Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler was a German astronomer and mathematician who lived from December the 27th 1571 to November the 15th 1630. Johannes Kepler helped lead a scientific revolution in the 17th century with his amazing work in the field of astronomy. Kepler attended the University of Tübingen where he studied philosophy, excelled in mathematics, and further developed his remarkable astronomy skills. Kepler achieved much of his work around the same time as another famous astronomer, Galileo Galilei. The two often had disagreeing opinions but their concurrent work helped spur physics, philosophy and astronomy forward rapidly to a new level of understanding. Among his many contributions were the three laws of planetary motion. The three laws of planetary motion devised by Kepler are: (1. All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus. (2. A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times. (3. The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit. NASA also honored Kepler by naming a mission after him. Launched on March 6 2009, the Kepler Mission involves a high-tech space telescope that will search for other Earth-like planets. Overall, Kepler made contributions to the Rennasiance but his most famous is as you know, discovering the three laws of planetary motion. This really created a better understanding of astronomy throughout the Renassiance. Kepler was imporatant to the Renassinace because he contributed with many contributions but also helped other scientists of his time. For example, Kepler often shared ideas and argued about them with Galileo. Finally, Keplar didn't really represent the ideals of the Rennasiance because, lke Galileo, he didn't rely on traditional ideas and experimented himself.