— Research Instrument
A Cosmos in
Bronze
A research-grade, interactive 3D reconstruction of the ancient Greek astronomical calculator. One input drives interconnected outputs — the Sun, Moon, planets, calendars and eclipse cycles — for any day in the past or future.
The Problem
Reconstructions Are Easy to Admire and Hard to Audit
Conjecture Blends Into Evidence
When attested features and speculative ones look identical, a viewer cannot tell which parts of a reconstruction are known and which are proposed.
Static Images Hide the Mechanics
A diagram cannot show how a single input becomes interconnected outputs — dials, spirals, eclipse cells and planetary pointers turning together.
No Way to Ask “When?”
Researchers need to locate dates and configurations — conjunctions, stationary points, elongations — not merely look at a fixed display.
The Solution
A Working Instrument, Not an Illustration
A deterministic, elapsed-time-driven kinematic engine sits behind every view, so the 3D model, dial reader, gear laboratory and event finder all read from the same mechanical equations.
3D Mechanism
Orbit, zoom and pan a native WebGL reconstruction with front, back, gearwork and exploded views, separable display layers and PNG export.
Dial Reader
Read the zodiac and Sun/date dials, the calendar and eclipse spirals, and the lunar anomaly shown as a pin-and-slot correction.
Gear Laboratory
Inspect the train for the Moon, Metonic and Callippic cycles, Saros and Exeligmos, the five planets and the lunar nodes, with ratios unfolded for readability.
Model Events
Find conjunctions, stationary points, greatest elongations and oppositions on the ideal mechanism, searching forward or backward, with JSON export.
Calibration Bench
Choose the datum, set independent calendar and Saros offsets, toggle attested lunar variability and the reconstructed solar anomaly, and save sessions as JSON.
Field Manual & Verification
A built-in manual with a research bibliography, printable to PDF, and a verification ledger that runs checks against the embedded engine.
Architecture
From One Turn of the Crank to Every Dial
Choose the Datum
Select the calendar system, astronomical year and calibration. Input dates label elapsed time; they do not authenticate a historical epoch.
Drive the Mechanism
Drag the crank or play the clock forward or backward, from one day per second to one hundred days per second.
Read the Instrument
Follow the zodiac, calendar spirals, Saros eclipse register and planetary pointers, with an evidence status shown for each register cell.
Verify & Export
Run the verification ledger, then export the eclipse register as CSV and event results or sessions as JSON.
By the Numbers
Inside the Platform
- Lunar glyph only23 10%
- Solar glyph only13 6%
- Lunar and solar15 7%
- No eclipse glyph172 77%
Counted from the app's eclipse register, which implements the Freeth 2014 Eclipse Year Model as a reconstructed plate pattern, not a list of observed eclipses.
| Item | Value (cells) |
|---|---|
| Lunar glyph only | 23 |
| Solar glyph only | 13 |
| Lunar and solar | 15 |
| No eclipse glyph | 172 |
Evidence & Scope
The core is evidence-led and the planetary restoration is explicitly conjectural. Displayed decimal precision describes the model, not the accuracy of ancient astronomy; results are not modern ephemerides, and the verification ledger cannot prove that a hypothetical lost assembly was the original one.
At a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Workspaces | 7: 3D mechanism, Dial reader, Gear laboratory, Model events, Calibration, Theory & instructions, Verification |
| Cosmos dial | 7 bodies: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn on equal 30° zodiac signs |
| Rear dials | Metonic spiral 235 months in 5 turns; Saros spiral 223 months in 4 turns; Games, Exeligmos and a hypothetical 76-year dial |
| Event finder | Moon phases; planetary conjunctions, greatest elongations, oppositions and stationary points; 1, 8, 16 or 32 events, future or past |
| Time controls | Steps of 1 day, 1 mean month, 1 year, 1 Saros or 19 years; playback 1, 10 or 100 days per second, also in reverse |
| Verification ledger | 39 built-in checks; 39 of 39 pass in the reference configuration |
| Exports | PNG view, eclipse register CSV, event results and session JSON, manual print-to-PDF |
| Engine | Deterministic elapsed-time kinematics with native WebGL; no libraries, fetched assets or web ephemeris |
From the app's interface, select options and built-in verification run.
Transparency
Honest Limits, Stated Plainly
Interpretive Layout
The internal layout is interpretive. The 3D assembly is a spatial arrangement, not a manufacturing drawing.
Not an Ephemeris
Circular epicycles omit real orbital eccentricities, inclinations and perturbations, so results are not predictions of local visibility.
Declared Completions
Missing calendar placements use a declared regularized completion, kept separate from the gear-driven month coordinate.
Who Benefits
Built for People Who Study Instruments
Historians of Science
Compare reconstruction hypotheses with a transparent evidence status and a research bibliography at hand.
Educators & Museums
Let audiences explore the mechanism interactively — orbit, explode, play — with a manual that prints to PDF.
Researchers & Makers
Calibrate the model, search for events and export tables for further analysis.
Licensing
Flexible Plans
for Every Scale
Professional
Contact for Pricing
Full platform access for individual practitioners and researchers.
Institution
Contact for Pricing
Multi-seat licensing for teams, departments, and organisations.
Enterprise
Custom
White-label deployment with custom integrations and dedicated support.
Related Platforms
Explore Further
Contact
Ready to Get Started?
Reach out to discuss licensing options, schedule a demonstration, or request a custom integration proposal.
Email: [click to reveal]