Wednesday, 4 December 2013

An Orrery Is Created As A Beautiful Construction

By Tiffany Gill


First created in 1704, the Orrery is not only a mechanical marvel, it is also quite beautiful. It is a model of the solar system and was originally called planetaria. This is where we get the word Planetarium from. The current name came from the presentation to the fourth Earl of Orrery, Charles Boyle in the same year.

A mechanical structure such as this can be very complicated. The center of the model will have to include the Sun as a a fairly stationary object. The planets, revolving around it, were and are powered by gears set in specific positions. The different sizes of gears and lengths of arms holding the planets were calculated to make each one rotate proportionately to their real life counterparts.

From precious metals, through polished stones and wood, the materials used for these were, to say the least, inventive. Small ones could fit into a suitcase and carried from class to class. Others filled entire rooms of museums and display rooms. Other could have been seen from space if there was any one out there at the time. One temporary model used real people, assigned to their routes or orbits very far from the center of the model.

Most of them are constructed from inanimate objects such as metal or wood. There have been some created out of light and are used in planetariums across the globe. These are projected on overhead surfaces to bring the attendees into the center of the solar system in an educational way.

Reading about something and being able to actually see it are two different things. When the discussion is about something as complex as the solar system, it is often better to have one of these Orreries on hand to show and teach with. The learning that can be facilitated by this is well worth the effort put into it.

Having the discussions about the solar system and the Earths role in it, at that time, met with quite a bit of confusion. The revolving of the Earth, or was it the Sun or maybe Mercury played more of a role that it actually did. All of the questions were able to be displayed and, still, the vast majority of questions and anger remained from the 1500s through the late 1900s.

The nomenclature of these models went through a few discussions as well. The regular Orrery is composed of the Sun, all planets and their moons. A Tellurion has only the Sun, Earth and the Moon. If there is only the Earth and its Moon, it is called a Lunarium. There are many models that will include only the planets that are close in and do not include Jupiter and Uranus. These are still called Orreries.

An Orrery can be purchased through many venues, such as over the Internet. These can be created out of the same materials they were built from over two hundred years ago, as well. Purchasing a completed model or a kit that requires assembly will teach and amaze for a long time and well worth the costs and trouble. These will help children and adults understand a lot more about where they live and how it all works together.




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