If you’re unfamiliar with the term “orrery,” it’s one of several words used to describe a mechanical contraption that simulates the orbit of planets, moons, and stars. Some variants are also known as a “tellurium” or a “loxocosm,” all of which are harder to pronounce than “planet machine.”
Basically, these machines demonstrate the relationship between planetary orbits and speeds by using a complex series of gears. Over the years, orreries have turned up in clocks, watches, and interactive sculptures, and now you can make your own with this flat-pack kit I spotted over on Etsy.
The Dreipunkt Tellurium kit comes with everything you need to track the positions of the Sun, Moon, and Earth, as they turn in orbit throughout the year. In all, there are more than 60 pieces in the model, which also includes wood glue, and an assembly manual with both German and English instructions.
You can grab one of these cool desktop playthings over on Laserdeko’s Etsy Shop for about $110.
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