Hven

This computer is named Hven in honor of the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. Tycho was a pioneer in making precise astronomical observations, inventing a number of new instruments to allow him precisely measure stellar positions. It was the unprecedented precision of his observations that allowed Kepler to determine that the orbits of the planets had to be elliptical rather than circular.

Tycho made his observations from the island of Hven, between present-day Denmark and Sweden. It is depicted here in a map drawn by Tycho himself. Tycho's observatory, Uraniborg, was in the center of the island.

This image is borrowed from the website of the Rundetaarn (or "Round Tower"), a 16th century observatory in Copenhagen. The site contains a nice page on the history of astronomy in Denmark.