Tycho Brahe, the scandalous astronomer - Dan Wenkel

第谷·布拉赫，绯闻天文学家 - Dan Wenkel

翻译人员: Qingqing Mao 校对人员: Jenny Yang

How do you imagine the life of a scientist?

你是如何想象科学家的生活的？

Boring and monotonous,

枯燥和单调？

spending endless hours in the lab

在实验室里度过无尽的时间？

with no social interaction?

没有任何社交？

Maybe for some but not Tycho Brahe.

也许有些科学家是这样的，但第谷·布拉赫不是。

The 16th century scholar who accurately predicted planetary motion

这位16世纪的学者，在望远镜发明之前

and cataloged hundreds of stars before the telescope had been invented

就精确预测了行星运动并编目了数百颗星星，

also had a cosmic-sized personal life.

他同时也有着宇宙般广阔的个人生活。

Tycho Brahe was born in 1546 to Danish nobles,

第谷·布拉赫于1546年出生于丹麦的贵族之家，

but at age two was kidnapped to be raised by his uncle instead.

但在两岁时，他被其伯父擅自带走并抚养长大。

His parents didn't seem to mind.

他的父母对此似乎并不在意。

Tycho was supposed to have a career in law,

第谷原本应该去从事法律工作，

but after witnessing a solar eclipse at thirteen,

但是在他13岁时目睹了一次日全食之后，

he began spending more time

他开始把更多的时间花在

with mathematics and science professors,

与数学和科学教授待在一起，

who taught him the art of celestial observation.

他们教给他天体观测的技巧。

By the time Tycho's uncle sent him off to Germany a few years later,

几年后第谷的伯父将他送去德国，

he had lost interest in his law studies,

此时他对法律学习已经完全失去了兴趣，

instead reading astronomy books,

转而阅读天文学书籍，

improving his instruments,

改进他的仪器设备，

and taking careful notes of the night skies.

并仔细地记录夜空。

It wasn't long before his own measurements

没过多久，他自己所做的测量

were more accurate than those in his books.

就已经比书中的更为精确了。

While in Germany, Tycho got into a bit of an argument

在德国期间，第谷和另一个学生

with another student at a party

在一个舞会上

over a mathematical formula,

因为一个数学公式而发生争吵。

resulting in a sword duel

最后这演变为一场长剑决斗，

and Tycho losing a good-sized chunk of his nose.

而第谷在决斗中失去了相当大的一部分鼻子。

After that, he was said to have worn

此后，据说他戴着

a realistic prosthetic of gold and silver

一个金银制做的逼真的假鼻子，

that he would glue onto his face.

他将其粘贴在自己的脸上。

Fortunately, Tycho didn't need his nose

幸运的是，第谷不需要用鼻子

to continue his astronomical work.

来继续他的天文学工作。

He kept studying the night sky

他继续研究着夜空，

and creating all sorts of instruments,

并制造了各种类型的仪器，

including a building-sized quadrant for measuring

包括一台房子大小的象限仪，

the angles of stars.

用于测量星星的角度。

After months of careful observation,

经过数月的仔细观测，

Tycho discovered a new star

第谷发现了一颗新的恒星，

in the constellation Cassiopeia.

位于仙后座。

The publication of this discovery granted him rock star status

这一发现的公布给于了他摇滚巨星般的地位，

and offers of scientific positions all over Europe.

以及欧洲各地的科学职位任职邀请。

Wanting to keep him at home,

为了把他留在祖国，

the King of Denmark offered to give Tycho

丹麦国王承诺给于第谷

his own personal island with a state of the art observatory.

他的私人小岛和当时最先进的天文台。

Called Uraniborg and costing about 1% of Denmark's entire budget,

这个叫做Uraniborg的天文台花费了丹麦全国预算的1%，

this observatory was more of a castle,

这个天文台更像一个城堡，

containing formal gardens,

包含了正规的花园，

rooms for family, staff and visiting royalty,

给家人、员工以及来访皇室成员的房间，

and an underground section just for all the giant instruments.

和一个放置所有巨大仪器的地窖。

Tycho also built a papermill and printing press

第谷还建造了造纸厂和印刷机

for publishing his papers,

用于发表他的论文，

and a lab for studying alchemy.

还有一个研究炼金术的实验室。

And since no castle would be complete

城堡怎么可以

without entertainment,

没有娱乐节目，

Tycho employed a clairvoyant dwarf

于是第谷还雇佣了一个宫廷弄臣，

named Jep as court jester.

一个名为杰普的未卜先知的侏儒。

Tycho lived on his island,

第谷生活在他的岛上，

studying and partying for about 20 years.

进行研究和派对狂欢了约20年。

But after falling out with the new Danish King,

但是，在和丹麦的新国王闹翻以后，

he took up an invitation from the Holy Roman Emperor

他接受了神圣罗马帝国的一个邀请，

to become the official imperial astronomer in Prague.

在布拉格担任官方的皇家天文学家。

There, he met another famous astronomer Johannes Kepler,

在那里他遇到了另一位著名的天文学家约翰内斯·开普勒，

who became his assistant.

他成为了第谷的助手。

While Kepler's work interested him,

第谷对开普勒的研究很有兴趣，

Tycho was protective of his data,

但同时第谷严密保护自己的数据，

and the two often got into heated arguments.

双方时常陷入激烈的争吵。

In 1601, Tycho attended a formal banquet

1601年，第谷出席了一个正式晚宴，

where he drank quite a lot

席间他喝了很多，

but was too polite to leave the table to relieve himself,

但他太过礼貌以至不愿离席去上厕所，

deciding to tough it out instead.

于是决定就这么憋着。

This proved to be a bad idea,

后来证明这是一个坏主意，

as he quickly developed a bladder infection

他很快就患了膀胱感染，

and died a few days later.

数天后就去世了。

But over 400 years after his death,

但是他逝世400年后，

Tycho still had a few surprises up his sleeve.

第谷仍能给我们带来些意想不到的东西。

When his body was exhumed and studied in 2010,

2010年，当他的遗体被发掘出来进行研究时，

the legendary gold and silver nose

传说中的金银鼻

was nowhere to be found,

无处可寻，

with chemical traces suggesting

化学痕迹显示

that he wore a more casual brass nose instead.

他其实带着一个更随便的铜质鼻子。

Tycho's mustache hair was also found

第谷的胡须里发现了

to contain unusually high levels of toxic mercury.

异常高含量的有毒物质水银。

Was it from a medicine used to treat his bladder infection?

这是否来源于治疗膀胱感染的药物？

A residue from his alchemy experiments?

或是他做炼金术实验的残留物？

Or did his quarrelsome coworker Johannes Kepler

还是他那个好争论的同事约翰内斯·开普勒

poison him to acquire his data?

为了得到他的数据而下了毒？

We may never know,

我们可能永远也不会知道，

but the next time you think scientists lead boring lives,

但下回你再认为科学家们的生活无聊，

dig a little deeper.

更深入地探究一下。

A fascinating story may be just beyond the tip of your nose.

一个迷人的故事可能就近在咫尺