Editing Tellurion

{{about|the astronomical device|other uses|Tellurian (disambiguation)}}

A '''tellurion''' (also spelled ''tellurian'', ''tellurium'', and yet another name is ''loxocosm''), is a [[clock]], typically of French or Swiss origin, surmounted by a mechanism that depicts how [[daytime|day]], [[night]], and the [[season]]s are caused by the [[Earth's rotation|rotation]] and [[axial tilt|orientation]] of [[Earth]] on its [[axis of rotation|axis]] and [[Earth's orbit|its orbit]] around the [[Sun]]. The clock normally also displays the phase of the [[Moon]] and the four-year ([[perpetual calendar|perpetual]]) calendar.<ref>{{cite book |last=De Carle |first=D. |title=Watch and Clock Encyclopedia |year=1988 |publisher=NAG/Robert Hale |location=London}}</ref>

It is related to the [[orrery]], which illustrates the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the [[Solar System]] in a heliocentric model.

The word tellurion derives from the Latin ''tellus'', meaning "earth".<ref>{{cite book |last=Shipley |first=Joseph Twadell |title=The Origins of English Words: A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots |year=2001 |publisher=JHU Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/originsofenglish00jose/page/403 403] |isbn=0801867843 |url=https://archive.org/details/originsofenglish00jose/page/403 }}</ref>

{{Gallery
|align=center
|File:Tellurian in Putnam Gallery, 2009-11-24.jpg|A tellurion made in 1766, used by [[John Winthrop (1714–1779)|John Winthrop]] to teach astronomy at Harvard
|File:Tellerium-CnAM 6609-IMG 6583-black.jpg|Tellurion made between 1700 and 1725, on display at the [[Musée des Arts et Métiers]], Paris
}}

==See also==
* [[Astronomical clock]]
* [[Solar System model]]s

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Tellurium (device)}}
{{Wiktionary}}

{{Solar System models}}

[[Category:Astronomical instruments]]
[[Category:Astronomical clocks]]
[[Category:Solar System models]]
[[Category:Seasons]]

{{astronomy-stub}}

[[de:Orrery#Tellurium]]