Mocubix · Exhibit 06 · A running model, taken apart

The solar system, exploded

A working orrery. It opens on today, with every planet where it actually is, and runs at their true pace: one Earth year every four seconds, so Mercury laps while Neptune barely moves. Drag the slider and it comes apart into its layers without stopping.

Separation0%

Model date: —
Earth years run: 0.0

L0
The eclipticthe plane they move in, marked in degrees
L1
The orbitseight rings; distances not to scale
L2
The bodiesthe Sun and eight planets, photographed
L3
The namesriding above their planets

Wall labelOne slider, one number; every layer takes its own distance from it. A teardown that freezes its subject is a diagram. This one stays a machine: the planets keep their true periods while they hang in the air. Directions and periods are real; sizes and distances are not.

L0The ecliptic

L1The orbits

L2The bodies

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

L3The names