BRAHE’S

INNOVATION
LEARNING COMPETENCY

In this lesson, you will be able to explain how

Brahe's innovations and an extensive collection of data in
observational astronomy paved the way for Kepler's
discovery of the laws of planetary motion.
1. Kepler discovered that planets do not go around the Sun at a uniform
speed but it depends on its position relative to the Sun. What is its speed
when it is farther from the Sun?
A. faster
B. neither fast nor slow
C. slower
D. similar to the speed when it is closer to the Sun
2. Based on Kepler's First Law, which of the figures below describes the
path of a planet as it moves around the Sun?
3. The accurate measurement of the positions and distances of
stars and planets in the major contribution of _________ to the
field of astronomy.
A. Johannes Kepler
B. Tycho Brahe
C. Copernicus
D. Ptolemy
4. Below is Brahe’s model of the universe. What is the implication of
Brahe’s model when it comes to the idea of the center of the
universe?
A. There are two centers the Earth and the Sun.
B. The Earth, not the Sun is the center of the universe.
C. The Sun, not the Earth is the center of the universe.
D. Neither the Earth nor the Sun is the center of the
universe
5. The Copernican system is based on the model of _________
A. Heliocentric model
B. Geocentric Model
C. Geo-Heliocentric model
D. Neither of the two
 The knowledge about the universe starting
from the ancient time up to the present has
proven to be a dynamic one. The discoveries
weakened the foundation of a theory that thought
to be correct and widely accepted for quite a long
time. And in the process of revolutionizing the
idea, one must be able to back the claim with
proof. The best proof one could present is data
that is verified and tested several times. Just like
the works of Tycho Brahe.
Tycho Brahe’s Contribution
The timeline of some of the who’s who in the
field of astronomy and mathematics
LET’S RECALL!

What do you call the model which

believes that the sun is the center of
the solar system?

HELIOCENTRIC MODEL
COPERNICAN SYSTEM
LET’S RECALL!

What do you call the model which

believes that the earth is the center
of the solar system?

GEOCENTRIC MODEL
PTOLEMIC SYSTEM
Ptolemy placed the
Earth at the center of
his geocentric model.
Using the data he had,
Ptolemy thought that the
universe was a set of nested
spheres surrounding the
Earth. He believed that the
Moon was orbiting on a
sphere closest to the Earth,
followed by Mercury, then
Venus and then the Sun.
THINK!

Differentiate the Copernican

system from the Ptolemic System
 TYCHO BRAHE
 Tycho Brahe was a Danish
astronomer and nobleman who
made accurate observations of
the movement of celestial
bodies in an observatory built
for him by King Frederick II of
Denmark in 1576.
 TYCHO BRAHE
 He was able to invent different
astronomical instruments, with
the help of his assistants, and
made an extensive study of the
solar system. He was able to
determine the position of 777
fixed stars accurately.
 TYCHO BRAHE
 When King Frederick II died,
and the successor did not fully
support Brahe’s work, he
moved to Prague in 1599
where he was supported by
Emperor Rudolf II and worked
as an court astronomer.
JOHANNES KEPLER
 Emperor Rudolf II
recommended Johannes
Kepler to work for him as
an assistant. Kepler was
born to a poor German
family and studied as a
scholar at the University
of Tübingen in 1589
JOHANNES KEPLER
 Believed in Copernicus’
picture of heliocentrism.
 While Copernicus rightly
observed that the planets
revolve around the Sun, it
was Kepler who correctly
defined their orbits.
JOHANNES KEPLER
 At the age of 27, Kepler
became the assistant of a
wealthy astronomer, Tycho
Brahe, who asked him to
define the orbit of Mars.
 Brahe had collected a lifetime
of astronomical observations,
which, on his death, passed
into Kepler’s hands.
TYCHONIC MODEL
Brahe's model of the
universe is also called
the Tychonic model. It is
considered as a hybrid
of geocentric and
heliocentric models of
the universe.
THINK!

