Johannes Kepler Facts
Johannes Kepler Facts
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| Interesting Johannes Kepler Facts: |
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| Kepler's major works include Astronomia Nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astronomy. These works were the basis for many scientists' theories, including Sir Isaac Newton's universal gravitation theory. |
| Kepler taught mathematics in Graz, Austria, where he became an associate of Prince Hans Ulrich von Eggenberg. |
| He later became an assistant to Tycho Brahe, the noted astronomer. |
| Kepler later became Emperor Rudolf II's imperial mathematician, and to the emperor's later two successors, Matthias and Ferdinand II. |
| He was also a mathematics teacher in Linz, and later became an adviser to General Wallenstein. |
| Kepler completed essential work in optics, improved upon the design of the refracting telescope which was named the Keplerian Telescope in his honor, and wrote about the telescopic discoveries of his peer Galileo Galilei. |
| Kepler was known in his day for his belief that religion and science go hand in hand, ultimately believing that God used an understandable scientific plan for creation. |
| He referred to this field of science as "celestial physics." |
| Kepler observed a number of astounding celestial events as a child, including the Great Comet of 1577, all of which helped shape his early interest in astronomy. |
| Despite his religious belief and seminary education, Kepler was another supporter of Copernicus' heliocentric theories. |
| His first book, Mysterium Cosmographicum (The Cosmographic Mystery), was the first scientific work published that defended the Copernican system. |
| Kepler is said to have had a moment of clarity on July 19, 1595; this epiphany occurred while teaching in Graz. |
| He discovered the routine conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter in the zodiac, uncovering a regular geometrical basis of the universe. |
| Kepler also discovered a formula that compared the size of each planet's sphere to the size of its orbital period: moving from the inner planets to the outer planets, the ratio of increase in the orbital period is twice the difference in the orb's radius. |
| He later excluded this formula for not being precise enough. |
| Unlike other theorists who raised controversy with their heliocentric studies, Kepler likened his discoveries to an intentional, divine plan, and therefore gained stronger support for publication. |
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