Prutenic Tables

The Prussian or Prutenischen tables of the celestial motions ( Prutenicae Tabulae Coelestium Motuum ) are astronomical tables for calculating the locations of the sun, moon and the planets. The Prutenischen panels replaced the Alfonsine Tables previously used increasingly diverged their predicted data from reality.

They were made by Erasmus Reinhold in 1551. He also referred to the work of Nicolaus Copernicus when he identified a large number of stars and described. The higher accuracy of the Prutenischen panels, however, is not due to the Copernican system used, but primarily on the timeliness of the data used.

Duke Albrecht of Brandenburg -Ansbach supported Reinhold and financed the printing of Prutenischen panels, although they can lead to unpleasant disputes over the payment. Reinhold and his Prutenischen panels helped that the Copernican system was known everywhere in the German Empire and beyond, as well as Königsberg by being chosen as the zero meridian.

The findings of Copernicus and the Prussian Tables were later the basis for the calendar reform of 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII.

The panels were first published in 1551 with Ulrich Morhard in Tubingen, Morhards widow in 1562 also used a reprint of the first edition. Editor of the second edition (Tübingen, 1571) was Michael Maestlin ( 1550-1631 ), who later became Kepler's teacher. He added an epilogue and two pages added with corrections. The third edition ( Wittenberg, Matthew Welack, 1585 ) comes from Caspar Strubius, Rectors of the University of Wittenberg.

The Rudolphine Tables of Brahe and Kepler solved the Prussian from the 17th century.

Owen Gingerich examined the impact of Reinhard and its panels on the spread of the Copernican doctrine.