Erudite Expressions | Eugene's Photoblog

astronomical clock | July 06, 2009

Seen in today's entry is the Prague Astronomical Clock or Prague Orloj (in Czech: Pražský orloj).

The Astronomical Clock is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; 'The Walk of the Apostles', a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months.

For a long time it was believed that it was built sometime around 1490 by a clockmaster Jan Ruze (Hanus) and his assistant Jakub Cech. Only recently has convincing proof been put forth that the Prague Astronomical Clock is considerably older (in particular, that it was made in the year 1410). The Orloj was constructed by the clockmaker Mikuláš of Kadaň in collaboration with Jan Ondrejuv called Sindel, professor of mathematics and astronomy of Prague Charles University.

The Clock suffered heavy damage on May 7 and May 8 of 1945, during the Prague Uprising. On these two days, the Nazis directed incendiary fire from several armored vehicles and an anti-aircraft gun to the south-west side of Prague's Old Town Square. The hall and nearby buildings burned along with the wooden sculptures on the Astronomical Clock. It took three years of work to repair the machinery and to restore the wooden Apostles.

Today, the Astronomical Clock continually provides the full range of astronomical data. The dial shows three mutually independent movements: the mean revolutions of the Sun, the mean revolutions of the Moon, and the apparent revolutions of the stars (the ecliptic).

The image in today's entry is an HDR image overlayed with two textures. See my entire HDR gallery here.

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