Johannes Kepler

Birth and Early Years Of Johannes Kepler

Dec 27, 1571

Born December 27, 1571, in Württemberg, Germany, Johannes Kepler came from a low-income family and was often sick as a child. In his earlier years, he was known to be an intelligent student at a young age which got him a scholarship to the University of Tübingen, where he studied for the Lutheran ministry. While in college Johannes was intrigued by the ideas of Copernicus. After his college years, he became a math teacher Graz. (https://www.nasa.gov/kepler/education/johannes#anchor779268)

Keplerian Telescope

1608

In 1608 Johannes Kepler created a telescope called the Keplerian Telescope which gave him a broader and more clear perspective of the sky which could track planets more effectively. This telescope could accomplish higher amplifications than the Galilean Telescope. The Keplerian Telescope is viewed as a logical leap forward because it is the reason for all cutting-edge refractive telescopes.

Astronomia Nova

1609

In 1609, Johannes Kepler published Astronomia Nova portraying his laws of space motion, which are currently called Kepler's two laws of planetary movement. His first law explains that perfect circles cannot represent the orbits of the planets, and an oval expression of orbit makes more sense. His second law states the velocity of a planet changes due to its orbit. There was a third law added later in 1619, on which allowed for the distance of planets from the sun.

Astronomical Tables

1624

In 1601, Johannes’s mentor Brahes, diminishing wish was to finish an astronomical table for Rudolf II. Kepler was tasked with this, which permitted him access to Brahe's monitored information. Finally, in 1624, the tables were finished. It wasn’t until three years later in 1627 that the tables were published at Ulm in and were devoted to Emperor Ferdinand II. The fascinating fact about Kepler's tables was unlike those before him; the Rudolphine Tables proved to be accurate for decades to come.