Johannes Kepler
![](/Images/godic/202501/22/Johannes_Kepler_16102500.jpg")
![Birthplace of Johannes Kepler in Weil der Stadt](/Images/godic/202501/22/Kepler-Geburtshaus2500.jpg")
![The Great Comet of 1577, which Kepler witnessed as a child, attracted the attention of astronomers across Europe.](/Images/godic/202501/22/Great_Comet_of_15772500.gif")
![Kepler's Platonic solid model of the Solar system from Mysterium Cosmographicum (1596)](/Images/godic/202501/22/Kepler-solar-system-12500.png")
Johannes Kepler (German:[ˈkɛplɐ]; December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630) was a German mathematician, astronomer, and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his laws of planetary motion, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astronomy. These works also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation.