All_About_Space_-_Issue_94_2020

LadybeforeTýnhadbeenopenedandthebones

examinedin1901.Inparticulartheyclaimedto

findhighlevelsoftoxicmercuryinhisbeard.

Mercuryisknowntodamagetubulesinthe

kidneys,andcancausea conditioncalleduremia–

couldTychohavebeenpoisoned?

Accusationsweref lunginalldirections– oneof

thedoctorsinvolvedintheanalysis,BentKæmpe

oftheCopenhagenInstituteofForensicMedicine,

pinnedtheblameonKepler’swifeBarbara,while

wereraisedatthe speedwhich

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ClausThykieroftheOleRømer

MuseumsuggestBrahemight

haveaccidentallypoisoned

himself.Otherswondered

whetherBrahehadcommitted

suicideina fitofdepression.

However,themoststriking

accusationswerethoseagainst

JohannesKeplerhimself,widely

publicisedina bestselling 2004 book,

HeavenlyIntrigue, bywritersJoshuaand

Anne-LeeGilder.TheGilderssuggestedthatKepler

sawmurderastheonlyroutetogettingholdof

Tycho’smeasurements,anda pathtoadvancement

inRudolph’scourt.

Asthecontroversyrumbledon,archaeologist

JensVellevofDenmark’sAarhusUniversity

obtainedpermissionin 2010 toexhumeBrahe’s

bodyfora secondtime,takingsamplesofhisbones,

hairandclothingbeforea respectfulreburial.For

Vellevtheprojectwasasmuchanopportunityto

learnmoreabouttheconditionsofTycho’slifeasit

wastosolvethemysteryaroundhisdeath.

“Whenwemadethenewexcavationitwasnot

purelybecausewewantedtofindoutabouthow

Tychodied,”explainsVellev,“buttomakea new

explorationofthetomb,toseehowitwas,andto

findtheclothesandbonestomakea newanalysis

ofhowhelived.”

In 2012 Vellevandhiscolleagueswereableto

reveala conclusiveanalysisofsamplesfromTycho’s

beard.“Wemeasuredtheconcentrationofmercury

usingthreedifferentquantitativechemicalmethods

inourlabs,"saidchemistKaareLundRasmussen

atthetime."Alltestsrevealedthesameresult:that

mercuryconcentrationswerenotsufficientlyhigh

tohavecausedhisdeath.“

Sowherehadtheoriginalresearchersgone

wrong?Itseemstheproblemlayina combination

oftechnicalchallenges,assumptionsand

exaggerations.Diagnosingmercurypoisoning

basedonrandomsamplesofbeardhairisa huge

challengeinitself– mercuryisabsorbedintothe

bloodstreamandprocessedveryrapidly,sodifferent

partsofTycho’sbeardcouldshowverydifferent

levels.What’smore,someofthescientistsinvolved

seemtohavestartedwithanassumptionthatBrahe

waspoisonedatthebanquet,andthenlooked

forevidenceofmercurytobackitup.Thefact

thatalchemicalworkexposedTychotomercury

throughmuchofhislifeonlyconfusesmatters

further.Ontopofthat,reviewersoftheGilders’

widelypublicisedbookaccusedthemofoverstating

thelevelandeffectofmercuryactuallyreportedin

the1990sanalysis.

“Asyou’dfindwithyouorme,thereweresmall

tracesofmercury,butwealsofoundgoldandsilver

inpureformandasamalgam,”pointsoutVellev.

“Weknowhemademedicinesforhimself,andso

perhapshetooksomeofhisownmedicineforhis

painsbeforehedied,butnotinanyamountthat

couldhavekilledhim.”

“Suspicions around ay, butthey only

gg owball n h

InTycho’smodeloftheSolar

System,allobjectsorbitEarth

exceptforMercuryandVenus,

whichgoaroundtheSun

Aportraitfromaround 1610

capturesthefierceintelligenceof

Tycho’sprotégé,Kepler

A 1598 engraving depicts Tycho

and his assistants using the mural

quadrant – a large quarter-circle

subdivided down to fractions of a

degree with a moving sight through

which stars and planets could be

© Getty observed to measure their elevation

Ty c h o B r a h e