Editing Johannes Kepler (section)

=== Childhood (1571–1590) ===
[[File:Kepler-Geburtshaus.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Kepler's birthplace, in [[Weil der Stadt]], Germany]]
Kepler was born on 27 December 1571, in the [[Free Imperial City]] of [[Weil der Stadt]] (now part of the [[Stuttgart Region]] in the German state of [[Baden-Württemberg]]). His grandfather, Sebald Kepler, had been Lord Mayor of the city. By the time Johannes was born, the Kepler family fortune was in decline. His father, Heinrich Kepler, earned a precarious living as a [[mercenary]], and he left the family when Johannes was five years old. He was believed to have died in the [[Eighty Years' War]] in the Netherlands. His mother, [[Katharina Kepler|Katharina Guldenmann]], an innkeeper's daughter, was a [[healer (alternative medicine)|healer]] and [[herbalist]]. Johannes had six siblings, of which two brothers and one sister survived to adulthood. Born prematurely, he claimed to have been weak and sickly as a child. Nevertheless, he often impressed travelers at his grandfather's inn with his phenomenal mathematical faculty.<ref>Caspar. ''Kepler'', pp. 29–36; Connor. ''Kepler's Witch'', pp. 23–46.</ref>

[[File:Von einem Schrecklichen vnd Wunderbarlichen Cometen so sich den Dienstag nach Martini dieses lauffenden M. D. Lxxvij. Jahrs am Himmel erzeiget hat (grayscale).png|thumb|As a child, Kepler witnessed the [[Great Comet of 1577]], which attracted the attention of astronomers across Europe.]]
He was introduced to astronomy at an early age and developed a strong passion for it that would span his entire life. At age six, he observed the [[Great Comet of 1577]], writing that he "was taken by [his] mother to a high place to look at it."<ref name = Koestler234 /> In 1580, at age nine, he observed another astronomical event, a [[lunar eclipse]], recording that he remembered being "called outdoors" to see it and that the [[Moon]] "appeared quite red".<ref name=Koestler234>Koestler. ''The Sleepwalkers'', p. 234 (translated from Kepler's family horoscope).</ref> However, childhood [[smallpox]] left him with weak vision and crippled hands, limiting his ability in the observational aspects of astronomy.<ref>Caspar. ''Kepler'', pp.&nbsp;36–38; Connor. ''Kepler's Witch'', pp.&nbsp;25–27.</ref>

In 1589, after moving through grammar school, [[Latin school]], and [[Evangelical Seminaries of Maulbronn and Blaubeuren|seminary at Maulbronn]], Kepler attended [[Tübinger Stift]] at the [[University of Tübingen]]. There, he studied philosophy under Vitus Müller<ref>Connor, James A. ''Kepler's Witch'' (2004), p. 58.</ref> and [[theology]] under [[Jacob Heerbrand]] (a student of [[Philipp Melanchthon]] at [[Wittenberg]]), who also taught [[Michael Maestlin]] while he was a student, until he became Chancellor at Tübingen in 1590.<ref name="Kepler's Astronomy Author 2001 p. 96">Barker, Peter; Goldstein, Bernard R. "Theological Foundations of Kepler's Astronomy", Osiris, 2nd Series, Vol. 16, Science'' in Theistic Contexts: Cognitive Dimensions'' (2001), p. 96.</ref> He proved himself to be a superb mathematician and earned a reputation as a skillful astrologer, casting [[horoscope]]s for fellow students. Under the instruction of Michael Maestlin, Tübingen's professor of mathematics from 1583 to 1631,<ref name="Kepler's Astronomy Author 2001 p. 96" /> he learned both the [[Ptolemaic system]] and the [[Copernican heliocentrism|Copernican system]] of planetary motion. He became a [[Nicolaus Copernicus|Copernican]] at that time. In a student disputation, he defended [[heliocentrism]] from both a theoretical and theological perspective, maintaining that the [[Sun]] was the principal source of motive power in the universe.<ref>Westman, Robert S. "Kepler's Early Physico-Astrological Problematic," ''[[Journal for the History of Astronomy]]'', '''32''' (2001): 227–236.</ref> Despite his desire to become a minister in the Lutheran church, he was denied ordination because of beliefs contrary to the [[Formula of Concord]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Barker |first1=Peter |last2=Goldstein |first2=Bernard R. |date=January 2001 |title=Theological Foundations of Kepler's Astronomy |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/649340 |journal=Osiris |volume=16 |pages=88–113 |doi=10.1086/649340 |s2cid=145170215 |issn=0369-7827}}</ref> Near the end of his studies, Kepler was recommended for a position as teacher of mathematics and astronomy at the Protestant school in Graz. He accepted the position in April 1594, at the age of 22.<ref>Caspar. ''Kepler'', pp.&nbsp; 38–52; Connor. ''Kepler's Witch'', pp.&nbsp; 49–69.</ref>