Variocentric Orrery
30 Dec 2014Progress: Demo
The movement of this orrery is entirely contained within the model sun. The planets are attached on arms much stronger than the usual spindly stalks.
Each sphere has a type of bayonet fitting at its north pole, and the stand has a single column with a matching fitting from which the orrery hangs. The idea is that you can detach the whole mechanism from the support column and mount a different planet at the centre. The movement is strong enough to support anything from a heliocentric solar system to a plutocentric one.
One day I shall build a variocentric orrery out of brass (possibly with the option of interchangeable flat earth/great a'tuin) but in the mean time I have built one out of javascript.