Great Astronomers
Brahe
Hven, Sweden (1996)
In 1996, my employer sent me to an astronomical conference in Sweden; (Optical Telescopes of Today and Tomorrow - May 29 - June 2, 1996 - Landskrona). The conference organizers did a fabulous job on the side tours in the region, including several wonderful hours on the island of Hven. Not shown in this web page, but also included in the conference, was a brief stop at the estate where Brahe's ancestors lived, the host family displaying the communion cup used at the baptism of Brahe's brother (if I remember correctly).
The island of Hven (sometimes called Ven) belonged to Denmark when Brahe lived there, but has more recently come under Swedish rule. Its a tourist spot, popular with bicyclists. We were bused to the main observatory site of Uraniborg, then walked to Stjernborg.
At Uraniborg was a nice statue of Tycho Brahe. The tour was led by astronomers and historians from the nearby Lund University.
The mayor of Hven showed us around the Stjernborg site, where Brahe constructed his underground observatory. Most tourists are only allowed to walk around the outside, and can look into the roof window. Since we were part of an esteemed astronomical conference, he let us enter the observatory itself! each of us were allowed 30 seconds - no more! - to enter and walk around the original foundation.
In my allotted time, I had the opportunity to take only one photo, with the light entering through the window above. Fortunately, the film camera recorded the scene in the dimmed light, and showed the bricks and foundation used by Brahe! This was the third major astronomical site of the great astronomers that I was able to visit, and certainly the most privileged. In fact, this visit was the impetus to visit as many sites as possible.
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