Tycho Brahe was born into a family of Danish nobility on 15 October 1546 in Knudstorp. Initially destined to remain at the same low level of cultivation as the rest of his class, his uncle stepped in and enabled him to study law and philosophy at a Latin school, and then seven years later at the Lutheran University of Copenhagen.

Early on, Tycho showed a great interest in observing the stars. Around 1562, he began studying science at Leipzig, where he rubbed shoulders with the most eminent German astronomers. He attended several universities, including Wittenberg where he fought a duel with another student. The duel cost him his nose, which he subsequently replaced with a metal prosthesis.

At the age of 17, he became aware of errors in the astronomical tables and consequently decided to draw up new ones. Showing a great deal of determination, he had highly accurate measuring instruments made in Augsbourg in 1569, whereupon he discovered a new star in the constellation of Cassiopeia, which he observed until its extinction. Opposed to the Aristotelian conception of the incorruptible world, Tycho proved that there were celestial bodies beyond the sphere of the fixed stars by studying and scrupulously recording the scintillation of the star that he had discovered.

Returning to Copenhagen in 1575, he was taken under the wing of Frederick II, who appointed him the official astronomer. In addition to a considerable allowance, the island of Hveen was awarded to him as his preserve for building his laboratory. Nicknamed Uraniborg , the Palace of Uranie (in homage to the Muse of astronomy) was an immense and luxurious castle enabling Tycho to tirelessly gaze at the night sky with excellent visibility. The vast size of the building not only allowed him to receive several students, assistants and scientists, but also install an alchemical laboratory and printing works.

He spent around 20 years in this extraordinary palace, devoted to his study of the stars. He then married a young woman from a humble background against the hostile reactions of the high Danish dignitaries. His lack of respect for the rules and his uncompromising nature soon gained him a bad reputation among the people. Haughty and pretentious, Tycho Brahe was a man of character who was quick to voice his curt opinions concerning his contemporaries, however admiring they might have been! That is exactly how he scoffed at the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno after receiving a respectfully dedicated copy of his Camoeracensis Acrostimus. Hardly receptive to his theory of infinite worlds, the astronomer retorted, "He who claims that all the air takes up the entire sky should not be called Jordanus Nolanus (Giordano the Nolan) but Jordanus Nullanus (Giordano the Numskull)".

Upon the death of his patron, Frederick II, the astronomer, crippled with debts and in conflict with his class, decided to go into exile.

After a brief stay in Wandsbeck, Tycho and his arsenal of instruments found refuge at the court of Rudolph II in Prague. Fascinated by astronomy, which he sometimes confused with astrology, the emperor appointed Tycho imperial mathematician and installed him at Benatky Castle on the outskirts of Prague, where he invited Kepler to join him. Their teamwork, which was frequently turbulent and the source of several conflicts, served as the basis for the famous laws on the movement of celestial bodies and calculations of the Rudolphine Tables.

Tycho Brahe died in his country of asylum on 24 October 1601 from a ruptured bladder. According to accounts, he died at the table of Rudolph II, court etiquette forbidding guests from leaving before their majesty. Whatever the case, the astronomer's body lies in the Notre Dame de Tyn in the heart of Prague.

Although Tycho was overshadowed by Kepler, his main disciple, he is no less an important figure in the history of science. His observations and tables qualify him as a founder of modern astronomy in the same vein as Copernicus, Kepler, and later on, Galileo.