That is because it is mounted to the armature that holds the Earth and the Moon goes round every 29.5 days as well as that armature held by the orrery armature that rotates annually. So to keep the moon stationary it has to get an input to nullify the effects of it moving, otherwise the moon would not be stationary.
The moon on the other side of the earth is illuminated while the earth is blocking it from the sun. That's what it looks like to me Around 6:12 the sunshine of the moon is shown
It's not to scale, and the orbit of the moon also isn't quite flat. So the moon actually swings quite a bit above and below the plane of the earth's orbit, and the earth's shadow is really skinny compared to how far away the moon actually is, and so most of the time when the moon is behind the earth from the sun the earths shadow misses and passes above or below the moon. Only when the moon's crossing the plane of the earths orbit (when it's at one of its "nodes") can the earth eclipse the moon. So most of the time the moon really would be illuminated still. But yeah, it doesn't technically show eclipses correctly, and there doesn't seem to be a lunar node indicator to tell you when they might happen.
@@InductorMan No there is not the provision for showing the Moon's inclined orbit relative to the Earth. I do have other astronomical clocks on my website that do. One will also predict for 400 years in the past or future a solar or lunar eclipse as well as where it will begin and end on the Earth's surface.
@@jasonmorris2813 It's a model! Not intended to replicate every jot and tittle of the actual solar system. Which by the way to the nth degree would not be possible by mechanical means.
The Golds were the commissioners. I would have preferred that Watson had his name there. This page will clarify your question: www.my-time-machines.net/watson-1.htm.
Ridiculous, in a good way (although not as ridiculous as your Astronomical Skeleton Clock!). I'm curious how this remontoire works in a little more detail. Do we know how the impact of the fork on the escapement wheel is dealt with? Is it done like a gravity escapement, where the intertial weight is ratchet-clutched to the driving pinion so that it can free-wheel after the pin impacts the spoke, and the stored energy doesn't have to be dissipated in the collision? Or is there a friction drive like a fly fan? Or does the fork pin really have to just dissipate the energy against the spoke? It's really a very clever remontoir in its simplicity, I guess the only negative thing that can be said about it (assuming that the fork/spoke system is durable) is that the unlocking force applied to the pallet after the fork has come to rest on the escapement wheel spoke is not regulated by the remontoire. Is there something wrong with the lower jewel holder on the lever staff? It looks like it's wiggling around in the plate. It seems like the top holder is held in the plate with a set screw, is the bottom one also retained that way and the set screw loose? I've been following the Astronomical Skeleton and reading your other posts and pages about interesting clocks since I was a little kid, and I really appreciate all the amazing horological treasures you share (or help create)!
Your comment, I think is the longest one I have ever had on any of my UA-cam videos. Thank you for taking the time. As for the remontoir, it is a free-wheeling weight that is in a dampening oil bath in the drum so it would be close to a conventional friction-clutch arrangement. Watson had tried a regular fly fan arrangement but could not make it work to his satisfaction. I wish he could as a fly governor in place of a can would have looked very much more interesting! So the arrangement is much like the friction clutch on a Dennison gravity escapement, except instead of friction the oil bath gives the drag. My guess is the oil bath gives a more control and less friction than a mechanical clutch could achieve at this small a scale. The lower jewel indeed looks awful in the video. I took a close look and went directly to the orrery to check, but no there is nothing amiss. It is the play of light that makes it look this way. If it really had this much slop, it would not work very well, if at all. Your comment about being a follower of my website really makes my day. It takes a lot of effort to do this and I'm glad it is beneficial to others. I just want to spark an interest in folks in horology, mechanics and the beauty of antique machines. Now that I'm retired, I have more time to do this. I hope to publish a written manuscript on the Astronomical clock, I have finished up the owner's manual and that goes over 100 pages including the disassembly and reassembly procedures plus DVD videos needed to move the machine. The fact you have been following this since you were a kid makes me feel old! I have been maintaining my website since 1996.
@@MarkFrankclocks Well I'm glad I could make your day... and when I looked back at your start date for the Astronomical Skeleton Clock I see I was actually in college. Still sort of a kid I guess... Man now I feel old, not drawing a clear distinction between my memories of childhood and college! Thanks for the additional description of the remontoire. Very cool mechanism, I definitely have spent some number of hours noodling around in my sketchbooks with amateur designs for remontoires, and this one really puts those to shame in terms of pure simplicity. Still slightly skeptical about that unlocking force variation but maybe that's just not a big deal in this application. Whatever the case it's a very interesting design!
What an absolutely beautiful piece of math and art. It's quite remarkable the detail that went into this. Thanks for sharing.
Super cool! Any chance of posting a time-lapse?
Its absolutely beautiful, how much would something like this cost to buy?
Watson built four orreries. I have seen them from $30,000 to $54,000.
Fascinating, however, I am curious as to why the moon has a gear drive when it always faces Earth?
