Czech radiologists examining Brahe's remains

Prague, Nov 17 (CTK) - Radiologists from Prague's Na Homolce hospital Wednesday used computed tomography to examine the skeleton of Danish 16th-century astronomer Tycho Brahe, whose remains were taken from a tomb in a Prague's church on Monday.

After creating 3D models, Czech experts will pass the results of their Wednesday's work to their Danish counterparts who are able to reconstruct the astronomer's whole skeleton on the basis of the data and to say whether he was ill and how tall he was, radiologist Martin Horak said.

"We examined one part of the body after another. We examined gradually long bones, ribs, vertebrae, remains of the face and other small bones," Horak said.

"The whole skull was not preserved, only its facial part. Teeth in the upper jaw are also preserved. We have scanned about 25,000 narrow profiles," he added.

The removal of the tombstone from the Prague church floor took about seven hours on Monday, in the presence of more than 100 journalists.

The examination has been initiated by Danish scientists who are trying to find out the real cause of Brahe's death.

The research is to show how Tycho Brahe died and also how he lived, Danish expert Jens Vellev said previously.

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), an astronomer and astrologist, worked at the Prague seat of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II of the Habsburg dynasty.

According to textbooks he died over problems with renal stones, but there are certain signs pointing to poisoning, perhaps on the order of then Danish King Christian IV.