A Digital (3D) Reconstruction of a Lost Planetarium

Abstract

After many years of research, it has been concluded that Antikythera mechanism is a more complicated device than initially was thought. Recently, the rapidly increasing development of 3D modeling and simulation software, resulted in attempts to recreate the mechanism's 3D construction. These 3D replicas are based on advanced knowledge, gathered by the study of the mechanism remnants or the deciphered inscription on its surfaces. The latest decrypted inscriptions on the back door of the mechanism refers to planetary motion, which might be illustrated by a planetarium formation, which is absent from the remains of Antikythera mechanism. The authors propose a 3D reconstruction of this alleged planetarium, as a possible sequence of the existed mechanism's remains, compatible with the surviving inscriptions. Specifically, the authors introduce a lot of constructional differentiations compared to the other suggested, focusing mainly on measurements accuracy which this planetary system could perform.