Astronomer · 1571 CE – 1630 CE

Johannes Kepler

History of AstronomyThe Scientific Revolution

Biography

Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician and astronomer who served as Tycho Brahe's assistant and successor. Using Tycho's superb observations of Mars, he discovered that planets travel in ellipses with the Sun at one focus, sweeping out equal areas in equal times — laws that turned Copernican astronomy into precise, predictive science.

Scientific contributions

Discovered the three laws of planetary motion
Showed that planets move in ellipses, not circles
Compiled the Rudolphine Tables from Tycho's data

Major publications

Theories developed

Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion1619 CE

Catalogues

Rudolphine Tables1627 CE

Knowledge connections

Namesake ofKepler Space Telescope
Influenced byNicolaus Copernicus
Collaborated withTycho Brahe
Part ofThe Scientific Revolution
PublishedAstronomia nova
PublishedHarmonices Mundi
DevelopedKepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
IntroducedRudolphine Tables
Associated withThe Copernican Revolution
Associated withScientific Lineage

Sources & references

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica
General reference for the history of astronomy, biographies, and cultural context.
IAUInternational Astronomical Union
Official naming, definitions, constellation boundaries, and astronomical nomenclature.

Quick facts

Lifespan: 1571 CE – 1630 CE
Nationality: German
Era: The Scientific Revolution
Fields: Astronomy, Mathematics, Optics
Institutions: Prague; Graz; Linz
Publications: 2

Quality & authority

31%

Unreviewed

Completeness: Complete
Source coverage: Partial
Citation coverage: None
Relationship coverage: Complete
Review coverage: None
Image coverage: None

Curated from authoritative reference sources. See source quality.

Scientific citations

Real, source-backed references — primary papers first, then datasets and institutional sources. Formatted through the citation engine; nothing is fabricated.

Historical referenceJohannes Kepler — Encyclopaedia Britannica

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Cite (APA / BibTeX)

Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.). Johannes Kepler — Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Kepler

@misc{cite:britannica-astronomer-johannes-kepler,
  title        = {Johannes Kepler — Encyclopaedia Britannica},
  organization = {Encyclopaedia Britannica},
  year         = {n.d.},
  url          = {https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Kepler},
  note         = {Biographical and background reference for Johannes Kepler (secondary source).}
}

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Biography

Sources & references

Facts on this topic will be cited from these primary and reference sources.

BritannicaEncyclopaedia Britannica

General reference for the history of astronomy, biographies, and cultural context.

IAUInternational Astronomical Union

Official naming, definitions, constellation boundaries, and astronomical nomenclature.

Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.). Johannes Kepler — Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Kepler @misc{cite:britannica-astronomer-johannes-kepler, title = {Johannes Kepler — Encyclopaedia Britannica}, organization = {Encyclopaedia Britannica}, year = {n.d.}, url = {https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Kepler}, note = {Biographical and background reference for Johannes Kepler (secondary source).} }