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Tycho Brahe ( TY-koh BRAH-(h)ee, -⁠ BRAH(-hə); Danish: ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, Danish: ; 14 December 1546 – 24 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations which helped to turn astronomy into the first modern science and launch the Scientific Revolution.

In 1572, Tycho noticed a completely new star that was brighter than any star or planet. King Frederick II granted Tycho an estate on the island of Hven and the money to build Uraniborg, the first large observatory in Christian Europe. An heir to several noble families, Tycho was well educated. He worked to combine what he saw as the geometrical benefits of Copernican heliocentrism with the philosophical benefits of the Ptolemaic system, and devised the Tychonic system, his own version of a model of the Universe, with the Sun orbiting the Earth, and the planets as orbiting the Sun. In 1597, Tycho was forced by the new king, Christian IV, to leave Denmark. Before his death in 1601, he was assisted for a year by Johannes Kepler, who went on to use Tycho's data to develop his own three laws of planetary motion.

Tycho Brahe was born as heir to several of Denmark's most influential noble families. Tycho's father, Otte Brahe, a royal Privy Councilor (like his own father), married Beate Bille, a powerful figure at the Danish court holding several royal land titles.

He was the oldest of 12 siblings, 8 of whom lived to adulthood, including Steen Brahe and Sophia Brahe. When he was only two years old Tycho was taken away to be raised by his uncle Jørgen Thygesen Brahe and his wife Inger Oxe, sister to Peder Oxe, Steward of the Realm, who were childless. Instead, Tycho was raised at Jørgen Brahe's estate at Tosterup and at Tranekær on the island of Langeland, and later at Næsbyhoved Castle near Odense, and later again at the Castle of Nykøbing on the island of Falster. Tycho later wrote that Jørgen Brahe "raised me and generously provided for me during his life until my eighteenth year; he always treated me as his own son and made me his heir".

The support Tycho Brahe received from the king allowed him to continue his research and make significant contributions to the field of astronomy. In the late 16th century, Tycho Brahe built an observatory called Uraniborg. Despite the success Tycho Brahe had on Hven, he eventually left the island after a disagreement with the new king of Denmark, Christian IV. In 1597, Tycho Brahe moved to Prague, where he continued his work and was eventually appointed by Emperor Rudolf II in 1601 as imperial mathematician.

Also at the court in Prague was the mathematician Nicolaus Reimers (Ursus), with whom Tycho had previously corresponded, and who, like Tycho, had developed a geo-heliocentric planetary model, which Tycho considered to have been plagiarized from his own.

The expression Tycho Brahe days referred to "unlucky days" that were featured in almanacs from the 1700s onwards, but which have no direct connection to Tycho or his work.

In 1779, Tycho de Hoffmann wrote of Tycho's life in his history of the Brahe family.

Tycho is directly referenced in Sarah Williams' poem The Old Astronomer: "Reach me down my Tycho Brahé, – I would know him when we meet". The lunar crater Tycho is named in his honour, as is the crater Tycho Brahe on Mars and the minor planet 1677 Tycho Brahe in the asteroid belt. The bright supernova, SN 1572, is also known as Tycho's Nova and the Tycho Brahe Planetarium in Copenhagen is also named after him, as is the palm genus Brahea. Brahe Rock in Antarctica is named after Tycho Brahe.

Quick Facts

• The lunar crater Tycho is named in his honour, as is the crater Tycho Brahe on Mars and the minor planet 1677 Tycho Brahe in the asteroid belt.
• King Frederick II granted Tycho an estate on the island of Hven and the money to build Uraniborg, the first large observatory in Christian Europe.
• In 1597, Tycho was forced by the new king, Christian IV, to leave Denmark.
• Also at the court in Prague was the mathematician Nicolaus Reimers (Ursus), with whom Tycho had previously corresponded, and who, like Tycho, had developed a geo-heliocentric planetary model, which Tycho considered to have been plagiarized from his own.
• Brahe Rock in Antarctica is named after Tycho Brahe.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Tycho Brahe". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.