province of Denmark.
His parents, Otte Brahe and Beate Bille, belonged to the highest-ranked nobility in Denmark, and several of his relatives served the king as advisers and warriors.
He was brought up by his paternal uncle Jörgen Brahe and his wife Inger Oxe at the castle of Tosterup.
He spent much time with other relatives at the castle of Herrevadskloster.
Tycho Brahe was the most meticulous astronomical observer of his time. Brahe, who lived between 1546 and 1601, set out to solve the day's most pressing astronomical problem: to determine whether the Earth or the Sun was at the center of the Solar System. To do this he and his assistants created the first major astronomical observatory where they devised and used the most accurate pre-telescopic astronomical instuments. Tycho Brahe thus compiled tables of precise measurements of the positions and brightnesses of planets and stars. Brahe never solved the Solar System problem himself - but left data so impressively accurate his assistant Johannes Kepler was able to develop definitive laws. Brahe is also remembered for witnessing a supernova in 1572, showing that the Great Comet of 1577 was not an atmospheric phenomena, and for his metal nose.