Small Heliocentric Model
This small heliocentric model is my latest item in astronomy category. It displays motion of earth and moon around the sun in real-time. If that is too slow (granted, full orbit of earth takes one whole year after all), it can be run in accelerated mode where one year takes just a little over one hour.
I stumbled upon a really great looking sim today called Verdigris. Whole place is themed and build very well and the place is worth exploring a bit. I landed at a street high above the ground level, but quickly found my way down to the village (well, gravity gave me some help of course). The thing that really caught my eye though was the clock tower with star map. Unfortunately it looked that the device had stopped and was not showing correct time anymore. There are some images after the cut, but I recommend to pay a visit there to see more.
Antikythera Mechanism
Antikythera mechanism has been puzzling scientist and historians since it’s discovery in 1901. Mechanism has been dated to 150–100 BC and technological artifacts of similar complexity did not reappear until a thousand years later. It looks like that the mechanism was able to track planetary positions and keep track of different kinds of calendar systems. And all this with mechanical gears.
Have a look at wikipedia article for more information on this fascinating subject. I have been captivated by the idea of somebody solving all those complex calculations and capturing them into mechanical shape. And all of it without being able to use telescopes or space ships.
I created a similar device that keeps track of sun, moon and five planets on their journey through zodiac ring. It also displays the current phase of the moon. Device has short user instructions engraved on the inner surface of the cover and stylised geocentric solar system on the front cover. As usual, the main store has demo model for people to have a look at before purchasing.
