Antikythera Mechanism Models the Sun, Moon, and Planets of Ancient Greece

Antikythera Mechanism is a mechanical model of the positions of celestial bodies. What’s remarkable is the complexity of the device and it’s ability to predict astronomical events—it’s essentially a very old analog computer.

It was built around 100 BC and re-discovered in 1901. Fragments were missing, which made reconstruction difficult. The back was recreated, but the front gears held significantly fewer clues. A recent paper published in Nature reveals an accurate recreation.

See also:

  • The Antikythera Mechanism is an example of a deep time model, capable of showing future events that would be difficult to conceive.
  • Hours Match the Minutes Divided by Five

    A clock is base 12 (a 12 hour clock) and base 60 (an hour contains 60 minutes). Since they are divisible by each other you can use minute markers only to tell the hour by looking at the position of the hour in minutes and dividing by 5. For example, at the 15 minute position the hour is 3. At the 30 minute position the hour is 6 and so on.