Tests on Danish astronomer's body will take months

[November 19, 2010]  PRAGUE (AP) -- Scientists who have exhumed the remains of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe say tests aimed at solving the mystery of his sudden death will take until next year.

An international team opened his tomb in the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn near Prague's Old Town Square, where Brahe has been buried since his death in 1601, and took samples of his remains.

Jens Vellev, a professor of medieval archaeology at Aarhus University, Denmark, said Friday they may be able to trace details about Brahe's life up to 15 years before his death.

Brahe was long believed to have died of a bladder infection but recent tests have indicated mercury poisoning could be the cause.

Brahe made extraordinarily accurate stellar and planetary observations, which helped lay the foundations of early modern astronomy.

[Associated Press]

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