Is the Tychonic Model based on

the heliocentric model or the
geocentric model? Explain.
Brahe hired Kepler as a sort of "research
assistant" primarily to prove that Brahe's
model the geoheliocentric model is the right
model.
But Kepler failed to reconcile the data on hand with the
model Brahe proposed especially on the notion of the
stationary Earth. It took another brilliant mind and his
invention of the telescope to prove that Copernicus was
right in proposing that Earth after all is not the center of the
universe.
 Through his analysis of the motions of the planets,
Kepler developed a series of principles, now known
as Kepler’s three laws, which described the behavior
of planets based on their paths through space.
 The first two laws of planetary motion were
published in 1609 in The New Astronomy and the
third law in 1618. Their discovery was a profound
step in the development of modern science.
 Three Laws of Planetary Motion

But despite everything still, something good came out of his

persistence, after about 20 years or so working with the data he got
from Brahe; the Three Laws of Planetary Motion were published in
two different years
THINK!

The First law of Planetary Motion

Law of E_ _ _ _ _ _ _
THINK!

The First law of Planetary Motion

Law of Ellipses
 FIRST LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
First Law: Law of
Elliptical Orbit or Law
of Ellipses (1609)- The
planets move in
elliptical orbits with the
Sun at a focus (F ). The
1

other focus (F ) is
2

empty.
 What is an ellipse?

An ellipse is a geometric
2 foci shape with 2 foci instead
of 1 central focus, as in a
circle. The sun is at one
focus with nothing at the
other focus.

FIRST LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION

 FIRST LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
The sun is not at the center of the ellipse.
There is nothing at the other focus.
An ellipse also has…
…a major axis …and a minor axis

Perihelion Aphelion

Semi-major axis
Perihelion: When Mars or any another planet is
closest to the sun.
Aphelion: When Mars or any other planet is
farthest from the sun.
THINK!

The Second law of Planetary

Motion
Law of E_ _ _ _
A____
THINK!

The Second law of Planetary

Motion
Law of Equal Areas
SECOND LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION

Second Law: Law

of Equal Areas
(1609)-As the
planets orbit around
the sun, the planets
cover equal areas in
equal times.
SECOND LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
THINK!

The Third law of Planetary Motion

Law of P_ _ _ _ _ _
THINK!

The Third law of Planetary Motion

Law of Periods
THIRD LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
Third Law: Law of Periods (1619)-The ratio of the
squares of the periods (the time needed for one
revolution about the Sun) of any of the two planets
revolving around the Sun is equal to the ratio of the
cubes of their mean distances from the Sun.
THIRD LAW OF PLANETARY MOTION
 The closer the object is to the Sun the faster
its period of revolution.
1. Which of the following is also presented by the
Greeks to prove that the Earth is spherical?
A. solar eclipse
B. sunrise and sunset
C. ships sailing seemed to be gradually
disappearing in the horizon
D. passing of the comet in Earth’s orbit
2. Aside from Aristotle who among the
philosophers below believed that Earth is
spherical?
A. Pythagoras and the Mesopotamians
B. Pythagoras and Plato
C. Plato and the Mesopotamians
D. Mesopotamians and Egyptians
3. Which phase of the moon is shown in the
figure?
A. full moon
B. new moon
C. first quarter moon
D. last quarter moon
4. The following are astronomical phenomena that
were already observed by the ancient people even
before the telescope was invented except
_______.
A. solar eclipse
B. phases of the moon
C. craters of the moon
D. planet like Venus
5. Which of the statements below describes a lunar eclipse?
A. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is behind the Sun and
the moon is in front of the Sun.
B. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is between the Earth
and the Sun
C. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon is forming ninety
degree-angle with the Earth.
D. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is between the moon
and the Sun.
6. Refer to the figure below, “phases of the moon”. Which among
the numbered figure represents the full moon?
A. 1
B. 2
C. 3
D. 4
7. The accurate measurement of the positions and distances of
stars and planets in the major contribution of _________ to the
field of astronomy.
A. Johannes Kepler
B. Tycho Brahe
C. Copernicus
D. Ptolemy
8. Below is Brahe’s model of the universe. What is the implication of
Brahe’s model when it comes to the idea of the center of the
universe?
A. There are two centers the Earth and the Sun.
B. The Earth, not the Sun is the center of the universe.
C. The Sun, not the Earth is the center of the universe.
D. Neither the Earth nor the Sun is the center of the
universe
9. Based on Kepler's First Law, which of the figures below describes the
path of a planet as it moves around the Sun?
10. Kepler discovered that planets do not go around the Sun at a uniform
speed but it depends on its position relative to the Sun. What is its speed
when it is farther from the Sun?
A. faster
B. neither fast nor slow
C. slower
D. similar to the speed when it is closer to the Sun