That is because it is mounted to the armature that holds the Earth and the Moon goes round every 29.5 days as well as that armature held by the orrery armature that rotates annually. So to keep the moon stationary it has to get an input to nullify the effects of it moving, otherwise the moon would not be stationary.
The moon on the other side of the earth is illuminated while the earth is blocking it from the sun. That's what it looks like to me
Around 6:12 the sunshine of the moon is shown
It's not to scale, and the orbit of the moon also isn't quite flat. So the moon actually swings quite a bit above and below the plane of the earth's orbit, and the earth's shadow is really skinny compared to how far away the moon actually is, and so most of the time when the moon is behind the earth from the sun the earths shadow misses and passes above or below the moon. Only when the moon's crossing the plane of the earths orbit (when it's at one of its "nodes") can the earth eclipse the moon. So most of the time the moon really would be illuminated still.
But yeah, it doesn't technically show eclipses correctly, and there doesn't seem to be a lunar node indicator to tell you when they might happen.
@@InductorMan I was seeing a full moon in a new moon position and no waxing nor waning during its travel and it made me ask about it
@@MarkFrankclocks yeah that's what I was told for the first 50 years. Now they say it's spinning too. But doesn't change the earth blocking views
@@InductorMan No there is not the provision for showing the Moon's inclined orbit relative to the Earth. I do have other astronomical clocks on my website that do. One will also predict for 400 years in the past or future a solar or lunar eclipse as well as where it will begin and end on the Earth's surface.
@@jasonmorris2813 It's a model! Not intended to replicate every jot and tittle of the actual solar system. Which by the way to the nth degree would not be possible by mechanical means.
It says herbert and ann Gold 1986 surely they didn't invent it and i can't find any info on the guy you named in the begining Watson
The Golds were the commissioners. I would have preferred that Watson had his name there. This page will clarify your question: www.my-time-machines.net/watson-1.htm.
Why do my comments keep getting deleted?
btw nice
Not sure what you mean. I see this comment. Which one was deleted?
Ridiculous, in a good way (although not as ridiculous as your Astronomical Skeleton Clock!).
I'm curious how this remontoire works in a little more detail. Do we know how the impact of the fork on the escapement wheel is dealt with? Is it done like a gravity escapement, where the intertial weight is ratchet-clutched to the driving pinion so that it can free-wheel after the pin impacts the spoke, and the stored energy doesn't have to be dissipated in the collision? Or is there a friction drive like a fly fan? Or does the fork pin really have to just dissipate the energy against the spoke?
It's really a very clever remontoir in its simplicity, I guess the only negative thing that can be said about it (assuming that the fork/spoke system is durable) is that the unlocking force applied to the pallet after the fork has come to rest on the escapement wheel spoke is not regulated by the remontoire.
Is there something wrong with the lower jewel holder on the lever staff? It looks like it's wiggling around in the plate. It seems like the top holder is held in the plate with a set screw, is the bottom one also retained that way and the set screw loose?
I've been following the Astronomical Skeleton and reading your other posts and pages about interesting clocks since I was a little kid, and I really appreciate all the amazing horological treasures you share (or help create)!
Your comment, I think is the longest one I have ever had on any of my UA-cam videos. Thank you for taking the time. As for the remontoir, it is a free-wheeling weight that is in a dampening oil bath in the drum so it would be close to a conventional friction-clutch arrangement. Watson had tried a regular fly fan arrangement but could not make it work to his satisfaction. I wish he could as a fly governor in place of a can would have looked very much more interesting! So the arrangement is much like the friction clutch on a Dennison gravity escapement, except instead of friction the oil bath gives the drag. My guess is the oil bath gives a more control and less friction than a mechanical clutch could achieve at this small a scale.
The lower jewel indeed looks awful in the video. I took a close look and went directly to the orrery to check, but no there is nothing amiss. It is the play of light that makes it look this way. If it really had this much slop, it would not work very well, if at all.
Your comment about being a follower of my website really makes my day. It takes a lot of effort to do this and I'm glad it is beneficial to others. I just want to spark an interest in folks in horology, mechanics and the beauty of antique machines. Now that I'm retired, I have more time to do this. I hope to publish a written manuscript on the Astronomical clock, I have finished up the owner's manual and that goes over 100 pages including the disassembly and reassembly procedures plus DVD videos needed to move the machine. The fact you have been following this since you were a kid makes me feel old! I have been maintaining my website since 1996.
@@MarkFrankclocks Well I'm glad I could make your day... and when I looked back at your start date for the Astronomical Skeleton Clock I see I was actually in college. Still sort of a kid I guess... Man now I feel old, not drawing a clear distinction between my memories of childhood and college! Thanks for the additional description of the remontoire. Very cool mechanism, I definitely have spent some number of hours noodling around in my sketchbooks with amateur designs for remontoires, and this one really puts those to shame in terms of pure simplicity. Still slightly skeptical about that unlocking force variation but maybe that's just not a big deal in this application. Whatever the case it's a very interesting design!
@@InductorMan Well, just think of how old this makes me feel!
Imagine how much a service costs!