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This Day in History
The Birth of Celestial Physics-Johannes Kepler
December 27, 1571
Johannes Kepler, one of the most famous scientists in history, was born today on December 27, 1571. Most people have heard his name as telescopes, spacecrafts and 453 planets have been named after him. Here is a list of other significant mathematical and scientific discoveries named for him.
Kepler originally studied to be a theologian, and was an astrologer, before astronomy became a science. In fact, he is credited for taking the study of the stars into science by incorporating physics and math into the study of the planets.
Kepler was strongly influenced by the work of Nicolaus Copernicus, who believed the Earth and other planets moved around the sun. Kepler took this concept and discovered three physical concepts we now understand today:
that planets move in ellipse shaped orbits, how long a planet takes to go around its sun is related to the radius of the planet’s orbit, and a line between a planet and the sun covers equal areas in equal times. He also realized planets nearer to the sun need to move faster than those further away.
Kepler also studied light refractions and reflections and was integral in refining a refracting telescope. Kepler’s use of mathematics and…
