Definition for View source for Johannes Kepler

Kepler, Johannes (1571 to 1630): Astronomer born in Germany. He studied at Tübingen, and in 1593 was appointed professor of mathematics at Graz. In 1596 he commenced a correspondence with Tycho Brahe, who was then in Prague, and from 1600 worked with him, showing that planetary motions were far simpler than had been imagined. He announced his first and second laws of planetary motion in Astronomia Nova (1609, New Astronomy), which formed the groundwork of Isaac Newton's discoveries. His third law was promulgated in Harmonies of the World. He succeeded Brahe as court astronomer to Emperor Rudolf II, and in 1628 became astrologer to Albrecht Wallenstein. Kepler’s work resonates with neo-Platonic nuances (e.g., the Harmony of the Spheres).