New model reveals display of 2,000 year-old mechanical device used by the ancient Greeks to predict astronomical events (Tony Freeth/UCL/PA)An ancient Greek hand-powered mechanical device for predicting astronomical events has been recreated, offering a fresh understanding of how it worked. The 2,000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism is considered the world’s first analogue computer, used to forecast positions of the sun, moon and the planets, as well as lunar and solar eclipses. It was first discovered in a Roman-era shipwreck in 1901 by Greek sponge divers near the Mediterranean island of Antikythera. “The sun, moon and planets are displayed in an impressive tour de force of ancient Greek brilliance.”The largest surviving fragment, called Fragment A, displays features of bearings, pillars and a block. Using previous X-ray data and an ancient Greek mathematical method, they were able to explain how the cycles for Venus and Saturn were derived, as well as recovering the cycles of all the other planets, where the evidence was missing.

Source: Irish Independent March 12, 2021 11:15 UTC