An orrery is a mechanical model of the motion of the planets in our solar system. It works because of interlocking gears! 🌍☀️The medium sized gears rotate the Sun, which causes the Earth to spin around it. As the small gear rotates around the large gear, the Earth rotates too - just like in our solar system! | KiwiCo

Thomas Jefferson was fascinated by astronomy and owned several astronomical instruments during his lifetime, including an orrery—that is, a mechanical model of the solar system. Orreries were a popular, entertaining, and instructive way to share what was known at the time about the natural world and universe. According to one letter, Jefferson may have even displayed his orrery, ordered from London in 1792, in the President’s House in Washington, D.C. In today’s video, Monticello guide Charles M