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And the Wikipedia entry.
The whole clock, though to be honest the Wikipedia photo is better:
Whoever shot the Wikipedia photo had much better alignment. Our tour group arrived much too close to noon and getting anywhere near the clock wasn't easy. At least my photo gives you a better sense of scale.
The clock, also called the Orloj, was first put in place in 1410! It is the oldest astronomical clock in the world that still works. The lower dial is really a astrological dial though, it shows the calendar in the first quarter or so of Scorpio. The photo was shot on the 26th of June 2015 if you care to check. Let's face it, a scientific understanding of astronomy in 1410 just wasn't that strong - this clock was built almost 200 years before the birth of Galileo who is considered the father of modern astronomy - most astronomy in the 1400s was geocentric, heliocentrism didn't really take off untilCopperknickersCopernicus, who was born some 50 years or more after this clock was built.
Closeups and more wordiness from me under the cut. And as always, clicken to embiggen.
( Read more... )
The whole clock, though to be honest the Wikipedia photo is better:
Whoever shot the Wikipedia photo had much better alignment. Our tour group arrived much too close to noon and getting anywhere near the clock wasn't easy. At least my photo gives you a better sense of scale.
The clock, also called the Orloj, was first put in place in 1410! It is the oldest astronomical clock in the world that still works. The lower dial is really a astrological dial though, it shows the calendar in the first quarter or so of Scorpio. The photo was shot on the 26th of June 2015 if you care to check. Let's face it, a scientific understanding of astronomy in 1410 just wasn't that strong - this clock was built almost 200 years before the birth of Galileo who is considered the father of modern astronomy - most astronomy in the 1400s was geocentric, heliocentrism didn't really take off until
Closeups and more wordiness from me under the cut. And as always, clicken to embiggen.
( Read more... )
