orrery

orrery
/awr"euh ree, or"-/, n., pl. orreries.
1. an apparatus for representing the positions, motions, and phases of the planets, satellites, etc., in the solar system.
2. any of certain similar machines, as a planetarium.
[1705-15; named after Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery (1676-1731), for whom it was first made]

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▪ astronomical model
      mechanical model of the solar system used to demonstrate the motions of the planets about the Sun, probably invented by George Graham (d. 1751) under the patronage of Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery. In use for several centuries, the device was formerly called a planetarium. The orrery presents the planets as viewed from outside the solar system in an accurate scale model of periods of revolution (with the Earth completing a year's rotation in about 10 minutes). The planets' sizes and distances, however, are necessarily inaccurate. See also planetarium.

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Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу
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  • Orrery — Or re*ry, n.; pl. {Orreries}. [So named in honor of the Earl of Orrery.] An apparatus which illustrates, by the revolution of balls moved by wheelwork, the relative size, periodic motions, positions, orbits, etc., of bodies in the solar system.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • orrery — 1713, invented c.1713 by George Graham and made by instrument maker J. Rowley, who gave a copy to his patron, Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery (Cork) and named it in his honor …   Etymology dictionary

  • orrery — [ôr′ər ē] n. pl. orreries [after Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery (1676 1731), for whom one was made] a mechanical apparatus which illustrates with balls of various sizes the relative motions and positions of the earth, moon, sun, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Orrery — Orrery, Roger Boyle, Graf von, s. Boyle 1) …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Orrery — This article is about the mechanical device. For the British peerage, see Earl of Orrery. A small orrery showing earth and the inner planets An orrery is a mechanical device that illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and… …   Wikipedia

  • Orrery — Ein kleines Orrery, nur mit der Darstellung von Sonne, Merkur, Venus, Erde und Mond …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • orrery — (o rré ri) s. m. Machine d Orrery, ou, elliptiquement, un orrery, machine inventée pour représenter le système moderne d astronomie, avec la mobilité de la terre. •   Vous admirez ces machines d une nouvelle invention qu on appelle orrery, parce… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • orrery — noun (plural orreries) Etymology: Charles Boyle died 1731 4th Earl of Orrery Date: 1713 an apparatus showing the relative positions and motions of bodies in the solar system by balls moved by a clockwork …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • ORRERY —    is a mechanical toy which exhibits, by an arrangement of rods, balls, and toothed wheels, the sun, the planets, and their moons, all performing their respective motions; so named after the Earl of Orrery, for whom Charles Boyle made the first… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Orrery — Or|re|ry [ ɔrəri] das; s, s <nach Ch. Boyle, dem Earl of Orrery (1676 1731)> mechanisches Gerät, das die relativen Bewegungen einiger Planeten u. Monde anzeigt (Astron.) …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

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