Sky's Dark Labyrinth by Stuart Clark Read Free Book Online

created a marvel.
    Kepler gawked at the towering structures of wood and metal jammed onto the rooftop so tightly that there was hardly any room to move between them. He revelled in the geometry of the instruments with their metalwork of triangles, squares, circles and spheres. The shapes were the very embodiment of the mathematical arts, the essential interface between man and the cosmos. By lining them up with the stars and planets, they could provide everything – angles, altitudes, azimuths – all the measurements that Kepler needed. They were instruments of divine astronomical purpose. This was more than an observatory; it was a shrine to the universe, with Bohemia stretching out below in a patchwork, reaching from one village to the next.
    A blond man of regal bearing was cradling a compass and squinting through the sightline of an upright circular frame. As Kepler watched,the man touched the structure as gently as if it were his lover’s cheek, nudging it imperceptibly.
    â€˜This is Christian Longomontanus. I lured him here to help in our new quest, though he is homesick for Denmark. Tell him, Christian, there is no better observatory – nor master – to work for.’
    â€˜All that you say is true, my lord.’ He spoke in a deep voice with measured words.
    â€˜This is Johannes Kepler.’
    Kepler nodded in greeting.
    â€˜A pleasure to meet you, Herr Kepler. Your reputation precedes you.’
    Tycho quickly gestured to the circle. ‘How is it?’
    â€˜North–south alignment is finished. We can complete the equatorial alignment tonight, if the weather holds.’ He glanced up at the whitening sky.
    â€˜This is an armillary sphere, is it not?’ asked Kepler.
    â€˜Yes, but stripped to its bare essentials; no need for all those other great circles. The weight flexed the metal and ruined the accuracy,’ replied Tycho.
    â€˜We can measure stellar positions to better than an arcminute with this,’ Longomontanus added.
    â€˜And that’s not the best.’ Tycho spoke with the enthusiasm of a parent. ‘The wooden sextant over there can measure to thirty-two arcseconds.’
    â€˜Arc seconds ?’
    â€˜Indeed.’
    Numbers lined up in Kepler’s brain. ‘Thirty-two arcseconds is less than two hundredths of the full Moon’s width. Your observations are nearly twenty times more accurate than Copernicus worked with. You are … you are beyond anything I ever imagined.’
    â€˜That is why Copernicus was wrong, and I am right.’
    â€˜Have you seen parallax?’ asked Kepler.
    â€˜Never. Not even with these perfect instruments. The Earth does not move.’
    â€˜But it must!’
    â€˜I believe only what my eyes and instruments tell me. You would do well to do the same, Johannes. Now, enough of astronomy. I will have you escorted to your room, so you may rest. Then, I will see you fordinner.’ Tycho clasped the expanse of his own stomach. ‘We eat at three o’clock, so that our food is well digested before the night’s observing begins. You look as if you could do with some fattening up.’
    Â Â Â Â 
    Kepler’s saddlebags lay beneath the window in his room. He thought briefly about unpacking the various items he had brought – mostly books and papers – but at sight of the bed, he rolled onto the straw mattress. He wondered briefly what Barbara and Regina were doing back in Prague, before losing himself to a dreamless sleep.
    He awoke with a start at the sound of the door.
    â€˜Who’s there?’ he said to the intruder.
    â€˜Herr Kepler, forgive me for waking you but the assistants all share rooms at Benátky.’ Longomontanus averted his eyes.
    It occurred to Kepler that he must look ridiculous, sprawled in his clothes in the afternoon. He was hot and his throat burned.
    â€˜And, sir,’ said Longomontanus, pointing with his long fingers, ‘ that is your