swuklink: Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, best known for his laws of planetary motion.

Carl Sagan described him as the last great astrologer and the first great astronomer.

Kepler was a professor of mathematics at the University of Graz, court mathematician to Emperor Rudolf II, and court astrologer to General Wallenstein. He was an assistant to Tycho Brahe, early in his early career.

Kepler's career coincided with that of Galilei.

Like the astronomers before him, Kepler believed in the "perfection" of the universe and that celestial bodies moved in perfect circles conforming the the Platonic idea of the "perfection" of the circle.

Early in his career, Kepler had been the assistant of Tycho Brahe and, after performing calculations on Brahe's data for twenty years, he concluded that the traditional model of the universe where planets moved in perfect circles was erroneous and that heavenly bodies moved in ellipses.

In 1596, Kepler published The Cosmic Mystery explaining, among other things, the relation between the planets and the platonic solids.

Kepler observed the supernova in the Milky Way, in the constellation of Ophiuchus, which now bears his name on October 17th, 1604 (it had appeared suddenly eight days previously on October 9th). He described the appearance of the new star, which provided more evidence that the universe was changeable and did not conform to the classical ideas of perfection, in his De Stella nova in pede Serpentarii (which also influenced the argument of Galileo).

Kepler's Star is the last known occurence of a supernova in the Milky Way although others have since occured in other galaxies.

This time-line has been generated for this page from our general time-line
which you can view by clicking here or on the dates in the left-hand column.

To view links to related pages, click here

1571.Dec.27		Birth of German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler (-1630)

1577		Johannes Kepler, aged 6, taken to see a comet
	BAAAGBKN
1580		Johannes Kepler, aged 9, taken to see an eclipse of the Moon

1591		Johannes Kepler graduates from the University of T�bingen to persue graduate studies in theology

1594.Apr		Johannes Kepler takes Mathematics faculty position at Gratz, Austria

1597.Apr		Johannes Kepler marries Barbara Muehleck (-1611)

1599.Dec		Tycho Brahe writes inviting Johannes Kepler to assist him at Benatek nr. Prague

1601.Nov		Johannes Kepler appointed imperial mathematician to the Hapsburg Emperor, after the death of Tycho Brahe

1604		Supernova 1604 is observed (the last supernova to be observed in the Milky Way) The supernova convinces Johannes Kepler that the cosmos is changeable and not fixed

1612.Jan		Johannes Kepler takes the post of provincial mathematian at Linz

1618.Mar.08		Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of panetary motion He doesnt accept its vaalidity until May 15

1618.May.15		Johannes Kepler accepts the third law of panetary motion he discovered in March

1620.Aug		Arrest of Katherine, mother of the mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Johannes Kepler for witchcraft
	BAAAGCQN
1621.Oct		Release Katherine, mother of the mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Johannes Kepler, arrested for witchcraft in August 1620
	BAAAGCQN
1630.Sep.15		Death of German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer Johannes Kepler (1571-) of fever at Ratisbon

1631.Dec.06		Observation of the first predicted (Johannes Kepler) transit of the planet Venus

1661		Death of Barbara, wife of Johannes Kepler, leaving two surviving children

Links to Other Pages on This Site

Links to Other Sites
. . . . . the inclusion of these links to other sites is for the interest and convenience of visitors to this site only and does not imply any endorsement of the products or services offered by the individuals or organisations involved nor the accuracy of the information contained therein . . . . .

Links to Other Pages on this Site

De Stella nova in pede Serpentarii
by Johannes Kepler
The book describes the appearance of the supernova of October 1604 which shattered the idea of a perfect and therefore changeless universe.

The Cosmic Mystery
by Johannes Kepler, 1596

Recommend a Book for this Page

Hits on this page since December 6th

Jan 16
Feb 1
Mar 3
Apr 1
May 1
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

current year: previous year:

Links

ALPHABETICAL
SITE INDEX
Select ;-
Aa-Az Ba-Bz Ca-Cz Da-Dz Ea-Ez Fa-Fz Ga-Gz Ha-Hz Ia-Iz Ja-Jz Ka-Kz La-Lz Ma-Mz Na-Nz Oa-Oz Pa-Pz Qa-Qz Ra-Rz Sa-Sz Ta-Tz Ua-Uz Va-Vz Wa-Wz Ya-Yz
SW COUNTIES

DISCLAIMER: Whilst we endeavour to ensure the content of this site is correct, we cannot undertake that information you find here, is, or will remain accurate and complete. We do not warrant that any information contained on this site is fit for any purpose. If you wish to place reliance on any such information you must check its accuracy by some other means before doing so.

If you are in any way connected with any location mentioned on this site or have an interest in any of its contents and have an hour or two a month to spare, we would welcome you as a local moderator - please email the webmaster by CLICKING HERE.