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An account of the astronomical discoveries of Kepler
An account of the astronomical discoveries of Kepler Author:Robert Small Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAP. IV. textit{Of the System of Tycho EraU. 8g. 'TPHIS celebrated astronomer was a Dane, JL of a noble family in Schonen, a province now subject to Swede... more »n. His strong and early propensity for astronomical studies, the opposition given him by his family in indulging it, his perseverance in these studies so as to devote to them his whole time and fortune, and the truly royal encouragement given him by Frederick, the first king of this name in Denmark, are very generally known. This enlightened prince conferred on him the island of Wien, or Huen, at the entrance of the Baltic, as a proper and undisturbed retreat for his observations ; built for him a castle distinguished by the name of Uraniburg, erected an observatory, and contributed to the expence of his astronomical instruments and assistants. In this sequestered place he employed himself for fifteen years, from 1582 to 15()8, in those assiduous observations of the celestial bodies, which have been the principal foundations both of his own fame, and of the whole of modern astronomy. But, after the death of his patron, his labours suffered the most mortifying in terruption ; and the persecutions he experienced, not only from envy, but from bigotry, to which science, in all its branches, is a constant object of jealousy, obliged him to abandon his native country. He found, however, a new patron in the Emperor of Germany, Rhodolph the second, and an asylum at Prague under his protection : and, assisted by Rhodolph's liberality, he resumed his studiesstudies with his former ardour. But a final period was soon after put to them, by his death, in the year l6Oi, of an acute distemper, at the age of 55. 9O. It was impossible for T. Brahe, with his abilities and advantages, not to perceive the incomparable superiority of the...« less