Denmark 1946 – Tycho Brahe
Tycho Brahe (1546–1601), a Danish
astronomer, was the greatest observer of the pre-telescopic
era. In 1576 he built a castle-cum-observatory called Uraniborg
on the island of Hven (now called Ven) between Denmark and
Sweden, followed some years later by an underground observatory
nearby called Stjerneborg. He equipped these with the largest
and most accurate sighting instruments of the day. His
observations showed that the comet of 1577 followed an orbit
that passed between the planets, changing both the prevailing
opinion of the nature of comets and smashing the concept of
“heavenly spheres” that had originated with the
Greeks. Tycho’s long-term observations of the movements
of the planets at Ven were later used by Johannes Kepler to
derive his laws of planetary motion, showing for the first time
that planets orbit the Sun on elliptical paths.
This stamp was issued by his native country
to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his birth. As a young
man, Tycho had lost part of his nose in a duel and replaced it
with a metal insert; this feature can just be made out on the
above portrait.
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