Johannes Kepler (1571–1630)

Author of Harmonies of the World

62+ Works 608 Members 9 Reviews 3 Favorited

About the Author

Born in Wurttemburg, Germany, Johannes Kepler was the son of a soldier of fortune who eventually deserted his family. Kepler is widely known for his three laws of planetary motion. Kepler began to think about astronomy and planetary motion as a schoolteacher in Graz, Austria and published his first show more work, Mysterium Cosmographicum, in 1596. He became an apprentice to Tcho Brahe, whose collection of astronomical observations was the best of its kind. Kepler's work on Mars, in which he tried to fit a theory to the observations, led to his discovery that planetary motion is elliptical rather than circular. Kepler's life was somewhat chaotic as a result of the repeated harassment of Protestant teachers in predominantly Catholic Austria. Some of his ideas about cosmic harmonies, such as the theory that the spacing of planetary orbits is related to the five regular polyhedrons, were incorrect. Yet his basic approach of seeking a broad sense of order and harmony in the world led to the discovery of mathematical regularities involved in planetary motion, and ultimately, to the elegance of Sir Isaac Newton's laws of motion. Kepler's Somnium, a fictional account of a voyage to the moon, is cited by historians of rocketry as an early work of science fiction that might have stimulated interest in space travel. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Johannes Kepler, Johaness Kepler, ヨハネス・ケプラー

Image credit: Deutsche Post der DDR / Wikimedia Commons

Works by Johannes Kepler

Popular Recent

Harmonies of the World (1619) 118 copies

Epitome of Copernican Astronomy and Harmonies of the World (Great Minds) (1995) 115 copies

Somnium (1634) 101 copies, 2 reviews

Selections from Kepler's Astronomia Nova (Science Classics Module for Humanities Studies) (1609) 48 copies, 1 review

Astronomia Nova (1609) 41 copies

The Six-Cornered Snowflake (1611) 31 copies, 1 review

El secreto del universo (1981) 31 copies, 1 review

La gaceta sideral / The Gazette Sidereal: Conversacion Con El Mensajero Sideral / Conversation With The Sidereal… (1610) 14 copies

Optics (2000) 11 copies

The Controversy on the Comets of 1618 (1960) 11 copies

Was die Welt im Innersten zusammenhält (2005) 6 copies

Lettera per la scelta di una moglie (1992) 5 copies

Le secret du monde (1984) 5 copies

Gesammelte Werke. Bd. 11.1. Ephemerides novae motuum coelestium (1937) 4 copies

Dissertatio cum Nuncio sidereo =: Discussion avec le messager celeste ; Narratio de observatis Jovis satellitibus =… (1993) 4 copies, 1 review

Tabulae Rudolphinae : quibus astronomicae scientiae temporum longinquitate collapsae restauratio continetur (2014) 4 copies

Vom sechseckigen Schnee (1987) 3 copies

Paralipòmens a Vitel·lió: els orígens de l'òptica moderna (2011) 3 copies

Joannis Kepleri Astronomi Opera Omnia, Volume 3 (Latin Edition) (2010) 2 copies

Atronomiae Pars Optica (Johannes Kepler Gesammelte Werke, Band II) (1939) 2 copies, 1 review

Johannes Kepler 2 copies

Sen czyli Wydane pośmiertnie dzieło poświęcone astronomii księżycowej (2004) 2 copies

Astronomia Nova Aitiologetos: De Motibus Stellae Martis 2 copies

Kepler's Conversation with Galileo's Sidereal messenger 2 copies

Prodromus Dissertationum Cosmographicarum, Continens Mysterium Cosmographicum De Admirabili Proportione Orbium… (2018) 2 copies

Über die zuverlässigeren Grundlagen der Astrologie (De fundamentis astrologiae certioribus) (1975) 2 copies

Sen, neboli, Měsíční astronomie (2004) 2 copies

Mathematische Schriften (2000) 1 copy, 1 review

Unterricht vom H.Sacrament des Leibs und Bluts Jesu Christi unsers Erlösers (1617) 1 copy, 1 review

O šestiúhelné sněhové vločce poutavé čtení o "ničem" (2017) 1 copy

Johannes Kepler Gesammelte Werke, Band XXII: Generalregister, Handschriftkatalog, Chronologisches Register zu Band XIX,… (2017) 1 copy

HOMENS QUE MUDARAM A HUMANIDADE 1 copy

SOBRE LA ESTRELLA NUEVA APARECIDA EN EL PIE DE SERPENTARIO. (2008) 1 copy

Gesammelte Werke: Band XI,2: Calendaria et Prognostica; Astronomica Minora; Somnium (1993) 1 copy

Briefe 1612-1620 1 copy

Major Writings of Johannes Kepler (bound w/ nicholas copernicus and ptolemy) 1 copy

Selbstzeugnisse (1971) 1 copy

Ad vitellionem paralipomena, quibus astronomiae pars optica traditur; potissimum de artificiosa observatione et… 1 copy

Harmonies of the World 1 copy

Johannes Kepler 1571/1971 1 copy

Briefe 1607-1611 1 copy

Kleinere Schriften: 1602/1611; Dioptrice 1 copy

Briefe 1604-1607 (1995) 1 copy

Ioannis Kepleri ... Narratio de obseruatis a se quatuor Iouis satellitibus erronibus, quos Galilaeus Galilaeus… 1 copy

