The Martyrs of Science, or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler Part 5

For several years Tycho had been in the practice of calculating, at the beginning of each year, a sort of almanac for his own use, and in this he inserted all the observations which he had made on the new star, and the conclusions which he had drawn from them. Having gone to Copenhagen in the course of the ensuing spring, he shewed this ma.n.u.script to John Pratensis, a Professor, in whose house he was always hospitably received. Charles Danzeus, the French amba.s.sador, and a person of great learning, having heard of Tycho's arrival, invited himself to dine with him at the house of Pratensis. The conversation soon turned upon the new star, and Tycho found his companion very sceptical about its existence.

Danzeus was particularly jocular on the subject, and attacked the Danes for their inattention to so important a science as astronomy. Tycho received this lecture in good temper, and with the anxious expectation that a clear sky would enable him to give a practical refutation of the attack which was made upon his country. The night turned out serene, and the whole party saw with astonishment the new star under the most favourable circ.u.mstances. Pratensis conceived that it was similar to the one observed by Hipparchus, and urged Tycho to publish the observations which he had made upon it. Tycho refused to accede to this request, on the pretext that his work was not sufficiently perfect; but the true reason, as he afterwards acknowledged, was, that he considered it would be a disgrace for a n.o.bleman, either to study such subjects, or to communicate them to the public. This absurd notion was with some difficulty overcome, and through the earnest entreaties and a.s.sistance of Pratensis, his work on the new star was published in 1573.

This remarkable body presents to us one of the most interesting phenomena in astronomy. The date of its first appearance has not been exactly ascertained. Tycho saw it on the 11th November, but Cornelius Gemma had seen it on the 9th, Paul Hainzel saw it on the 7th of August at Augsburg, and Wolfgangus Schulerus observed it at Wittenberg on the 6th. Tycho conjectures that it was first seen on the 5th, and Hieronymus Munosius a.s.serts that at Valentia, in Spain, it was not seen on the 2d, when he was shewing that part of the heavens to his pupils. This singular body continued to be seen during 16 months, and did not disappear till March 1574. In its appearance it was exactly like a star, having none of the distinctive marks of a comet. It twinkled strongly, and grew larger than _Lyra_ or _Sirius_, or any other fixed star. It seemed to be somewhat larger than _Jupiter_, when he is nearest the earth, and rivalled _Venus_ in her greatest brightness. In the _first_ month of its appearance it was less than Jupiter; in the _second_ it equalled him; in the _third_ it surpa.s.sed him in splendour; in the _fourth_ it was equal to _Sirius_; in the _fifth_ to _Lyra_; in the _sixth_ and _seventh_ to stars of the _second_ magnitude; in the _eighth_, _ninth_, and _tenth_, to stars of the _third_ magnitude; in the _eleventh_, _twelfth_, and _thirteenth_, to stars of the _fourth_ magnitude; in the _fourteenth_ and _fifteenth_ to stars of the _fifth_ magnitude; and in the _sixteenth_ month to stars of the _sixth_ magnitude. After this it became so small that it at last disappeared.

Its colour changed also with its size. At first it was white and bright; in the third month it began to become yellowish; in the fifth it became reddish like Aldebaran; and in the seventh and eighth it became bluish like Saturn; growing afterwards duller and duller. Its place in the heavens was invariable. Its longitude was in the 6th degree and 54th minute of Taurus; and its lat.i.tude 53 45' north. Its right ascension was 0 26-2/5' and its declination 61 46-3/4'. It had no parallax, and was unquestionably situated in the region of the fixed stars.

After Tycho had published his book, he proposed to travel into Germany and Italy, but he was seized with a fever, and he had no sooner recovered from it, than he became involved in a love affair, which frustrated all his schemes. Although Tycho was afraid of casting a stain upon his n.o.bility by publis.h.i.+ng his observations on the new star, yet he did not scruple to debase his lineage by marrying a peasant girl of the village of Knudstorp. This event took place in 1573, and in 1574 his wife gave birth to his daughter Magdalene. Tycho's n.o.ble relations were deeply offended at this imprudent step; and so far did the mutual animosity of the parties extend, that the King himself was obliged to effect a reconciliation.

The fame of our author as an astronomer and mathematician was now so high, that several young Danish n.o.bles requested him to deliver a course of lectures upon these interesting subjects. This application was seconded by Pratensis, Danzeus, and all his best friends; but their solicitations were vain. The King at last made the request in a way which ensured its being granted, and Tycho delivered a course of lectures, in which he not only gave a full view of the science of astronomy, but defended and explained all the reveries of astrology.

