The solar system is kind of hard to observe in motion all at once. Sometimes, it’s nice to have a little model to look at, so you can see the relative motions of celestial bodies play out in front of you. Such a device is called an orrery, and [illusionmanager] has built rather a nice example of their own.
The build represents all the planets in the solar system, plus the sun and our very own Moon. An ESP32 lives at the heart of the build, running an astronomical simulation to calculate the proper positions of all the celestial objects. It then drives a small stepper motor via a TMC2209 driver, turning the mechanism back and forth until all the pieces are positioned correctly, using a reed switch and magnet to detect the initial zero position. The orrery is able to be driven by a single motor in this manner thanks to an ingenious mechanism, wherein the rings interlock with each other using small tabs. The Moon is controlled by a separate geared mechanism connected to the main rotation.
It’ s a nice decoration that also serves as a great conversation piece, particularly if you like talking about the heavens. We’ve featured some fine works from [illusionmanager] before, too, like this exquisite reverse sundial. Video after the break.
This is fantastic!
Yeah, but where the fsck is Pluto???
That’s messed up…
i believe this is a similar mechanism to older mechanical dial safe locks.
that’s correct, the same concept has been seen earlier on Hackaday in another project, see the link: https://hackaday.com/2022/02/09/its-always-floppy-time/#more-519047
Here’s the exact same idea from a little while back: https://hackaday.com/2023/09/09/ceiling-mounted-orrery-is-an-excercise-in-simplicity/
Even forgot Pluto as well.
That was made by the same person.
sure enough, and I made a few others in the mean time. The current version was all about simplicity, though I couldn’t hold my self back and added a moon.
Just saw a headline that NASA was considering making Pluto a planet again..
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Before Pluto can be a planet again, you have to deal with Ceres being a planet again. After all, Ceres got in the “be a planet again” line first. Pluto will just have to wait it’s turn. Maybe in one or two orbital periods from now.
what about Eris, the so called 10th planet? it even has its own moon!
maybe if NASA make Pluto back into a planet, people won’t care as much that gasoline is $4.50/gallon! when the Gulf of Mexico turned into the Gulf of America, I totally stopped caring that all the money I’d spent on ivermectin had been for nothing
Not really what i think of as an orrery, though. It (eventually) renders a position, but it never really represents the movement. Just a series of position.
I totally agree. I used to name my devices planetspinners, and there is a big difference with orreries as you noticed. Orreries tend to show only the relative speed of motion, hardly ever the exact real time position. My planetspinner shows the exact position but not the the relative speed. However, for the orreries that do show the exact position, mine is pretty similar because the movement is so slow, you will never see it move, and if my version updates in the middle of the night you also never see it move.
It seems like Heisenberg’s uncertainty ;)
What is movement, if not “just a series of position[s]” over time?
perhaps some automated drapes should cover it while it is moving the planets to their new positions. this would allow the scene to be set without seeing all that troubling activity that destroys our suspension of disbelief
Green, of course.