Joannis Keppleri Mathematici Eclogae Chronicae : Ex Epistolis Doctissimorvm aliquot Virorum, & Suis mutuis, quibus… 1 copy

Joannis Kepleri ... Dissertatio cum Nuncio sidereo nuper ad mortales misso a Galilaeo Galilaeo 1 copy

Joannis Kepleri ... Dioptrice, seu Demonstratio eorum quae visui et visibilibus propter conspicilla non ita pridem… 1 copy

Astronomia nova aitiologetos, seu Physica coelestis : tradita Commentariis de motibus stellae Martis ex observationibus… 1 copy

Tychonis Brahei ... Hyperaspistes aduersus Scipionis Claramontii ... Anti-Tychonem, in aciem productus à Ioanne… 1 copy

Prodromus dissertationum cosmographicarum : continens Mysterium cosmographicum, De admirabili proportione orbium… 1 copy

De cometis libelli tres : I. Astronomicus, theoremata continens de motu cometarum, ubi demonstratio apparentiarum &… 1 copy

Dioptrika (2011) 1 copy

Briefe 1620-1630 1 copy

Johannes Kepler: life and letters 1 copy

Mysterium Cosmographicum [Prodromus dissertationum cosmographicarum continens mysterium cosmographicum] 1 copy

Nova Stereometria Dolorium Vinariorum/ New Solid Geometry of Wine Barrels: Suivi De Accessit Stereometriae Archimedeae… (2018) 1 copy

Joannis Kepleri Astronomi Opera Omnia 1 copy

Briefe 1590-1599 1 copy

Briefe 1599-1603 (2001) 1 copy

Bibliographia Kepleriana Ein Fuhrer Durch das Gedruckte Schrifttum (1968) 1 copy

Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae (1991) 1 copy

宇宙の神秘新装版 (2009) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

On the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy (2002) — Contributor — 1,229 copies, 7 reviews

Britannica Great Books: Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler (1952) — Contributor — 431 copies, 2 reviews

The Watershed: A Biography of Johannes Kepler (1959) — Associated Name — 162 copies, 4 reviews

The Road to Science Fiction #1: From Gilgamesh to Wells (1977) — Contributor — 155 copies, 1 review

Science fiction through the ages 1 (1966) — Contributor, some editions — 14 copies

Johannes Kepler : die Entdeckung der Weltharmonie (2017) — Associated Name — 9 copies

Johannes Kepler. In Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten. (1995) — Associated Name — 8 copies

UTÓPICOS, PIONEROS Y LUNÁTICOS (2023) — Contribuidor — 2 copies

Tagged

17th century (15) anthology (39) astrology (8) astronomy (237) astrophysics (8) biographies (10) biography (60) classic (8) classics (23) Copernicus (21) cosmology (17) Einstein (20) fiction (13) Galileo (22) Great Books (25) Great Books of the Western World (11) great-books-of-the-western-world (8) hardcover (14) history (84) history of astronomy (10) history of science (78) Johannes Kepler (25) Kepler (45) Latin (7) math (50) natural science (19) Newton (25) non-fiction (113) philosophy (29) physics (193) popular science (8) Ptolemy (11) reference (13) science (308) science fiction (48) scientists (11) sf (10) short stories (12) to-read (108) unread (14)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Kepler, Johannes
Other names: KEPLER, Johannes
Birthdate: 1571-12-27
Date of death: 1630-11-15
Burial location: Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany (site destroyed by army of Gustavus Adolphus)
Gender: male
Nationality: Germany
Birthplace: Weil der Stadt, Germany
Place of death: Regensburg, Germany
Places of residence: Graz, Austria
Linz, Austria
Weil der Stadt, Baden-Wurttemberg
Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic (then Bohemia)
Education: University of Tubingen
Occupations: assistant to Tycho Brahe
court mathematician to Emperor Rudolf II
mathematician
astronomer
astrologer
professor (show all 7)
teacher
Relationships: Brahe, Tycho (boss)

Members

Reviews

Mathematische Schriften by Johannes Kepler

Price in Swiss Francs

Flagged

ajapt | Dec 30, 2018 |

Unterricht vom H.Sacrament des Leibs und Bluts Jesu… by Johannes Kepler

Price in Deutschmarks

Flagged

ajapt | Dec 30, 2018 |

Astronomiae Pars Optica by Johannes Kepler

Price in pounds; binding cost $115.50 in September 1999

Flagged

ajapt | Dec 30, 2018 |

Dissertatio cum Nuncio sidereo =: Discussion avec le… by Johannes Kepler

I just read this in the first edition, 1610, at the Houghton Library, Harvard. I was looking up Kepler's four references to Giordano Bruno, two in his Introduction (essentially half the 76pp) and two in the work itself. In the Intro Kepler mentions Bruno and Pythagoras together as positing other worlds--in relation to Galileo's observing "new worlds," the moons of Jupiter which he "sells" to the Florentine Medici as a worthy memorial, more worthy than a statue. Galileo calls the four moons he sees (out of 63 now identified) the "Medici Stars."
Kepler considers, what Bruno asserted, the possible inhabitation of the Moon. Kepler has a telescope, which Bruno never did. On the basis of observing the lunar surface, Kepler says, "If men live on the Moon, they must live in caves (speluncas), because their day is fifteen times as long as ours."… (more)

Flagged

AlanWPowers | Oct 8, 2013 |

See More Reviews