Johannes Kepler - Biography (cont.)

making statements about God, and presenting personal opinions so extreme, that they served only to further alienate him from the other students. In 1589, At the age of 18, Kepler was awarded a scholarship, and entered the Faculty of Arts at the University of Tübingen, in Swabia; where he would be amongst like-minded students, as the university favored those who were God-fearing and hard-working. Needless to say, Kepler did extremely well, and two years later, he passed the master's examination, was second in his class, and was awarded another scholarship. Kepler intended to pursue his studies and become part of the Theological Faculty, but his professor of mathematics, Michael Mästlin, introduced him the the work of Nicolaus Copernicus, which soon became Kepler's newfound obsession. Copernicus' heliocentric theory of planetary motion, that the sun was the center of the known universe, would soon become Kepler's scientific gospel. Of course, this triggered some internal conflicts for Kepler, who now realized he would rather explore the science of astronomy, than pursue his Theological studies and become a priest.

Kepler left Tübingen in 1594, to teach astronomy and mathematics at the University of Graz, in Austria. He remained friends with Mästlin, who continued helping him in his research. In 1596, Kepler published his first work, a booklet entitled "Mysterium Cosmographicum", in which he theorized that one could determine the orbit of the planets by using an equilateral triangle to determine the fixed ratio between two different sized circles. He concluded that a different ratio of sizes would occur depending on which geometrical shape would be between the two circles. However, this theory was flawed, as Kepler had mistakenly followed Copernicus' theory, assuming that planetary orbits were circular. Although the book did not present any scientific discoveries that would endure, it was still an important milestone in Kepler's career; a copy of the book made its way into the hands of Galileo Galilei, who showed little interest in astronomy at the time, but was nonetheless grateful for the gift. Another copy went to Danish astronomer Tycho Brähe, who at the time was considered Europe's leading observational astronomer. Brähe replied with words of praise and constructive criticism, despite his disagreeing with Kepler's theories.

In 1597, Kepler married Barbara Müller, a rotund, twice-widowed woman who already had a daughter named Regina. The marriage was a matter of convenience, not love, as Kepler had been pressured by his friends to get married. A year later, Barbara gave birth to Kepler's first son, Heinrich, but the infant died while he was only 2 months old. Next in line was a daughter who only survived past her first month, The couple would later had other children; a daughter, Susanna, and two sons. The first, named Friedrich, would at the age of 6, and the second, Ludwig, who like his sister, would go on to live a normal life. Kepler's union to Barbara would end up lasting 14 years, until her death 1611.

No matter how interested he was in astronomy, or the fact that he was now comfortable in the knowledge that his becoming a teacher instead of a priest was part of God's divine plans for him, Kepler felt out of place at Graz. Mathematics wasn't a popular subject of the era, and the few students he had showed little interest in what he had to teach. Contrary to Tübingen, which was now a largely Lutheran community, Graz was still engrained in Catholicism, and Kepler once again felt ostracized for his religious beliefs. In addition to his teaching position, Kepler's extracurricular duties involved the preparation of astrological charts and horoscopes, calendars, and an almanac which prognosticated phenomena such as solar and lunar eclipses, seasonal changes, and all manner of events and rituals to take place during the year.

...continued →

You may also enjoy the following websites : www.johnnapier.com, www.roberthooke.com, www.edwinhubble.com.