Scientists exhume 16th century pioneer of astronomy
Tycho Brahe is widely regarded as a pioneer of modern astronomy, and his careful observations of the heavens revolutionised our understanding of the universe. He was also a nobleman who married a commoner and wore a prosthetic silver nose after his own nose was cut off during a duel, allegedly over who was the best mathematician. He died in Prague, Czech Republic in 1601 at the age of 54 and he was laid to rest in Prague's Tyn Cathedral. Now a Czech-Danish team of scientists has exhumed Tycho Brahe's body in a bid to shed light on both his life and the cause of his death, which has been attributed to mercury poisoning. This is not the first time the astronomer's mortal remains have been disturbed; he was first exhumed in 1901. 'At the last tomb opening in 1901, only a physical description of the remains was made. This over 100-year old summary will now be supplemented with a series of analyses which modern technology allows us to conduct using varied and often complicated methods,' explained Professor Jens Vellev of Aarhus University in Denmark. Professor Vellev leads a group of archaeologists, medical anthropologists, doctors, chemists, textile restorers and antiquarians. Together, the team is carrying out a wide range of tests on Brahe's body, including CT (computer tomography) scanning, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) testing and PIXE (Particle induced X-ray emission) analysis. The team is also interested in Brahe's patterned silk suit. 'We hope that enough fragments have been preserved in the tomb to enable us to recreate the entire costume,' commented Professor Vellev before the exhumation. The astronomer will be reinterred at a ceremony in the cathedral on 19 November. Meanwhile the scientists expect to release a report setting out their findings in 2011. Tycho Brahe was born into a noble family in 1546 in Scania, which was then part of Denmark but is now a province of Sweden. He started studying rhetoric and philosophy at the University of Copenhagen at the age of just 13. A few years later, while studying in Leipzig, Germany, he embarked on his astronomy career and soon noticed that existing observations of the skies were rather inaccurate. He therefore set about designing his own methods and instruments to make more accurate observations of the positions of celestial bodies. In 1570 Brahe returned to Scania. At that time, the universe was thought to be unchanging. Brahe's 1572 observations of a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia forced a rethink of this position. A book detailing his observations, 'De Stella Nova', made him famous and he was offered jobs all over Europe. However, the Danish king convinced him to remain in Denmark. Brahe's observations in the meantime also revealed that comets are further from the Earth than the moon, and his data later allowed Johannes Kepler to speculate that the orbit of planets may be elliptical and not circular, as had been assumed. In 1599 the astronomer moved to Prague, Czech Republic, where King Rudolf II, an enthusiastic patron of the arts and sciences, had his court. A year later, he was joined by Johannes Kepler, making Prague a leading centre for astronomy. In October 1601, Brahe fell ill, apparently with a bladder infection, following a banquet. He died on 24 October and was buried in Tyn Cathedral. The cause of his death has been the source of much speculation over the years. Analyses of his hair have revealed high levels of mercury. However, it is not clear if the astronomer was poisoned, or whether he had deliberately taken a medicine containing mercury in a bid to cure his infection. According to another theory, he was exposed to the mercury during countless chemical experiments. For Professor Finn Olesen of Aarhus University, Tycho Brahe's importance to science is clear. He writes: 'As a scientist, I view Tycho Brahe as a key contributor to the boom in scientific knowledge and research during the Renaissance era, and an important figure in the breakthrough from the ideas of antique times to modern understanding of cosmology and nature. 'The opening of the grave will, for me, have particular significance as a reminder of Tycho Brahe's legacy to the present, and his role as one of the most distinguished Danish representatives in original, inspirational research.'
Countries
Czechia, Denmark