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「如果我比別人看得更遠，那是因為我站在巨人的肩上。」牛頓所指的巨人當中，當然包括丹麥天文學家第谷．布拉赫（1546-1601）。坐擁整個丹麥百分之一的財富，第谷有足夠的能力為自己設計和製造最精密的測量儀器，而最終準確測定數以千計恆星以及五大行星的方位。1572年的一個晚上，第谷觀測到在仙后座出現一顆超新星，也是歐洲人觀測到的第一顆超新星，上圖（右）是X射線天文衛星拍得這顆超新星的遺骸。有歷史學家懷疑開普勒為取得第谷的觀測資料而使用汞（水銀）把他毒殺。開普勒利用第谷的觀測數據歸納出行星的運動定律，亦因此讓牛頓能確證他的萬有引力理論。當我們仰望滿月時，不難發現月面一處最容易辨認的地貌，即以這位為肉眼觀測年代畫上句號的天文學家命名。
Standing upon the shoulders of giants
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” One of Isaac Newton's giants was Tycho Brahe (1546-1601). Tycho was a Danish nobleman. He was so wealthy that he constructed his own precise instruments and made thousand of accurate measurements of the stars and planets. In 1572, he witnessed the outburst of a “new” star in Cassiopeia. The remnant of this supernova was rediscovered in 1960. Tycho died in 1601. Some historians believe Johannes Kepler poisoned Tycho to gain access to his data. Kepler used the data to formulate the three laws of planetary motion. Newton later used Kepler's Laws to validate his law of gravity. Tycho was the last important astronomer to work without a telescope. The most prominent naked-eye feature on the moon is named after him. ■甄枝強 資深天文愛好者
Tycho's supernove Image Credit: NASA/CXC/Rutgers/J.Warren & J.Hughes et al.
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