A world premiere: the first ever fully functional cardboard orrery!
With this fantastic kit you can demonstrate the orbital movements of Mercury, Venus, and Earth around the Sun, as well as the orbit of the Moon around the Earth. One turn of the crank represents one week and shows the relative movements of the heavenly bodies accurately. The 4.5 cm measuring illuminated Sun in the centre helps demonstrating the seasons, the phases of Moon and Venus, eclipses, and much more. A beautiful kit that never fails to impress!
Copernicus' discovery, Orrery's realisation
The mechanical planetariums of modern times are almost all based on the ideas of Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543), who assumed that the Sun was the centre of the world. He taught that the Earth makes three movements: it turns around itself once in 24 hours, travels around the Sun in a circular path in a year and, with a third movement, turns its axis so that it always points in the same direction and not towards the Sun.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the Earl of Orrery and other English noblemen commissioned mechanical crank-driven planetary models from clockmakers, which have since been called orreries.
Cranking around the Sun
The Copernican Orrery shows the movements of the inner planets Mercury and Venus as well as the Moon and the Earth, rotating around their oblique axes, which are always aligned in the same way. One turn of the crank on the gear made of rubber belts and grooved wheels represents the course of a week. In the process, it produces six different simultaneous movements, which are in approximate proportion to the actual rotation times. Many celestial processes can be explained in this way from the Copernican (heliocentric) point of view, e.g. the wandering of the Sun through the zodiac or the conjunctions of Mercury and Venus with each other and with the Sun.
The Sun with bright LED illumination shows in the dark room not only the change of the seasons, but also the emergence of the moon phases, the eclipses and the crescent phases of Venus.
This kit contains:
- 19 pre-cut sheets of construction cardboard and paper (13 printed, 6 blank), DIN A4
- accessories:
4 different cardboard tubes Cardboard tubes, OD 6.5 - 34 mm, ID 5 - 32 mm, length 14.5 - 100 mm (corrugations)
5 round timbers: diameter 4 - 8 mm, length 38 - 240 mm (axles)
18 plastic discs, OD 14 - 55 mm, ID 4.1 - 34.3 mm (axle and shaft bearings)
4 spring steel pins, diameter 1 x 43.5 mm (planetary mounts)
1 brass sleeve, 1.5 (OD) x 1.1 (ID) x 10 mm (earth axis bearing)
4 wooden spheres, unpainted, diameter 4.5 - 16 mm (planetary bodies)
1 silicone tube, 2.8 (OD) x 0.8 (ID) x 12 mm (earth rotation drive)
1 neodymium magnet, diameter 15 x 2.5 mm (earth rotation drive)
2 perma-ferrite magnets, diameter 8 x 4 mm (sun holder)
6 drive belts, NBR rubber, diameter 98 - 172 mm, cross-section diameter 2 - 4 mm, also available separately as a replacement set
1 LED light ball, incl. 3 button cells (sun), also available separately as a replacement set - detailed construction manual
Dimensions of the built model: diameter approx. 29 cm, height approx. 28 cm
Construction time: approx. 40 hours
Poducer: AstroMedia GmbH, Im Wirrigen 30, 45731 Waltrop, Germany, astromedia.de
Below you can download the instructions for this kit.
Planetary positions:
Things you will need for assembly:
- a firm and flat working surface
- a cutting surface
- a sharp craft knife or scalpel
- a good universal glue
- some super glue
- some quick-setting white glue
- some fine sandpaper
- a ruler or triangle
- a pair of pliers
- a pin
- a sewing needle
- some adhesive tape
- some machine or silicone oil
Perfectionists also need:
- a piece of plywood to reinforce the base plate
- a thick black felt-tip pen
- white opaque paint or correction fluid
- different coloured opaque paints or felt pens to paint the planetary spheres
- rhinestones for the main stars
Supervision by adults:
Children under the age of 14 should use the kit under adult supervision to avoid risks due to improper handling.
Take care with small parts:
Choking hazard! Keep small parts out of the reach of small children.
Risk of injury:
Take particular care when handling pointed and sharp parts! Use sharp tools with care and take suitable safety measures to avoid injury if necessary.
Fire hazard:
Keep away from open sources of fire and heat. Product contains highly flammable materials and batteries that can ignite when exposed to high heat.
Components of the kit can release harmful substances when burnt.
Use of adhesive:
Follow the manufacturer's safety instructions when using adhesive. Work in well-ventilated areas and avoid contact with skin or eyes.
Use of batteries:
Batteries must not get into the hands of children. If swallowed, consult a doctor immediately! Do not dispose of used batteries with household waste.
Further instructions for safe use can be found in the safety sheet for the LED lamp.
WEEE reg. no. DE 30372524
Intended use:
The kit should be used in accordance with the enclosed instructions. Independent modifications may impair the functionality and safety of the model built.
Safety instructions for magnets
Ingestion hazard:
Magnets can be swallowed and cause serious injury to the body. Keep out of the reach of children under the age of 12!
Health risk:
People with pacemakers or other medical devices should keep their distance from magnets!
Risk to electronic devices:
Strong magnetic fields can damage electronic devices, data carriers (e.g. credit cards) and mechanical components or render them unusable. Store magnets at a safe distance.
Risk of crushing:
The strong attraction of magnets can pinch skin or fingers and cause bruising or haematoma.
Allergy risk:
The surface coating (nickel) can cause allergic reactions. Minimise direct skin contact!
Risk of breakage and splintering:
Magnets are brittle and can break into sharp-edged fragments in the event of collisions, posing a risk of injury to skin and eyes.
Danger due to dust formation:
Grinding, drilling or cutting magnets generates dust that can be flammable and harmful to health if it comes into contact with oxygen. Mechanical processing must be avoided!
Disposal:
Dispose of magnets in accordance with local disposal regulations.