Having finished his lectures, and arranged his domestic affairs, he set out on his projected journey about the beginning of the spring of 1575, leaving behind him his wife and daughter, till he should fix upon a place of permanent residence. The first town which he visited was Hesse-Ca.s.sel, the residence of William, Landgrave of Hesse, whose patronage of astronomy, and whose skill in making celestial observations, have immortalized his name. Here Tycho spent eight or ten delightful days, during which the two astronomers were occupied one half of the day in scientific conversation, and the other half in astronomical observations; and he would have prolonged a visit which gave him so much pleasure, had not the death of one of the Landgrave's daughters interrupted their labours. Pa.s.sing through Frankfort, Tycho went into Switzerland; and, after visiting many cities on his way, he fixed upon Basle as a place of residence, not only from its centrical position, but from the salubrity of the air, and the cheapness of living. From Switzerland he went to Venice, and, in returning through Germany, he came to Ratisbon, at the time of the congress, which had been called together on the 1st of November, for the coronation of the Emperor Rudolph. On this occasion he met with several distinguished individuals, who were not only skilled in astronomy, but who were among its warmest patrons. From Ratisbon he pa.s.sed to Saalfeld, and thence to Wittemburg, where he saw the parallactic instruments and the wooden quadrant which had been used by John Pratensis in determining the lat.i.tude of the city, and in measuring the alt.i.tudes of the new star.

Tycho was now impatient for home, and he lost no time in returning to Denmark, where events were awaiting him which frustrated all his schemes, by placing him in the most favourable situation for promoting his own happiness, and advancing the interests of astronomy.

CHAPTER II.

_Frederick II. patronises Tycho--And resolves to establish him in Denmark--Grants him the Island of Huen for Life--And Builds the splendid Observatory of Uraniburg--Description of the Island, and of the Observatory--Account of its Astronomical Instruments--Tycho begins his Observations--His Pupils--Tycho is made Canon of Rothschild, and receives a large Pension--His Hospitality to his Visitors--Ingrat.i.tude of Witichius--Tycho sends an a.s.sistant to take the Lat.i.tude of Frauenburg and Konigsberg--Is visited by Ulric, Duke of Mecklenburg--Change in Tycho's fortunes._

The patronage which had been extended to astronomers by several of the reigning princes of Germany, especially by the Landgrave of Hesse, and Augustus, Elector of Saxony, had begun to excite a love of science in the minds of other sovereigns. The King of Denmark seems to have felt it as a stain upon his character, that the only astronomer in his dominions should carry on his observations in distant kingdoms and adorn by his discoveries other courts than his own. With this feeling he sent amba.s.sadors to Hesse-Ca.s.sel to inquire after Tycho, and to intimate to him his wish that he should return to Denmark, and his anxiety to promote the advancement of astronomy in his own dominions. Tycho had left Ca.s.sel when these messengers arrived, and had heard nothing of the King's intentions till he was about to quit Knudstorp with his family for Basle. At this time he was surprised at the arrival of a n.o.ble messenger, who brought a letter requesting him to meet the King as soon as possible at Copenhagen. Tycho lost no time in obeying the royal summons. The King received him with the most flattering kindness. He offered to give him a grant for life of the island of Huen, between Denmark and Sweden, and to construct and furnish with instruments, at his own expense, an observatory, as well as a house for the accommodation of his family, together with a laboratory for carrying on his chemical inquiries. Tycho, who truly loved his country, was deeply affected with the munificence of the royal offer. He accepted of it with that warmth of grat.i.tude which it was calculated to inspire; and he particularly rejoiced in the thought that if any success should attend his future labours, the glory of it would belong to his native land.

The island of Huen is about sxix miles from the coast of Zealand, three from that of Sweden, and fourteen from Copenhagen. It is six miles in circ.u.mference, and rises into the form of a mountain, which, though very high, terminates in a plain. It is nowhere rocky, and even in the time of Tycho it produced the best kinds of grain, afforded excellent pasturage for horses, cattle, and sheep, and possessed deer, hares, rabbits, and partridges in abundance. It contained at that time only one village, with about forty inhabitants.

Having surveyed his new territory, Tycho resolved to build a magnificent tower in the centre of the elevated plain, which he resolved to call Uraniburg, or _The City of the Heavens_. Having made the necessary arrangements, he repaired to the island on the 8th of August, and his friend Charles Danzeus laid the foundation stone of the new observatory, which consisted of a slab of porphyry, with the following inscription:--

REGNANTE IN DANIA FREDERICO II., CAROLUS DANZaeUS AQUITa.n.u.s R. G. I.

D. L.,[37] DOMUI HUIC PHILOSOPHIae, IMPRIMISQUE ASTRORUM CONTEMPLATIONI, REGIS DECRETO A n.o.bILI VIRO TYCHONE BRAHE DE KNUDSTRUP EXTRUCTae VOTIVUM HUNC LAPIDEM MEMORIae ET FELICIS AUSPICII ERGO P. ANNO CIC.IC.LXXVI.[38] VI ID. AUGUSTI.

