The instruments are works of art. They serve a function both in situ in your inner book to represent what the Tikonic Enterprise is, but also then his illustrations of his instruments and his descriptions of them former really important role for him. And we haven't even talked about that the fact the Instruments are Works of Art. The instruments are decorated and you know have emblems on them, have symbolism,. they serve a functionboth in situ inyour inner book to represents what the Tikonics Enterprise is, as well as being illustrated by artists from Denmark at this time. You wouldn't have found the graphic talents in in reproducing Tikos instruments in Denmark at this period unless there were a number of
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the pioneering Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) whose charts offered an unprecedented level of accuracy.
In 1572 Brahe's observations of a new star challenged the idea, inherited from Aristotle, that the heavens were unchanging. He went on to create his own observatory complex on the Danish island of Hven, and there, working before the invention of the telescope, he developed innovative instruments and gathered a team of assistants, taking a highly systematic approach to observation. A second, smaller source of renown was his metal prosthetic nose, which he needed after a serious injury sustained in a duel.
The image above shows Brahe aged 40, from the Atlas Major by Johann Blaeu.
With
Ole Grell
Emeritus Professor in Early Modern History at the Open University
Adam Mosley
Associate Professor of History at Swansea University
and
Emma Perkins
Affiliate Scholar in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge.