Wang Kaixiang
As the capital of Denmark, the "fairytale kingdom", Copenhagen has always been famous for the bronze statue of the Little Mermaid. But what you may not know is that in addition to the Must-Check-in Attractions such as the Little Mermaid, the Danish Royal Palace, and Newport, there is also an indissoluble relationship with astronomy.
In the 16th century, the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe worked on the island of Wen near Copenhagen for more than 20 years, and he became one of the founders of modern astronomy with high-precision observation data. In order to inherit and commemorate Tycho's contribution to astronomy, one of the oldest astronomical observatories in Europe, the Round Tower, and the Tycho Brahe Planetarium were built in the city of Copenhagen, and they later became one of the must-visit pilgrimage sites for astronomy enthusiasts.
A landmark view of downtown Copenhagen – Nyhavn Wang Kaixiang Photo
Tycho Brahe was born in 1546 in Scanny, Denmark (now part of Sweden). As a Danish aristocrat, he began his education at the University of Copenhagen at the age of 13. In August 1560, an eclipse occurred at a turning point in Tycho's life, and he had a strong interest in astronomy, who had majored in law. In 1566, Tycho went to the University of Rostock in Germany to study astronomy, and thus began astronomical research.
Portrait of Tycho Brahe, painted by Eduard Ender
On November 11, 1572, Tycho noticed the sudden appearance of a new bright star in the Cassiopeia region, and used instruments of his own manufacture to monitor the bright star until it dimmed to the naked eye in March 1574, and made 16 months of detailed observations and records. Tycho confirmed that this was a star far away from us, not a phenomenon in the atmosphere or the solar system, and decided to name it after the word "nova". The emergence of new stars also completely shook Aristotle's theory of celestial invariance, and promoted the birth of new fields of research and new thinking. We now know that this is a supernova explosion in the Milky Way about ten thousand light-years from our Earth, and this supernova is also named Tycho supernova (SN 1572).
Tycho's record of "SN 1572", the letter I is Tycho supernova, Tycho's book "De Stella Nova "On Nova" diagram
NASA image of the remains of the "SN 1972 Tycho supernova" taken by the Chandra X-ray Space Observatory
In 1576, King Frederick II of Denmark granted Tycho the island of Wen between Denmark and Sweden as the site of a new observatory and gave him a sum of money. As a result, Tycho began to build the "Sky Fort" on Wen Island, which was the earliest large observatory in Europe. In 1584, Tycho built a slightly smaller "Star Fort" south of the Heavenly Fortress. During the observation period of More than 20 years on Wen Island, Tycho personally designed a large number of advanced astronomical instruments at that time, such as large wall quadrants, equatorial armillary instruments, etc., and achieved a series of important results.
Tycho used a wall quadrant for astronomical observations in the "Heavenly Fort" of Wen Island. Tycho Brahe, Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanica
Tycho was a highly skilled observer, all of whom were made with the help of instruments and with the naked eye, who recorded the positions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars in great detail, reaching the pinnacle of its time, almost the limit of human eye resolution, and the most accurate record before the telescope era. It should be known that it was not until 1609, 8 years after Tycho's death, that Galileo first aimed his telescope at the night sky for astronomical observations, and mankind entered the telescope age.
In 1600, Johannes Kepler became Tycho's assistant. The following year Tani died, Kepler inherited a large number of astronomical observations left by Tycho, and compiled the "Rudolf Catalogue" published in 1627, which became the most accurate catalogue at that time. More importantly, with the help of Tycho's long-term observation of the location of Mars, Kepler finally summed up the three major laws describing the motion of the planets - Kepler's law through careful calculations.
Kepler was known as the "Sky Legislator" for his summation of the famous Three Laws of Planetary Motion. Wikipedia Figures
The Tycho craters on the lunar surface and the long radial radiation pattern are one of the most obvious geomorphological features on the Moon, which can be distinguished from the naked eye from the Earth. Infographic
Tycho single-handedly pushed the level of Danish astronomy to the forefront of the world, and after his death, King Christian IV of Denmark, in order to continue to promote the development of astronomy, initiated the construction of a new observatory, the Round Tower (Danish: "Rundetårn" in copenhagen), which combined the functions of the observatory, library and church, and was completed in 1642.
The Round Tower in downtown Copenhagen, completed in 1642. Wikipedia Figures
Built in the mid-17th century, the Round Tower is the oldest astronomical observatory still in use in Europe. Although with the development of the times, the round tower has long been unable to meet the needs of professional astronomical observation, and no longer for scientific observation, but as a famous attraction, open to all the public. During the day, visitors circle along the spiral trail, offering panoramic views of Copenhagen's Old Town from a 36-metre-high tower-top viewing platform, and at night, it is available for astronomers to observe the starry sky.
The dome of the round tower allows astronomers to observe the starry sky. Wikipedia Figures
The spiral walkway in the tower also leads to the library hall. The library is said to have housed all the books of the University of Copenhagen, and the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen used to visit there for inspiration, but the hall still serves as a showcase of Danish artistic, cultural, historical and scientific achievements.
A spiral walk inside the round tower on Wikipedia figures
Inside the library lobby Wikipedia figure
The Tycho Brahe Planetarium is one of the younger buildings in Copenhagen. Located on the shores of an artificial lake in the southwest of downtown Copenhagen, the planetarium is a beautiful and clean green area along the lake, and it is also a good place for locals to relax. The Tycho Brahe Planetarium was officially opened to the public on November 1, 1989, and the overall appearance of the building is a simple cylinder designed by architect Knud Munk.
Tycho Brahe Planetarium Wikipedia Image
Tycho Brahe Planetarium entrance Wang Kaixiang Photo
One of the highlights of the Gwyt Brahe Planetarium and the largest in the Nordic region, the giant planetarium can project up to 7,500 stars, planets and galaxies onto the dome, simulating an immersive starry sky. The newly upgraded dome also supports 8K resolution film screening. Several screenings are offered daily from morning to night, with themes ranging from cosmic objects and space exploration to 3D microscopic worlds and geological wonders. It should be noted that the narration of the film is all in Danish, but the venue also provides headphones to receive the English version of the dubbing.
The entrance to the exhibition area full of artistic sense Wang Kaixiang picture
In addition to the dome theater, the Tycho Brahe Planetarium also has a very exciting exhibition. Stepping into the exhibition hall, it is like entering a time and space tunnel, immersed in the stars of the universe. The exhibition focuses on some of the grandest questions, such as where did the universe come from? How did life originate? With the help of interactive multimedia technology and stereoscopic audio and video surround effects, it shows us the most amazing celestial bodies and phenomena in the universe, as well as the cornerstones of life and the structure of the universe, such as particle collisions, stellar evolution, galaxy mergers, etc., in an exciting way, stimulating people's curiosity to explore the vast universe.
Various interactive experiences with 59 productions graphs
Inside the exhibition hall Wang Kaixiang Picture
As a planetarium named after Tycho Brahe, it is natural that the museum is full of materials introducing Tycho's life, as well as some interesting anecdotes. In addition, there is a precious lunar rock sample weighing more than 200 grams in the exhibition hall, which was collected by the astronauts of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 and brought back to Earth, which is the largest lunar sample brought back by the Apollo mission outside the United States. There is also a solar observation tower in the museum, which projects real-time images of the sun's surface into the exhibition hall for everyone to observe sunspots and other activities. If you are tired of visiting the exhibition, you can enjoy a meal in the "Cassiopeia" restaurant in the museum.
Today's Tycho Brahe Planetarium has become a bridge and window for scientists to communicate with the public, passing on the history of astronomical development and cutting-edge knowledge of astronomical research to everyone, and also allowing people to remember the story of Tycho Brahe, a great Danish astronomer.
(The author of this article is Wang Kaixiang, Ph.D. candidate in astrophysics at Peking University)
Editor-in-Charge: Wang Yu
Proofreader: Yan Zhang