Editing Astronomical clock (section)

== Definition ==
[[File:Astrario Dondi 05869 01 dia - Museo scienza e tecnologia Milano.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[astrarium]] made by the Italian astronomer and physician [[Giovanni Dondi dell'Orologio]] showed the hour, the yearly calendar, and the movement of the planets, Sun and Moon.<br>Modern reconstruction in the [[Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Milan]], Italy; it is about three feet high.]]

The term is loosely used to refer to any clock that shows, in addition to the time of day, astronomical information. This could include the location of the Sun and Moon in the sky, the age and [[Lunar phases]], the position of the Sun on the [[ecliptic]] and the current zodiac sign, the [[sidereal time]], and other astronomical data such as the [[Lunar node|Moon's nodes]] for indicating [[eclipses]]), or a rotating star map. The term should not be confused with an ''astronomical regulator'', a high precision but otherwise ordinary [[pendulum clock]] used in observatories.

Astronomical clocks usually represent the [[Solar System]] using the [[geocentric]] model. The center of the dial is often marked with a disc or sphere representing the Earth, located at the center of the Solar System. The Sun is often represented by a golden sphere (as it initially appeared in the [[Antikythera mechanism]], back in the 2nd century BC), shown rotating around the Earth once a day around a [[24-hour analog dial]]. This view accorded both with the daily experience and with the philosophical world view of pre-[[Copernican Revolution|Copernican]] Europe.