The Birth of Modern Astronomy

As interesting as the stories about Tycho Brahe are, chances are he wouldn’t be remembered if not for the important work he did, especially in the realm of astronomy. He lived in an era when the intellectual worldview of most in northern Europe was medieval in nature, influenced mostly by spirituality, mysticism, religion, and metaphysics. Brahe, however, was far-thinking in his outlook, taking advantages of the latest technological ideas and practicing empiricism to revolutionize the field of science. This work eventually led Brahe to cross paths with Johannes Kepler, whose laws on planetary motion would change everything.

Trying to define a man who had the qualities of a mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, inventor, and astrologer can prove difficult. But all of that can be ascribed to Johannes Kepler, one of the giants of his era who ushered in the Scientific Revolution and is often considered the first modern scientist. Kepler stood at a moment in time when the intellectual worldview of most in northern Europe was medieval in nature, influenced mostly by spirituality, mysticism, religion, and metaphysics. Kepler, however, was far-thinking in his outlook, taking advantages of the latest technological ideas from the Renaissance and the new translations of Greco-Roman philosophers from out of the Spanish kingdoms and the former-Byzantine Empire. Kepler himself struggled with the seemingly incongruous division between metaphysics and empiricism. By practicing empiricism and coming up with his famous laws of planetary motion, he was forced to defend his positions against a number of important ideas in western philosophy and the contemporary understanding of nature and the cosmos. All the while, Kepler was never able to escape the medieval mind he possessed, and he looked for God in the designs of the cosmos, thus attempting to wed the supernatural to the physical.

It would be impossible to overstate the accomplishments and legacy of a man history has dubbed the “Father of Modern Science”. In his lifetime, Galileo straddled the epochs of the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution, and it was his work and technological advances that helped usher in a brand new understanding of the solar system and the scientific method. Stephen Hawking himself has asserted, “Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science." Of course, part of what made Galileo such a monumental figure was the fact that he was ahead of his time, and that he mostly refused to conform to the accepted dogmas of contemporary society.

In 1676, Sir Isaac Newton famously wrote in a letter to philosopher Robert Hooke, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants.” By the time he died, Newton had become science’s greatest giant, and every scientist who has followed him has stood on his shoulders. Newton is widely considered the most influential scientist in history, best known for the discovery of gravity and the subsequent laws of motion that he theorized. Schoolchildren around the world are still taught the famous legend about an apple falling on Newton’s head, but that colorful story and the preoccupation with Newton’s work in physics tend to make people forget Newton’s work in other fields. Using empirical studies, Newton developed theories about light prisms, how matter cools, and even tried studying and calculating the speed of sound. And those are just the sciences; Newton also helped develop several mathematical fields, including calculus.

When looking at Newton’s work, it’s easy to forget that he was also a man with typical human emotions and convictions. Though religion and science are often seen as antagonistic counterparts, Newton was very religious, and he intently studied the Bible and even occultist practices and theories. Newton wrote at length on these topics, writing about them than he did science and mathematics.