Antikythera Mechanism Dial

In 1900–1901, divers raised corroded lumps of bronze from an ancient shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. They were the remains of the Antikythera mechanism, built in the 2nd or 1st century BC: the oldest known geared computer, an astronomical calculator that showed the positions of the Sun and the Moon, the phase of the Moon and, according to its inscriptions, the planets, and that predicted eclipses. Its fragments are kept at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. This app brings its front dial back to life, after the reconstruction by Freeth et al. (University College London, 2021), and computes it exactly as its gears did. TURN THE CRANK The Sun, the Moon with its phase, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn move around the zodiac ring. On Apple Watch the Digital Crown is the crank; on iPhone and iPad a wheel runs through hours, days, lunar months and years. TAP A CELESTIAL BODY Each card gives the sign, the position, the motion and, for the Moon, the phase, the lit fraction and the age. THE NEXT ECLIPSE ACCORDING TO THE MACHINE A countdown to the next eclipse predicted by the machine, with the Saros dial's announcement, compared with the real eclipse when it is known. THE MECHANISM REVEALED (iPhone and iPad, iOS 18 or later) Lift the bronze plate: the wheels of the reconstructed mechanism turn with the pointers. Fast playback, back view, exploded view, and the status of each part: surviving, reconstructed or hypothetical. THE REAL SKY (iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later, and Apple Watch with a compass) Raise your iPhone or iPad: with the compass and the motion sensors, each pointer aims at the real Sun, Moon and planets. Switch between "Sky" and "Machine" to see how far the ancient machine drifts from the sky. Direction depends on the compass (about 5 to 15°). Your location stays on the device, except when you calibrate your Apple TV: it is then sent directly to it, rounded to about ten kilometres, over your local network; without it, pick a city. On an Apple Watch with a compass (Series 5 or later, SE, Ultra), the same mode is in Settings. MACHINE 2.0 An optional modern design, not a reconstruction: eight planets including Uranus and Neptune, Kepler orbits approximated by mechanisms, the Gregorian calendar and the solar system seen from above (iPhone, iPad). The historical machine remains the default. ON APPLE WATCH A full-screen app with its patinated bronze dial, a quiet Always On display, and complications for your watch faces (mini dial, Sun and Moon, planets, next eclipse) plus a Smart Stack widget. The app is not a watch face: watchOS does not allow third-party watch faces. ON iPHONE AND iPAD Widgets for the Home Screen and Lock Screen (and StandBy on iPhone), plus a black bedside mode with a red night palette. With “Compass”, lay your iPhone or iPad flat: the machine's dial turns so its Sun hand points at the real Sun around you. ON APPLE TV The same app on your TV: the dial on the big screen with the bodies' full names, the crank on the remote, the Mechanism, and Real Sky once the Apple TV is calibrated with your iPhone (Apple TV 4K). ANCIENT MUSIC If you wish, the app softly plays ancient melodies in its own synthesis: Hurrian Hymn No. 6, the Seikilos Epitaph and the Delphic Hymns (iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV). In nine languages, with the zodiac and Egyptian month inscriptions in your language or in ancient Greek; the calendar ring shows the Egyptian months or our modern months. No account, no ads, no data collected, no internet connection: only a local link between your own iPhone and Apple TV. Antikythera mechanism reconstruction by taciclei (CC BY 4.0); after T. Freeth et al., Scientific Reports 11, 5821 (2021). WMM2025 magnetic model (NOAA, BGS).