UGEARS MECHANICAL TELLURION

How UGEARS MECHANICAL TELLURION Works

Turning the handle sets the carefully calibrated gear system in motion. A turn of the handle equals one rotation of our planet on its axis (equals one day). Watching the earth move around the sun, you can clearly see how sunrise and sunset occur, how day turns into night. The Tellurion depicts the moon phases, which depend on its position relative to the earth and sun. The moon trajectory changes when it falls and rises slightly. The earth’s way around the sun, combined with the precise 23.5-degree incline of the earth on its axis, shows the reason for seasonal changes (apart from the equatorial areas). The Tellurion depicts the changing of the seasons. It also shows the constellations under which you were born, thus explaining the concept of zodiac signs.

Manually adjust the Telluriaon to get a precise portrayal of the relative positions of the earth, moon and sun on the day of your choice. As you ‘tune’ the model, place the pointer to the middle of summer or winter on the ‘dial of seasons’. You can rotate the tilted-axis earth (use a gear under the moon phases) to place either hemisphere furthest from the sun in the freezing cold winter, or closest to the sun in blistering heat of summer. Turning the handle the correct number of days back or forward will set the present day. Consult a lunar calendar and place the moon to the right phase using the upper gear disk. You have now ‘set’ your Tellurion. As each day passes, turn the crank once to follow the earth’s movement around the sun, as well as the lunar cycle of the moon orbiting the earth.

With the help of Tellurion, you will discover that the full moon is seen when the moon is away from the sun, behind the earth. It occurs because the sun lights up the entire moon surface which we can see (the moon’s ‘bright side’). When the moon is between the sun and the earth, however, the sun only lights up the part of the moon which is hidden from our view (the ‘dark side’ of the moon). This phase is called the ‘new moon’, the time when we can’t see the moon in the night sky. Between these phases, the part of the moon visible to us changes constantly. The Ugears Tellurion 3D model will help you understand this any many more somewhat counterintuitive space-related concepts!

The Ugears engineers always strive for absolute perfection. The Mechanical Tellurion features a state-of-the-art gear system (first invented in 17^th century by a Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens) allowing for the most precise approximations possible in a model of this sort. The gearing of the earth has a 365.256 day orbital period, while the gearing of the moon features an orbital period of 27.323, which is fairly accurate by any standards!

The Tellurion kit consists of 249 parts and has ‘Medium’ rating and an estimated 5-hour construction process. It will be loved by anyone with an interest in astronomy, space, watching the sky, or people who want to teach a kid the basic natural processes which determine our lives (day and night, seasons, the lunar cycle, and the construct of time). It is a wonderful DIY model or present for any mechanical model lover or keen astronomer. We are happy to finally give this extraordinary tellurion/orrery 3D model to all Ugears lovers on our beautiful spinning planet — and beyond!