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Almanac >
Astronomers
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler
(1571-1630) was an German astronomer and mathematician
who is best known for his discovery of the three laws of
planetary motion.
Kepler was an early supporter of
the Copernican Theory which states that the Sun, not
the Earth is at the center of the solar system. His discoveries provided
the scientific basis necessary for a broader acceptance of
the Copernicus' heliocentric theory of the motion of
celestial bodies.
Among his notable discoveries were:
- The orbit of every planet is elliptical
- A line
joining a planet and the sun sweeps out equal areas during
equal intervals of time as the planet travels along its
orbit
- The squares of the orbital periods of planets are
directly proportional to the cubes of the semi-major axes
of their orbits
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Johannes Kepler
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Fact Sheet
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Born |
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December 27, 1571 in Weil der
Stadt, Germany
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Died |
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November 15, 1630 in Regensburg,
Germany
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Nationality |
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German
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Religion |
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Lutheran
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Education |
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University of Tübingen
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Fields |
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Astronomy, Astrology,
Philosophy, and Mathematics
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Discoveries |
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Discovered the three major laws
of planetary motion.
Discovered the existence of supernovae
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Works |
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Astronomia nova
Harmonices Mundi
Epitome of Copernican Astronomy
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