The team reconstructed a 3D computer model of the planetarium with a complex drive system.
The planetarium, unearthed from a Roman-era shipwreck on the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, is said to be the world’s oldest analog computer, but only a third of the pieces remain and are difficult to reconstruct. Scientists at University College London recently pieced together a 2,000-year-old 3D computer model of the planetarium through X-ray data and ancient Greek mathematics to solve the mystery.
The manual celestial globe is believed to be used to calculate the planets, solar movement and prediction of eclipses and other astronomical events, made of bronze and dozens of gears, etc., only 82 pieces survive, the largest piece has bearings, pillars, another piece has a disk, a 63-tooth gear and plate. 2005 a British study found thousands of inscription characters hidden in the fragments, the bottom inscribed with a description of the usage, that is, the planets move in the ring, with a mark beads.
Combining the above data and the five planets known in ancient Greece at the Time, the team decoded the front-end gear design of the celestial globe, using 3D computer technology to reconstruct the gears and panels with the Earth at the center and the coaxial pointer surrounds of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn to show the movement of the planets and the Sun, lunar phases and zodiacal constellation positions. The team next wants to build a replica of the celestial sphere instrument in its original size to prove its mechanical feasibility. The research was published Friday (12) in the international academic journal Scientific Reports.
Coaxial pointer shows the planetary cycle motion.
The team assembled a 3D computer model of the planetarium from the pieces.
Recent Comments