[37] Regis Gallorum in Dania Legatus.

[38] Transcriber's footnote: The second Cs in CIC and IC are printed reversed in the original.

This ceremony was performed early in the morning of a splendid day, in which the rising sun threw its blessing upon Frederick, and upon the party of n.o.blemen and philosophers who had a.s.sembled to testify their love of science. An entertainment was provided for the occasion, and copious libations of a variety of wines were offered for the success of the undertaking.

The observatory was surrounded by a rampart, each face of which was three hundred feet long. About the middle of each face the rampart became a semicircle, the inner diameter of which was ninety feet. The height of the rampart was twenty-two feet, and its thickness at the base twenty. Its four angles corresponded exactly with the four cardinal points, and at the north and south angles were erected turrets, of which one was a printing-house, and the other the residence of the servants. Gates were erected at the east and west angles, and above them were apartments for the reception of strangers. Within the rampart was a shrubbery with about three hundred varieties of trees; and at the centre of each semicircular part of the rampart was a bower or summer-house.

This shrubbery surrounded the flower-garden, which was terminated within by a circular wall about forty-five feet high, which enclosed a more elevated area, in the centre of which stood the princ.i.p.al building in the observatory, and from which four paths led to the above-mentioned angles, with as many doors for entering the garden.

The princ.i.p.al building was about sixty feet square. The doors were placed on the east and west sides; and to the north and south fronts were attached two round towers, whose inner diameter was about thirty-two feet, and which formed the observatories which had windows in their roof, that could be opened towards any part of the heavens. The accommodations for the family were numerous and splendid. Under the observatory, in the south tower, was the museum and library, and below this again was the laboratory in a subterraneous crypt, containing sixteen furnaces of various kinds. Beneath this was a well forty feet deep, from which water was distributed by syphons to every part of the building.

Besides the princ.i.p.al building there were other two situated without the rampart, one to the north, containing a workshop for the construction of astronomical and other instruments, and the other to the south, which was occupied as a sort of farm-house. These buildings cost the King of Denmark 100,000 rix-dollars (20,000), and Tycho is said to have expended upon them a similar sum.

As the two towers could not accommodate the instruments which Tycho required for his observations, he found it necessary to erect, on the hill about sixty paces to the south of Uraniburg, a subterranean observatory, in which he might place his larger instruments, which required to be firmly fixed, and to be protected from the wind and the weather. This observatory, which he called Stiern-berg, or the mountain, of the stars, consisted of several crypts, separated by solid walls, and to these there was a subterranean pa.s.sage from the laboratory in Uraniburg. The various buildings which Tycho erected were built in a regular style of architecture, and were highly ornamented, not only with external decorations, but with the statues and pictures of the most distinguished astronomers, from Hipparchus and Ptolemy down to Copernicus, and with inscriptions and poems in honour of astronomers.

While these buildings were erecting, and after their completion, Tycho was busily occupied in preparing instruments for observation. These were of the most splendid description, and the reader will form some notion of their grandeur and their expense from the following list:--

_In the south and greater Observatory._

1. A semicircle of solid iron, covered with bra.s.s, four cubits radius.

2. A s.e.xtant of the same materials and size.

3. A quadrant of one and a half cubits radius, and an azimuth circle of three cubits.

4. Ptolemy's parallactic rules, covered with bra.s.s, four cubits in the side.

5. The s.e.xtant already described in page 134.

6. Another quadrant, like No. 3.

7. Zodiacal armillaries of melted bra.s.s, and turned out of the solid, of three cubits in diameter.

Near this observatory was a large clock, with one wheel two cubits in diameter, and two smaller ones, which, like it, indicated hours, minutes, and seconds.

_In the south and lesser Observatory._

8. An armillary sphere of bra.s.s, with a steel meridian, whose diameter was about 4 cubits.

_In the north Observatory._

9. Bra.s.s parallactic rules, which revolved in azimuth above a bra.s.s horizon, twelve feet in diameter.

10. A half s.e.xtant, of four cubits radius.

11. A steel s.e.xtant.

12. Another half s.e.xtant, with steel limb, four cubits radius.

13. The parallactic rules of Copernicus.

14. Equatorial armillaries.

15. A quadrant of a solid plate of bra.s.s, five cubits in radius, shewing every ten seconds.

16. In the museum was the large globe made at Augsburg, see p. 134.

_In the Stiern-berg Observatory._

17. In the central part, a large semicircle, with a bra.s.s limb, and three clocks, shewing hours, minutes, and seconds.

18. Equatorial armillaries of seven cubits, with semi-armillaries of nine cubits.

19. A s.e.xtant of four cubits radius.

20. A geometrical square of iron, with an intercepted quadrant of five cubits, and divided into fifteen seconds.

21. A quadrant of four cubits radius, shewing ten seconds, with an azimuth circle.