From the earliest humans to Claudius Ptolemaeus, Galileo Galilei, George Ellery Hale, Edwin Hubble to Geoffery Marcy; the study/science of astronomy and the night sky has always attempted to decipher the sun, the moon and the planets but also our place as humans, within the cosmos.

Johannes Hevelius

Portrait by Daniel Schultz
Born

28 January 1611

Danzig, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Died

28 January 1687 (aged 76),

Danzig, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Alma mater Leiden University
Known for Lunar topography
Selenographia by Hevelius, JohannesMachinæ coelestis Vol I by Johannes HeveliusMachinæ coelestis Vol II by Johannes HeveliusThe illustrated account given by Hevelius in his “Machina celestis of the method of mounting his telescopes and erecting an observatoryJohannis Hevelii Epistolae 4Handschrift des Sterncatalogs
Cosmos : essai d’une description physique du monde Vol I by Alexander von HumboldtCosmos : essai d’une description physique du monde Vol IICosmos : essai d’une description physique du monde Vol III by Alexander von HumboldtCosmos : essai d’une description physique du monde Vol IV by Alexander von HumboldtCosmos : a sketch of a physical description of the universe Vol ICosmos : a sketch of a physical description of the universe Vol IICosmos : a sketch of a physical description of the universe Vol IIICosmos : a sketch of a physical description of the universe Vol IVCosmos : a sketch of a physical description of the universe Vol VLife of Alexander von Humboldt Vol ILife of Alexander von Humboldt Vol II
Traité de mécanique céleste Vol I by Laplace, Pierre SimonTraité de mécanique céleste Vol II by Pierre Simon LaplaceExposition du systême du monde Vol I by Pierre Simon LaplaceExposition du systême du monde Vol II by Pierre Simon LaplaceExposition du systême du monde Vol I by Pierre Simon LaplaceA philosophical essay on probabilitiesThe system of the world Vol IThe system of the world Vol IIMécanique céleste Vol I English TranslationMécanique céleste Vol II English TranslationMécanique céleste Vol III English TranslationMécanique céleste Vol IV English Translation
Johannes Kepler

Portrait of Kepler by an unknown artist in 1620.
Born

27 December 1571

Free Imperial City of Weil der Stadt, Holy Roman Empire
Died

15 November 1630 (aged 58)

Education Tübinger Stift, University of Tübingen (M.A., 1591)[1]
Known for Kepler’s laws of planetary motion
Kepler conjecture
Rudolphine Tables
Scientific career
Fields Astronomy, astrology, mathematics, natural philosophy
Doctoral advisor Michael Maestlin
Influences Nicolaus Copernicus
Tycho Brahe
Pythagoras
Influenced Sir Isaac Newton
Benoit Mandelbrot
Thomas Browne
Signature
Astronomia nova aitiologetos by Johannes KeplerProdromus dissertationvm cosmographicarvm by Johannes KeplerDissertatio cum Nvncio sidereo nuper ad mortales misso by Johannes KeplerTychonis Brahei Dani Hyperaspistes by Johannes KeplerDe niue sexangula by Johannes KeplerTabulae Rudolphinae by Johannes KeplerEpitome astronomiae copernicanae Vol I by Johannes KeplerEpitome astronomiae copernicanae Vol II by Johannes KeplerAn account of the astronomical discoveries of Kepler By Robert SmallThe Illustrated On The Shoulders Of Giants by STEPHEN HAWKINGKepler by Walter William BryantJohannes Kepler And The New AstronomySix Great Astronomers by Crowther, J. GNatalis DurretThe martyrs of science; or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler
Nicolaus Copernicus

The
Born

19 February 1473

Died

24 May 1543 (aged 70)

Frauenburg, Warmia, Royal Prussia, Poland
Education
Known for
Scientific career
Fields
  • Astronomy
  • Canon law
  • Economics
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Politics
Academic advisors Domenico Maria Novara da Ferrara
Influences
Influenced Johannes Kepler
Signature
Nicolai Copernici … De revolvtioni bus orbium coelestiumAstronomia instaurataThe gradual acceptance of the Copernican theory of the universe by Dorothy StimsonFigure de sistemi del mondo d’Aristotile, Copernico, e TiconeThe Illustrated On The Shoulders Of Giants by STEPHEN HAWKINGNicolaus Copernicus: Making The Earth A Planet by Owen Gingerich, James Mac Lachlanparallaxi orbis annuiDe revolutionibus orbium cœlestiumGuilielmi Blaeu Institutio astronomica de usu globorum et sphaerarum caelestium ac terrestrium
Siderevs nvncivsDialogo di Galileo Galilei linceo matematico supremoOpere di Galileo GalileiDialogo di Galileo Galilei Linceo matematico sopraordinario dello stvdio di PisaDialogues concerning two new sciencesThe sidereal messenger of Galileo GalileiGalileo Galilei and the Roman Curia by Karl von GeblerDialogo de Cecco di RonchittiThe Illustrated On The Shoulders Of Giants by STEPHEN HAWKINGThe martyrs of science; or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and KeplerGalileo Galilei by James Mac LachlanLife of Galileo Galilei: with illustrations of the advancement of experimental philosophy by Bethune, John Elliot DrinkwaterMemorials of Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642Galileo by Bryant, Walter WGalileo and his judges by Wegg-Prosser, Francis RichardGalileo, his life and work by Fahie, John JosephGalileo and his condemnation by Hull, Ernest ReginaldThe private life of Galileo
Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre
Born

19 September 1749

Amiens, France
Died

19 August 1822 (aged 72)

Paris, France
Nationality French
Scientific career
Fields Astronomy
Doctoral advisor Jérôme Lalande
Doctoral students Gerard Moll
Signature
Tables astronomiquesHistoire de l’astronomie ancienneHistoire de l’astronomie moderne
Tycho Brahe

Portrait of Tycho Brahe at age 50, c. 1596, wearing the Order of the Elephant
Born
Tyge Ottesen Brahe

14 December 1546

Died

24 October 1601 (aged 54)

Nationality Danish
Alma mater University of Copenhagen
Leipzig University
University of Rostock
Occupation Astronomer, writer
Known for Tychonic system
Tycho’s supernova
Rudolphine Tables
Variation
Spouse Kirsten Barbara Jørgensdatter
Children 8
Parent(s) Otte Brahe
Beate Clausdatter Bille
Signature
Learned: Tico Brahae, his astronomicall coniectur, of the new and much admired [star] which appered in the year 1572Tychonis Brahe Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanicaMeteorologiske dagbogOperum primitias De nova stellaTychonis Brahe Dani Epistolarvm astronomicarvm libriOpera omnia Vol IOpera omnia Vol IIOpera omnia Vol IIIOpera omnia Vol IVOpera omnia Vol VOpera omnia Vol VIOpera omnia Vol VIIOpera omnia Vol VIIIOpera omnia Vol IXOpera omnia Vol XOpera omnia Vol XIOpera omnia Vol XIIOpera omnia Vol XIIIOpera omnia Vol XVTycho Brahe; a picture of scientific life and work in the sixteenth century by John Louis Emil DreyerThe martyrs of science : or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and KeplerGreat astronomers by Robert Stawell BallFigure de sistemi del mondo d’Aristotile, Copernico, e TiconeSix Great Astronomers by Crowther, J. GThe martyrs of science; or, The lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler