OBJECTIVE:

Explain how Brahe’s innovations and

extensive collection of data in
observational astronomy paved the way
for Kepler’s discovery of his laws of
planetary motion
PTOLEM AN EARTH-CENTERED VIEW
Y OF THE UNIVERSE
-Geocentrism
 Tycho Brahe was born, majority of the
astronomers agreed that the earth was
the center of the universe (geocentrism).
This idea was common during ancient
times and was popularized by Ptolemy,
astronomer and mathematician from
Alexandria in 150 CE.
 The Earth was the center of the Universe
according to Claudius Ptolemy, whose
view of the cosmos persisted for 1400
years until it was overturned — with
controversy — by findings from
Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton.
NICHOLAS
COPERNICUS AN SUN-CENTERED VIEW
OF THE UNIVERSE
-Heliocentrism

 Nicholas Copernicus argued that the sun, not

the earth was the center of the universe
(heliocentrism). In 1543, Copernicus
published his book “On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres” with a brief argument for
the heliocentric universe and follows with an
extensive technical set of mathematical proofs
and astronomical tables
TYCHO
EARTH-CENTERED
BRAHE MODEL
In November of 1572, Brahe
observed a new star in the constellation
of Cassiopeia and successfully
measured its position (telescopes were
not yet invented during this time). This
observation only proved that celestial
bodies are not fixed but are moving.
Ancient astronomers believe that the
celestial realm was a place of perfect,
unchanging fixed stars
THE 1577 EARTH-CENTERED
COMET MODEL
Alongside this development, the
appearance of a comet in 1577
provided additional evidence that
things did change and did move in the
celestial sphere. Based on careful
measurements, Brahe was able to
identify that the comet was outside the
sphere of the moon and he eventually
suggested it was moving through the
spheres of different planets
THE TYCHO BRAHE
OBSERVATORY
Tycho designed and built new
instruments, calibrated them, and instituted
nightly observations. He also ran his own
printing press. The observatory was visited
by many scholars, and Tycho trained a
generation of young astronomers there in
the art of observing .
At Hven, Denmark Brahe made a
continuous record of the positions of the
Sun, Moon, and planets for almost 20
years. He was able to produce his own
model of the universe because of his
important data gathered.
TYCHO BRAHE’S MODEL OF
THE UNIVERSE Although Tycho Brahe published an “earth-
centered” model of the universe, his
observations of the universe and collection of
data, was considered a huge contribution to
our understanding of the universe
 As a result of these observations, Brahe put
forward a new model for the cosmos. In
Brahe's model, all of the planets orbited the
sun, and the sun and the moon orbited the
Earth. Keeping with his observations of the
new star and the comet, his model allowed the
path of the planet Mars to cross through the
path of the sun.
JOHANNES KEPLER (1571 -
1630)
 At the age of 27, Kepler became the assistant
of a wealthy astronomer, Tycho Brahe, who
asked him to define the orbit of Mars.
 There, in the year before his death, Brahe
found a most able young mathematician,
Johannes Kepler, to assist him in analyzing
his extensive planetary data
 Believed in Copernicus’ picture of
heliocentrism
 While Copernicus rightly observed that the
planets revolve around the Sun, it was Kepler
who correctly defined their orbits.
 JOHANNES
KEPLER’S  Brahe had collected a lifetime of astronomical
observations, which, on his death, passed into
Kepler’s hands. (Brahe, who had his own
“SUN CENTERED Earth-centered model of the Universe, withheld
the bulk of his observations from Kepler at
MODEL” least in part because he did not want Kepler to
use them to prove Copernican theory correct.
 Through his analysis of the motions of the
planets, Kepler developed a series of principles,
now known as Kepler’s three laws, which
described the behavior of planets based on their
paths through space. The first two laws of
planetary motion were published in 1609 in
The New Astronomy and the third law in 1618.
Their discovery was a profound step in the
development of modern science
LAWS OF
PLANETARY
MOTION
JOHANNES KEPLER (1571 - 1630)
 KEPLER’S FIRST LAW: LAW OF ORBITS

 Kepler’s First Law: Each planet moves around the Sun in an orbit that is
an ellipse, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.
 KEPLER’S SECOND LAW: LAW OF AREAS

 KEPLER’S SECOND LAW: The straight line joining a planet and the
Sun sweeps out equal areas in space in equal intervals of time.
 KEPLER’S THIRD LAW: LAW OF PERIODS

 Kepler’s Third Law: The square of a planet’s orbital period is directly

proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.
  Kepler was the first to state
clearly that the way to
understand the motion of the
planets was in terms of some
kind of force from the sun.
However, in contrast to Galileo,
Kepler thought that a continuous
force was necessary to maintain
motion, so he visualized the
force from the sun like a rotating
spoke pushing the planet around
its orbit. On the other hand,
Kepler did get right that the tides
Kepler vs Galileo were caused by the Moon's
gravity. Galileo mocked him for
this suggestion.
 SEATWORK
 MULTIPLE CHOICE: Write the letter of your answer on
the space provided.

_________1. Where did Tycho Brahe carry out his

astronomical observations?
A. on a mountain C. in a cave
B. on an island D. in a dessert
_________2. Where was Tycho’s first
observatory?
A. Austria B. Germany
C. Italy D.
Denmark
_________3. What did Tycho Brahe
believe was the center of our universe?

 A. Earth
B. Sun
C. Moon
D. Stars
_________4. Where was the sun in the
Copernican system?
A. At the edge of the universe
B. At the center of the earth
C. Orbiting the earth
D. At the center of the universe
_________5. What did Kepler believe was pushing
the planets around their orbits?

A. a force emanating from the earth

B. a force emanating from the edge of the universe
C. a force emanating from the sun
D. a force emanating from the stars
 _________6. How was Tycho Brahe’s system different
from the Copernican system?
 A. Tycho believed that the earth revolved around the sun
and the planets revolved around the earth
 B. Tycho believed that the planets revolved around Mars

 C. Tycho believed that the earth revolved around the sun

 D. Tycho believed that the sun revolved around earth and

the planets revolved around the sun
_________7. What planetary system did
Kepler endorse?
A. Copernican
B. Tychonic
C. Platonic
D. Ptolemaic
 _________8. Which of the following is a statement of
Kepler's first law?

 A. planets move in perfect circles with the Sun at the center

 B. planets move along an elliptical path with the Sun at the
center
 C. planets move along an elliptical path with the Sun at one
of the foci
 D. planets move along an elliptical path with the Earth at one
of the
 _________9. Tycho Brahe's principal contribution to
astronomy was
 A. his noble blood.
 B. his suggested model for the solar system (which had a
fixed Earth with the Sun revolving about it but the rest of
the planets revolving about the Sun).
 C. the accuracy of his observations and the completeness
of his records.
 D. his choice of Galileo as an assistant
 ________10. How did Johannes Kepler greatly benefit
from Tycho Brahe?
 A. Kepler got to work under a popular astronomer so he
would be credited too
 B. Kepler had the chance to work on Brahe’s science
instruments
 C. Kepler got to study Brahe’s data, analyze and formulate
his own theories on planetary motion
 D. Kepler was acknowledged by his contemporaries for
working under Tycho Brahe