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Heroes of Space: Tycho Brahe
12 May 2018, 20:00 UTC
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Part of Brahe's nose was made of Brass after he lost a chunk of it in a sword duel
In an age of eccentric astronomers, Tycho Brahe was perhaps the most eccentric of them all. Rumoured to not only have a tamed elk in his residence but also a "psychic dwarf", Brahe's life is one of both astronomical genius and bizarre tales. There aren't many other astronomers who can claim to have lost part of their nose in a duel over a mathematical formula while going on to make some of the most significant observations and discoveries of their time.
Tycho Brahe was born on 14 December 1546 in Skane, Denmark (now Sweden). The eldest son, his life would begin its unusual path when, at the age of two, he was kidnapped from his parents Otte Brahe and Beate Bille by his uncle Jørgen Thygesen Brahe after they had supposedly promised a child to Jørgen and his wife but failed to fulfil the promise.
At the age of 12 in April 1559 Brahe studied law at the University of Copenhagen as per his uncle's wishes, but he quickly developed a love for astronomy. He soon realised becoming a great astronomer ...