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Historical background
Structure of the Orrery
Orrery quiz
Links to rest of Armagh Orrery site and external sites
Virtual visit to the Orrery
The Human Orrery is the latest addition to the grounds of Armagh Observatory and provides a unique investigation of planetary motion. It is also fun to use with the capacity to present fundamental ideas in astronomy, mathematics and space science to as wide an audience as possible.
Full size version of this photo of the Human Orrery by Miruna Popescu is over 3 Megabytes
A Brief Historical Background
The first orrery was conceived by English clockmaker and inventor George Graham (c.1674-1751) around 300 years ago. This initial model only showed the earth-moon system which orbits our Sun. Graham gave the design of this original model to the celebrated London instrument maker John Rowley, who was commissioned to make one for his patron Charles Boyle (1674-1731). Boyle's patronage of Rowley soon led to the elaboration of Graham's invention so that it included all the known planets and some moons of the solar system. The origin of the term "orrery" is explained when we consider the title Boyle held - the fourth Earl of Orrery (Orrery being the old name for a part of Co. Cork).
Mechanical orrery by
Gilkerson, in Armagh Observatory
Structure of the Human Orrery
Armagh Observatory's Human Orrery is interactive: it allows people to play the part of the moving planets. It features an accurate scale model of the positions and orbits of the Earth and the five other planets in the Solar System known since ancient times (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), as well as the asteroid Ceres and two comets: 1P/Halley and 2P/Encke. The orbits of these objects are arranged on the ground with stainless steel tiles. Jumping from one tile to the next represents a 16 day time interval for all the planets, except Jupiter and Saturn, whose tile jumps represent a 160 day interval. The tiles for Ceres and the comets have 80 day intervals. More distant objects which could not be accommodated within the dimensions of the Human Orrery are listed on the Outer Ring of the exhibit.
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At the centre of the Orrery lies the Sun Tile (figure to the left, above). This defines some of the data available on any of the orbital tiles (similar to the figure on the right, above). What follows is a table for this data with an explanation of each quantity:
Symbol | Name | Explanation |
r | Distance to Sun | This figure, measured in AU (astronomical units), is the distance from the planet to the Sun |
![]() | The First Point of Aries | This is the direction towards the Sun as seen from Earth at the northern spring equinox (currently March 20th). Because of the phenomenon known as precession of the equinoxes, the First Point of Aries presently lies in the constellation Pisces, not Aries. |
L | Ecliptic Longitude | This angle is measured anticlockwise from the First Point of Aries |
f | True Anomaly | This is the angle to the object, measured around the orbit, from the object's perihelion (position closest to Sun) |
The orbital tiles give other information not indicated on the Sun Tile including: the symbol for the object, tile number and corresponding date. The scale of the Human Orrery is one metre to the Astronomical Unit (AU), or approximately 1:150 billion. (1 AU = 1.58 ц— 10-5 light years = 150 billion metres.)
The "How to" Guide for Navigating the Human Orrery
"A Guide to Make a Human Orrery"
The Outer Ring of the Human Orrery
Zodiacal constellation boundaries
Human Orrery photographs from Miruna Popescu
Artistic representation of objects in the Human Orrery
Human Orrery in Eureka High School, Kathmandu
Live Webcam of the Human Orrery
Links to .pdf documents containing further information about the Human Orrery:
2nd Leaflet: A Tour of the Human Orrery
Using the Human Orrery to Demonstrate Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion
Summary of talk presented at RAS Ordinary Meeting, January 2006
The Human Orrery: A New Educational Tool for Astronomy
Sky and Telescope Feature: The Human Orrery: Putting the Solar System in Perspective
Astronomy and Geophysics Feature: The Human Orrery: Ground-based Astronomy for All
A Powerful Resource for Raising Universe Awareness
NOTE: Adobe Acrobat Reader required for above .pdf documentation. Get the program here
Links outside Armagh:
Worksheets and Activities at The King's School, Peterborough
Dynic Astropark, which inspired Armagh's Human Orrery. (In Japanese.)
A Human-Powered Orrery: Connecting Learners with the Night Sky
Lawrence Hall of Science: how to construct a Human Orrery (.pdf)
SpacedOut - a large scale model
Electric Orrery, National Schools Observatory
Large scale model in Nevada desert
Orrery design:
Mark Bailey,
Apostolos Christou,
David Asher
Information panels, website development:
Brendan Owens
Leaflets:
Eleanor Nolan,
Mark Purver
Photographs:
Miruna Popescu
The exhibit was constructed during 2004 towards the end of the main work
associated with the HLF
Telescopes and Telescope Domes restoration project.
It was
launched on 2004 November 26th.
Last Revised: 2015 March 3rd |