Orrery

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Orrery \Or"re*ry\, n.; pl. {Orreries}. [So named in honor of the
     Earl of Orrery.]
     An apparatus which illustrates, by the revolution of balls
     moved by wheelwork, the relative size, periodic motions,
     positions, orbits, etc., of bodies in the solar system.
     [1913 Webster]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  orrery
       n : planetarium consisting of an apparatus that illustrates the
           relative positions and motions of bodies in the solar
           system by rotation and revolution of balls moved by
           wheelwork; sometimes incorporated in a clock