Caption: A woodcut portraying the Great Comet of 1577 as seen at Prague 1577 Nov12.

Features:

1. The original caption with this woodcut is:
   Von einem Schrecklichen und Wunderbahrlichen Cometen so sich den Dienstag nach Martini M. D. Lxxvij. Jahrs am Himmel erzeiget hat (Prague (?): Petrus Codicillus a Tulechova, 1577).

   Yours truly now attempts a shreckliche translation out of Deutsch:

   Drawn from the horrifying and wondrous comet itself on Tuesday after a dry martini, 1577. The year in the sky shown has (Prague (?): Petrus Codicillus a Tulechova (AKA Petr Kodicill z Tulechova), rector of Charles University in Prague (1572--1573, 1582--1589, 1577)

   What the rector of Charles University in Prague is doing there, yours truly doesn't know.

2. Tycho Brahe (1546--1601) observed Great Comet of 1577 in detail and his report of his observations helped establish his fame as an astronomer.

   Tycho proved that the Great Comet was beyond the Moon, and so Aristotelian cosmology was wrong---change did happen in the Heavens.

   Tycho also showed that the Great Comet had to have passed right through celestial spheres of Aristotelian cosmology.

   This suggested to Tycho that those celestial spheres did NOT really exist. Aristotelian cosmology wrong again.

   Now if one comet is beyond the Moon and passes through celestial spheres, then all comets are and all comets do. In astronomy, there's a rule that one example proves the rule.

   Heavens were NOT like Aristotelian cosmology.

3. Tycho's blows against Aristotelian cosmology would eventually have an effect when added to other evidence against Aristotelian cosmology.

   But initally is conclusions could be dismissed since they could only be confirmed by a few others with good observational abilities---and what are tidbits after all against the word of the Stagirite.

4. Johannes Kepler (1571--1630) saw the Great Comet too when he was six years old (see Max Caspar, 1948, Kepler, translator, C. Doris Hellman 1959, 1993 p. 37 with Introduction by Owen Gingerich (1930--2023)). His mother took him to a high place to observe this sign of his life's work.

   By the by, Kepler was a good son. In later years, he successfully defended his mother, Katherina Kepler (1546--1622), against a charge of witchcraft. So Kepler did his bit to end witch-hunts and bring about the Age of Reason (c.1600--c.1800).