Final answer:
Johannes Kepler utilized Tycho Brahe's observational data and the heliocentric theory of Copernicus to develop his laws of planetary motion.
Step-by-step explanation:
Johannes Kepler used the prior data of Tycho Brahe and the heliocentric cosmology of Copernicus to help his research. Kepler, a German mathematician and astronomer, meticulously studied Brahe's extensive observations of planetary motion, which took place over a period of 20 years. This data was instrumental for Kepler in formulating the laws of planetary motion, thereby establishing a mathematical footing for Copernicus's heliocentric model and advancing our understanding of the universe that would later inform Isaac Newton's work on gravity.