Astronomical Images : The motion of the comet

Tycho Brahe

Astronomical Images

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Tycho Brahe produced his <i>De mundi aetherei recentioribus phaenomenis</i> at his own press on the island of Hven in 1588. The work was originally intended to be the second part of a three-volume series dealing with the nova of 1572, the comet of 1577, and other comets that Tycho had observed; for this reason, it was not immediately distributed commercially, despite being printed in a run of 1500 copies. A number of individuals received copies or partial-copies as gifts. This figure represents the motion of the comet at a particular time. A is the Earth, HMF the solar eccentric with centre B, perigee H and apogee F, and MKG the circuit of the comet about the Sun. This image is closely related to another presented on p. 196 of the treatise, which models the motion of the comet at a different time.</p>