Johannes Kepler wasn’t just a brilliant astronomer—he was a dreamer who saw math in the stars and magic in the cosmos. Dive into the curious, mystical, and often bizarre life of the man who charted the orbits of planets and forever changed astronomy.
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler originally studied to become a Lutheran minister before switching to mathematics and astronomy.
He created the laws of planetary motion using just pen, paper, and relentless calculation—no telescope needed.
Kepler believed the universe was built on geometric shapes like spheres and polyhedrons.
He wrote a science fiction story about space travel to the Moon, Somnium, considered the first of its kind.
Kepler worked as an astrologer to make a living, even while developing groundbreaking astronomy.
He was partially blind in one eye and suffered from poor health throughout his life.
Johannes Kepler defended his mother against witchcraft accusations in court—she was imprisoned for over a year.
He discovered that planets orbit the sun in ellipses, not perfect circles, overturning 2,000 years of astronomy.
His mentor, Tycho Brahe, had a metal nose—and Kepler inherited his astronomical data after Brahe’s sudden death.
Kepler’s third law of planetary motion was so precise, NASA still uses it for spacecraft navigation.
He calculated how vision works in the human eye and helped explain how eyeglasses correct sight.
Kepler once tried to redesign the calendar and fix leap year problems, but his idea never caught on.
He created one of the first accurate models of how lenses focus light—key for telescope design.
Johannes Kepler was a deeply religious man who believed studying the heavens was a way to understand God’s mind.
He died poor and largely unrecognized, yet his ideas paved the way for Newton, Galileo, and modern science.
