Thomas Digges

Thomas Digges (1546 – August 24 1595) was an English astronomer.

He attempted to determine the parallax of the 1572 supernova observed by Tycho Brahe, and concluded it had to be beyond the orbit of the Moon. This contradicted the accepted view of the universe, according to which no change could take place among the fixed stars.

He was an early supporter of the Copernican heliocentric theory. In 1576 he published A Perfit Description of the Caelestial Orbes.

He served as a member of Parliament and also had a military career from 1586 to 1594 during the war with the Netherlands.