Although Tycho's decision to publish De Stella nova seems to have been based on a decision to leave Denmark, the publication itself, ironically, was probably largely responsible for keeping him in Denmark. Certainly in the short term it was. The trip abroad that Tycho had conceived as the springboard to emigration was first delayed by ill health – probably the consequence of an overly zealous regimen of daytime writing and winter-night observing – and then postponed for a year, as the numerous details of publication kept Tycho occupied beyond the normal spring departure times.

Starting with the letters to Pratensis concerning the publication of De Stella nova in the spring of 1573, the occasional references to Tycho's “address” are to Knudstrup rather than Herrevad. Whether this means that Tycho was actually occupying the main residence, living in the vicinity, or simply using it as his address because he was now entitled to be addressed as “Tycho Brahe of Knudstrup” is not clear. It is probable, however, that the principal occupant of the manor was Tycho's mother. She was certainly living there with her youngest children in the spring of 1574 and even wrote to a friend that Tycho was living with her. Presumably, she should have said that she was living with Tycho, if he were now legally lord of the manor.