132 A Short History of Astronomy [CH. v., $101 



able, that new stars were, like comets, almost universally 

 ascribed to the higher regions of our own atmosphere. 

 Tycho wrote an account of the new star, which he was ulti- 

 mately induced by his friends to publish (1573), together 

 with some portions of a calendar for that year which he had 

 prepared. His reluctance to publish appears to have been 

 due in great part to a belief that it was unworthy of the 

 dignity of a Danish nobleman to write books ! The 

 book in question (De Nova . . . Stella^ compares very 

 favourably with the numerous other writings which the 

 star called forth, though it shews that Tycho held the 

 common beliefs that comets were in our atmosphere, and 

 that the planets were carried round by solid crystalline 

 spheres, two delusions which his subsequent work did 

 much to destroy. He also 'dealt at some length with the 

 astrological importance of the star, and the great events 

 which it foreshadowed, utterances on which Kepler sub- 

 sequently made tlje very sensible criticism that "if that 

 star did nothing else, at least it announced and produced 

 a great astronomer/' 



In 1574 Tycho was requested to give some astronomical 

 lectures at the University of Copenhagen, the first of which, 

 dealing largely with astrology, was printed in 1610, after his 

 death. When these were finished, he set off again on his 

 travels (1575). After a short visit to Cassel ( 97), during 

 which he laid the foundation of a lifelong friendship with 

 the Landgiave, he went on to Frankfort to buy books, 

 thence to Basle (where he had serious thoughts of settling) 

 and on to Venice, then back to Augsburg and to Regens- 

 burg, where he obtained a copy of the, Commentariolus of 

 Coppernicus (chapter iv., 73), and finally came home 

 by way of Saalfeld and Wittenberg. 



1 01. The next year (1576) was the beginning of a 

 new epoch in Tycho's career. The King of Denmark, 

 Frederick II., who was a zealous patron of science and 

 literature, determined to provide Tycho with endowments 

 sufficient to enable him to carry out his astronomical work 

 in the most effective way. He accordingly gave him for 

 occupation the little island of Hveen in the Sound (now 

 belonging to Sweden), promised money for building a 

 house and observatory, and supplemented the income 



