Biography of Johannes Kepler

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Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571 to Heinrich and Katharina in Württemberg, Germany. Heinrich was the owner of the local tavern, and utilized young Johannes as a pot-boy. In the days of his youth, Kepler was often quite ill for one reason or another, leading him to be quite frail and somewhat saddened. After witnessing the Great Comet of 1577, at age 6, Kepler acquired a fondness for astronomy; seeing the lunar eclipse in 1580 also contributed to this great interest. In addition to his strong interest in all things astronomical, young Johannes was rather good at math. Heinrich and Katharina sent Johannes to monastic school where he went to seminaries in both Adelburg and Maulbronn (SciencLives). From these seminaries, Kepler transitioned to Tubinger Stift at the University of Tubingen (Germany). In university, Kepler mastered both the Ptolemaic and Copernicus Systems of planetary motion. During his time at university, young Johannes studied theology, mathematics, and philosophy. At age 22, Kepler graduated second on the list at the school and was appointed professor, then moved to Gratz, Austria, to instruct mathematics and astronomy (ScienceLives).
Next, Kepler migrated to Prague in 1599 in order to become Tycho Brahe’s assistant. Brahe instructed Johannes to complete his tables on planetary motion, and upon his death in 1601 the tables were completed. Kepler eventually gathered enough money to publish these tables, and thus produced the first tables that were accurate for navigators to make use of (Westman). Later, Kepler began experimentations on planetary motion (ScienceLives). At last, Johannes figured out the elliptical model still in used today. The three great laws of planetary motion discovered by Kepler are...

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... nine that survived into adulthood from his first marriage in 1597, and widowed his second wife Susanna Reuttinger (Westman).
Although Kepler was not a man who experienced great joy in his lifetime, he was a man who greatly impacted many fields of mathematics and the field of astronomy as a whole. Johannes Kepler paved the way for many astronomers and mathematicians alike, and aided in advancing these fields. Kepler was a talented astrophysicist, the very first in fact, and the very last scientific astrologer.

Works Cited

"Johannes Kepler." ScienceLives! Online. Science Lives, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .
Westman, Robert S. "Johannes Kepler (German Astronomer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. .

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