1. Johannes Kepler
Dec. 27, 1571- Nov. 15, 1630
Johannes Kepler devised Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion. It states
that:
1. planets travel in elliptical orbits around an off-centre sun.
2. the speed of a planet's orbit depends on its distance from the sun. when a
planet's close to the sun it, orbits faster. when it's further away from the sun, it
travels slower
3. the farther a planet or dwarf planet is from the sun, the longer its orbit
“Nature uses as little as possible of anything.”
2. Kepler’s life
• Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer, born on the 27th of
December 1571, at Weil, in the duchy of Württemberg, of which
town his grandfather was burgomaster.
• Johannes Kepler was born as child of protestant parents. He had six
siblings, three of which died already at an early age. His father
Heinrich Kepler, a learned merchant, hired out as mercenary soldier
and scarcely was at home. When being a child Johannes fell ill with
pocks, as a result of which he suffered from an eye illness and
scars. In 1576 the family moved to Leonberg where Johannes
attended first the German School and then the Latin School. In 1583
he passed the exam in Stuttgart and in 1584 he went to seminar
Adelberg, a convent school. Two years later he was accepted at a
higher seminar in Maulbronn, also a convent school. Made possible
through a scholarship he began in 1589 with his studies in theology
at the University of Tuebingen.
3. Education
• At the University of Tuebingen, Michael Maestlin (1550–1631) was a
teacher. He was professor for mathematics and astronomy and fought for
spreading the Copernican theory. In this theory not the earth but the sun is
at the centre of the solar system (heliocentric world view). In Tuebingen
Kepler had first contacts with the heliocentric world view because he had
discovered his liking for astronomy and mathematics. Kepler became a
passionate believer. In 1591 he made his master’s degree successfully and
continued his theological studies. In 1594 shortly before finishing his
studies, he went to Graz to work there as landscape mathematician and
teacher for mathematics.
• In Graz the task of a landscape mathematician was to write astrological
calendars. Kepler was very good in it and became quickly famous through
his horoscopes. He continued to study mathematics and was busy with
astronomical problems. In 1596 he published Mysterium cosmographicum,
his first work on astronomy. The deeply religious Kepler was convinced that
“the world” is built harmonically by the creator god.
4. Contributions made to the scienceContributions made to the science
communitycommunity
• devised three mathematical statements that accurately
describe the rules for planetary revolutions around the
Sun. The first and most important rule states that the
shape of any planet's orbit (path) is an ellipse (oval). This
contradicted the theory of Polish astronomer Nicholas
Copernicus (1473–1543; also known as Mikolaj
Kopernik), who believed that planetary orbits were
circular. The second rule describes the speed at which a
planet makes its orbit, based on its distance from the
Sun. This implies that if an imaginary line were to be
drawn between the Sun and the planet, the line formed
would sweep out in areas of space like pie slices and
that the area swept out in equal periods of time is the
same at all...
