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One of the largest contributors to the field of astronomy was Johannes Kepler. His work was of utmost importance to the astronomy community as well as to other major fields of science. Using data collected by Tycho Brahe, to whom Kepler was an assistant, Kepler was able to formulate the three major laws of planetary motion. These laws give astronomers, physicists, mathematicians, and other scientists the basis for prevalent rules governing basic scientific principals. Born on December 27, 1571 in Germany, Kepler went on to study theology at University of Tubingen. His education was the first step toward his revolutionary ideas. He was first influenced by his mathematics professor who was an ardent believer in the heliocentric theory of planetary motion (seen below-right). This theory was in itself revolutionary, as it based the solar system around the sun as opposed to all items in the solar system revolving around the earth. Likewise, Kepler accepted the Heliocentric model of planetary motion, originally developed by Copernicus, to be a simplistic explanation for the layout of the solar system. He soon left Germany to study in Austria where he began to work out complex equations which proved specific distances between