Johannes kepler biography timeline designs

The basis for everything we understand about the orbits of the planets comes from the work of German astronomer Johannes Kepler

Kepler, without knowing about the force of gravity, mathematically described the motions of the planets around the sun in his three laws of planetary motion.

His work was key in providing evidence for Nicolaus Copernicus' theory that the sun, not Earth, was at the center of the solar system. 

Related:Kepler's Third Law: The movement of solar system planets

When was Kepler born?

Johannes Kepler was born on Dec.

27, 1571, in the Free Imperial City of Weil der Stadt, which today is near Stuttgart, Germany. He was abandoned by his soldier father at a young age and was raised as a Lutheran by his mother and grandparents.

Though neglected as a child, he displayed a knack for mathematics and witnessed two astronomical events that spurred his interest in the cosmos: the Great Comet of 1577 and a to