What you know about Tycho, Brahe?
Hello brohemians, Julian here for Dnews.
People who have been following this show for
a while know that we like science.
But there would be no science without scientists
and some of them have been truly remarkable
characters.
Today I’d like to profile a personal favorite
of mine.
A man with a larger-than-life personality
whose work changed how we view the heavens,
and yet you’ve probably never heard of him.
A man named Tycho Brahe.
Brahe lived a remarkable life and is remembered
as one of the early pioneers of astronomy.
He observed the stars in the finest detail
possible before the invention of the telescope
and invented his own instruments to measure
the movement of celestial bodies, making his
measurements accurate to as much as one 120th
of a degree when his contemporaries were at
best within a quarter of a degree.
His accounts of a particular supernova were
so detailed we now call it Tycho’s supernova.
His observations debunked the idea that the
stars were unchanging, and his later study
of a comet quashed the notion that planets
were stuck on heavenly spheres.
Brahe dedicated himself to the stars and studied
them every night…
When he wasn’t partying in more epic fashion
than you could hope to duplicate.
But I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s
start at the beginning.
Born to Danish nobility in 1546, Tycho — or
Tee-Ko — Brahe — or Bra-HEE — was raised
by his uncle Jørgen Brahe after Jørgen straight
up stole a two year old Tycho.
Jørgen died after saving King Frederick II
of Denmark from drowning, because nothing
about this family is average.
He left some of his substantial wealth to
his adopted/kidnapped son, who by this point
was 18 and had developed an interest in the
sciences.
Actually interest probably isn’t a strong
enough word.
He was so passionate that at the age of 20,
Brahe actually lost a chunk of his nose in
a duel… over math.
This was before the peer review process after
all, but even so I don’t think scientists
typically settled disagreements with swords.
The carved-up Brahe wore a brass nose prostheses
the rest of his life, and he may have had
gold and silver ones for special parties.
And he would have plenty of occasions to use
them.
Brahe threw parties that were the stuff of
legend.
On a private island.
In his observatory/castle.
At these parties you might meet his court
jester or his prized pet elk — although
some say it was a moose.
Everybody was probably too drunk to tell,
including the elk/moose, which got drunk on
beer one night, fell down a flight of stairs,
and died.
Talk about a party animal.
Also please don’t make your animals party.
In the end Brahe’s fondness of drink would
be his undoing too.
After Frederick II’s death Brahe regularly
clashed with the new King of Denmark, eventually
leaving his island home to party and couch
surf nobility style all over Europe.
He ended up in Prague for his last few years
in the employ of King Rudolph II, before falling
ill at a party and dying 11 days later at
the age of 54.
One rumor has it that he was poisoned by none
other than the King of Denmark, who was enraged
that Brahe had an affair with his mother.
Some even believe the story gave Shakespeare
his inspiration for Hamlet.
The truth has less political intrigue, but
is no less epic.
Scientists have exhumed Brahe’s body twice
and in 2012 the University of Rostock, Brahe’s
alma mater, concluded that there was not enough
mercury in Brahe’s 411 year old beard to
suggest he was poisoned.
Instead Brahe, seen here as this heap, may
have simply partied too hard.
While at a fancy dinner party, he had a lot
to drink.
He had to relieve himself but didn’t want
to be rude and excuse himself from the table,
so he held it until his bladder burst.
The resulting infection was the end of him,
though his work would live on.
After his death the question of who would
inherit his notes was up in the air, as he
had married a commoner and his children were
not eligible to receive them.
Eventually the notes were acquired somewhat
dubiously by his former assistant, German
astronomer Johannes Kepler.
Thanks in part to Brahe’s detailed measurements,
Kepler showed that the planets moved in elliptical
orbits around the sun and established his
three laws of planetary motion that we still
teach to this day.
The history of science is chock full of fascinating
people you may have never heard of, like Ada
Lovelace.
Trace has the story of the first computer
geek here.
Do you have a favorite scientist you’d like
us to profile?
We want to do a whole series on them.
So let us know in the comments, subscribe
for more and I will see you next time on DNews.
