Today is the “shortest” day of the year! The actual day length is about 24 hours (give or take a few minutes due to the Equation of Time). The shortest day refers to the number of daylight hours. This year, in the northern hemisphere, there will be 8 hours and 46 minutes of daylight
This object is a planetary calendar in Wan Shi Tong’s library that is surrounded by an enormous dome controlled by the calendar
The calendar acts as a large mechanical device and each of the dials determines the positions of the sun, moon, and stars on the dome above it
The functionality of the device is reminiscent of being placed within the center of a rotating armillary sphere
By turning the dials and activating a crank, an observer can accurate predict the positions of the suns and moon on a specific day in the past or future
The largest dial of the central control panel features the twelve traditional animals of the Chinese zodiac, each one indicating a different year in the 12-year cycle.
The design of the main device is very reminiscent of other circular calendar systems like the Mayan Calendar
Or some of the mechanisms of the Antikythera Mechanism
Historically, devices like Volvelles and mechanical calendars could be used to predict the position of celestial objects as well the day of future solar and lunar eclipses
“Astronomy Inspired Design in Media” is Wednesday (as I find them)
Inspired by the prophesy of the end of the world on December 21, 2012.
The clock struck twelve
And I awaited for,
The end of the world;
On the winter night of December twenty-one.
The newspapers swamped;
Headlines read "The Day of Judgement".
Mayan calendars and evangelists' promised;
The beginning to the end as surely prophesied!
Night fell,
Stirring up a frenzy;
Yet, the sun rose,
And, all breathed a sigh of relief.
Hugged and smiled,
Friends and…
thinking about that girl I knew in college in 2012 who was so deadass certain the world was gonna end bc Mayan calendar that she ditched her finals and flew halfway across the country without her parents' knowledge to join a fuckin doomsday cult or smth