But clockwork representations of the universe can still be very cool, Besides their considerable aesthetic charm, they show makers engaged with the big and little questions around them. And this craft goes back a long way. At least to Ancient Greece with the Antikythera mechanism. That's a wild story.
Orrery makers in our own century would have their hands full with updates. A few years back we had the first new planet adapted as part of the solar system since Pluto in the 1920s. Then they tried rounding out our new 10-planet solar system with asteroid Ceres and Vulcan, a near-Mercury planet no one had ever actually seen. Then it all collapsed and we wound up with an eight planet system.
2 comments:
That's a very pertinent analogy.
The most fascinating thing about the Antikythera mechanism is just how sophisticated is the complexity of the gearing and the multiplicity of its possible predictions - eclipses, planetary motions, and even the timing of the ancient Olympic Games. It suggests that the Greeks (or possibly earlier cultures) had a far deeper understanding of astronomy and mechanics than we usually credit. You also have to wonder what else may have been lost if something this intricate survived at the bottom of the Mediterranean.
Orreries have interested me as well; in fact I found the most beautiful mechanical one I've ever seen, The Genesis Orrery, and this one actually has eight planets and looks to be adjustable in case further changes need to be made.
https://youtu.be/6w3Q8aWFCsw?si=-I_KMHPM5KcJ73dU
The Greeks had a remarkable understanding of a number of things. They were very influential in the context of Classical Europe, as well. The Romans, along with having a mythology with a number of elements borrowed from the Greek, followed their lead in terms of design and science as well. Of course that does leave open the question of who might have influenced the Greeks themselves. There were a few cultures in both Europe and Asia Minor that might have footed the bill.
The Genesis Orrery is very nice looking. The planets on it look kind of like little humanoids, what with the arcs of the planets on solid things that look like arms.
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