ABSTRACT
The greatest observational astronomer prior to the invention of the telescope in the early seventeenth century, he formulated of one of the most influential models of the universe during the Scientific Revolution. Born in Skaane, Denmark, Brahe’s early career in astronomy and his contacts with other scholars in Europe explain how he developed his geoheliocentric system and why he took the cosmological positions he espoused. Tycho stated that his interest in astronomy was greatly spurred by observations he made when he was but seventeen years of age. At the time, he was traveling through German university towns, where he met with many leading intellectuals. Of particular importance was his meeting in Augsburg with Peter Ramus (1515-1572), who advocated a reconstruction of astronomy based on observations and denied the value of using hypotheses. The term hypothesis traditionally had a different meaning from its modern sense. At that time, hypotheses were understood as fictional constructs used to predict celestial motions but were not thought to be true reflections of the actual state of nature. Although Tycho agreed that more accurate observations were essential, he did not see how astronomy could be improved by abandoning the traditional use of hypotheses.
