Frontispiece for the 'Rudolphine Tables' (1627) by German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). Using observations by Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe,these astronomical tables were the most accurate of the time. The central figures are Copernicus and Tycho Brahe (pointing to his cosmological model). The other columns depict astronomers Aratus,Hipparchus,Ptolemy and Meton. A Chaldaean astronomer is in the background. The roof has six goddesses (optics,telescope,logarithms,lever,magnetics) and the imperial eagle. Across bottom is a depiction of Kepler,Tycho's observatory island of Hven,and the tables being printed |