Georg Peurbach studied at Vienna, graduating in 1446. In 1453 he was awarded a Master's Degree then travelled through Europe and lectured in Germany, France and Italy on astronomy. He was appointed court astronomer by King Ladislaus of Hungary in 1454. Peurbach was served as professor of astronomy at the University of Vienna.
Peurbach wrote on astronomy and gave tables of eclipse calculations in Tabulae Ecclipsium. He observed Halley's comet in June 1456 and wrote a report on his observations. He made further observations of comets and, together with Regiomontanus, recorded the lunar eclipse of 3 September 1457 from a site near Vienna. Peurbach published further tables, checked by his own eclipse observations, and devised astronomical instruments.
In Theoricae Novae Planetarum Peurbach gave Ptolemy's epicycle theory of the planets. Peurbach believed that the planets were in solid crystalline spheres although he believed that their motions were controlled by the Sun. He also constructed a large globe which depicted the stars.
He wrote on the computation of sines and chords. His book Algorismus, an elementary textbook on practical calculations, was popular and reprinted several times.
Regiomontanus was Peurbach's student and they collaborated on a number of works including Epitome in Ptolemaei Almagestum.