Inventory no. 19978 - Former Display Label
A pair of English PLANETARIA c.1700
Brass, silvered brass, and steel wire; on wooden stands. Unsigned and undated, but probably by John Rowley.
These two planetaria are constructed so as to demonstrate respectively the planetary theories of Ptolemy and Copernicus. They are representations of diagrams in J. C. Sturm's Scientia Cosmica ..., 1670. The orbits of the planets are represented by concentric rings marked with the appropriate planetary symbols.
This planetarium illustrates the Copernican theory. The Sun is at the centre; about it revolve Mercury, Venus, the Earth and Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The rotation of the Earth on its axis is effected by means of a train of three wheels. An outer band is marked with the Signs of the Zodiac.
[Orrery Collection, no. 1] Lent by Christ Church.
Other narratives:
- Pair of planetaria
- Orrery Collection: 1731 Inventory
- Orrery Collection in print
- Accession Record : Extract from Annual Report for 1925
- Former Display Label - The Orrery Collection of Scientific Instruments
- Former Display Label - The Principal Makers of Instruments in the Orrery Collection