Kepler, Johannes
Published: September 8, 2006, 6:44 pm
Updated: September 8, 2006, 6:44 pm
This article has been reviewed by the following Topic Editor:
Peter Saundry
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), born in Weil der Stadt, Württemburg, the Holy Roman Empire of German Nationality. Kepler eventually moved to Prague during the Thirty-Years War to escape religious persecution. While in Prague, he worked with Tycho Brahe, a renowned Danish astronomer. After Brahe passed away, Kepler followed in his footsteps; using Brahe’s collection of data, Kepler was the first to correctly explain planetary motion. Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion that bear his name were published in 1609 and 1619. Kepler described how the orbits of the planets were not the circles described by Aristotle and assumed implicitly by Copernicus, but were instead "flattened circles", or ellipses. Kepler also made important contributions to optics, including the first explanation of the human vision process by refraction within the eye, the first eyeglass design for nearsightedness and farsightedness, the first description of depth perception, and the first detailed explanation of the principles of how a telescope works. Kepler also theorized that the tides were caused by the Earth's moon, and that the Sun rotates about its axis.
Further Reading
Johannes Kepler: His Life, His Laws and Times (NASA's Kepler Mission Website)
Kepler Biography (University of St. Andrews, Scotland, School of Mathematics and Statistics)
NASA's Kepler Mission: a search for habitable planets
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Citation
Cutler J. Cleveland (Lead Author);Peter Saundry (Topic Editor) "Kepler, Johannes". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [First published in the Encyclopedia of Earth September 8, 2006; Last revised Date September 8, 2006; Retrieved June 18, 2013 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Kepler,_Johannes>
The Author
Cutler J. Cleveland is Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University, where he also is on the faculty of the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Professor Cleveland is Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Energy (Elsevier, 2004), winner of an American Library Association award, the Dictionary of Energy (Elsevier, 2005), Handbook of Energy (Elsevier, forthcoming), and is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Earth. He is the recipient of the Adelma ... (Full Bio)
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), born in Weil der Stadt, Württemburg, the Holy Roman Empire of German Nationality. Kepler eventually moved to Prague during the Thirty-Years War to escape religious persecution. While in Prague, he worked with Tycho Brahe, a renowned Danish astronomer. After Brahe passed away, Kepler followed in his footsteps; using Brahe’s collection of data, Kepler was the first to correctly explain planetary motion. Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion that bear his name were published in 1609 and 1619. Kepler described how the orbits of the planets were not the circles described by Aristotle and assumed implicitly by Copernicus, but were instead "flattened circles", or ellipses. Kepler also made important contributions to optics, including the first explanation of the human vision process by refraction within the eye, the first eyeglass design for nearsightedness and farsightedness, the first description of depth perception, and the first detailed explanation of the principles of how a telescope works. Kepler also theorized that the tides were caused by the Earth's moon, and that the Sun rotates about its axis.
Further Reading
Johannes Kepler: His Life, His Laws and Times (NASA's Kepler Mission Website)
Kepler Biography (University of St. Andrews, Scotland, School of Mathematics and Statistics)
NASA's Kepler Mission: a search for habitable planets
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