A Star is Born: Johannes Kepler and the Supernova of 1604

Visible to the naked eye, the supernova of 1604 captured the imagination of early modern society. It soon became a source of controversy among stargazers, who clashed over the accuracy of their observations, the certainty of their calculations, and the validity of their views about the meaning and nature of the novelty. My research focuses on the supernova and the vast network of scholars across the Holy Roman Empire who discussed it in detail.

I am especially interested in the definitive account that Johannes Kepler wrote about the “new star,” De stella nova (1606), which brought together a broad range of ideas and observations collected at the court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II. Through a closer look at the work of Kepler and his contemporaries, I will provide the first full account of De stella nova, including the wide web of astrologers and astronomers who shaped it over the course of composition.