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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. An illustration of the Copernican universe can be seen here. The outer inscription on the map reads: "This orb of stars fixed infinitely up extends itself in altitude spherically, and therefore immovable the palace of felicity garnished with perpetual shining glorious lights innumerable, far excelling over [the] sun both in quantity and quality the very court of celestial angels, devoid of grief and replenished with perfect endless joy, the habitacle for the elect."

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