Notable Orreries
Shoemaker John Fulton (instrument maker) of Fenwick, Ayrshire, built three between 1823 and 1833 - the last is in Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
The Franeker Planetarium built by a wool carder called Eise Eisinga in his own living room, in the small city of Franeker in Friesland, is in fact an orrery. It was constructed between 1774 to 1781. The "face" of the model looks down from the ceiling of a room, with most of the mechanical works in the space above the ceiling. It is driven by a pendulum clock, which has 9 weights or ponds. The planets move around the model in real time.
An innovative concept is to have people play the role of the moving planets and other Solar System objects. Such a model, called a human orrery, has been laid out with precision at the Armagh Observatory.
Read more about this topic: Orrery
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