Tellurion 3D wooden puzzle UGEARS

Mechanical Tellurion - UGear

The idea for a Tellurion Mechanical 3D wooden puzzle with a space theme has been "floating in the air" at Ugears for some time now. Every time we announce a new model, hopeful Ugears fans ask, "Is it a planetarium?" From this shared desire, a project was born. Our mission: to spread knowledge of space and time by helping people visualize the movements of the planet we live on and its nearest satellite, the Moon.

A little bit of history

Ugears is proud to present the Mechanical Tellurion, a precise wooden representation of our corner of the universe. A Ugears Mechanical Tellurion 3D wooden puzzle (sometimes called a loxocosm) is an ingenious mechanism that depicts the cosmic dance between the Sun, Earth, and Moon. The causes of day and night, the phases of the Moon, and the changing seasons are perceived and understood based on the movements of this 3D puzzle. The tellurion (from the Latin "tellus," meaning "Earth") is related to the planetarium, which illustrates the relative positions and movements of the planets and moons in the solar system according to a heliocentric model.

What is my place in the universe? Where am I going? We can't help you answer the metaphysical aspects of these questions, but this wooden puzzle will help you understand the journeys you make as a passenger on planet Earth, and your interconnected relationship with some of your closest celestial neighbors. We all know about the regular cycles of day and night, the phases of the Moon, the changing seasons, and the passing of the years. But how many of us truly understand these phenomena or can explain what lies behind the clocks and calendars that govern our lives? Any child can tell you their age, but ask them how many times they've orbited the Sun, and you might get a puzzled look, or a range of amusing answers: One hundred and twenty-seven? Ten thousand? Once? Never?

How the mechanical Tellurion works

Build the captivating Tellurion wooden model, show it to your family and friends, and you'll gain a deeper understanding of the heavens, the seasons, and the concept of time itself. Turn the crank to set the precisely calibrated gear system in motion. One turn of the crank equals one rotation of the Earth on its axis, equaling one day. Sight a point on the Earth's surface, observe the Earth's rotational position relative to the Sun, and visualize sunrise and sunset—the transition from day to night. The Tellurion demonstrates that the phases of the Moon depend on its position relative to the Sun and the Earth. As it rotates, the Moon rises and falls slightly, thus altering its trajectory. The Earth's orbit around the Sun, combined with a correct representation of the Earth's 23.5-degree axial tilt, explains why the seasons change (outside of equatorial regions). The Tellurion indicates the passing of the seasons, while also giving a beautiful graphic representation of the zodiac, indicating the sign and constellation under which you were born.

The Ugears mechanical Tellurion can be manually adjusted, or "tuned," to provide an accurate representation of the relative positions of the Sun, Earth, and Moon on any given day. To "tune" the mechanism, set the pointer to midwinter or midsummer on the seasons dial. The Earth, on its tilted axis, can be rotated (using a gear located beneath the Moon phases) so that either hemisphere is farthest from the sun in midwinter or closest to it in summer. Turn the crank the correct number of days forward or backward from the nearest solstice to set the current day. After consulting a lunar calendar, use the top disc to adjust the Moon's position to its correct phase. Your Tellurion is now "tuned." Each day, give the model one turn of the crank to track the Earth's progress around the Sun and the Moon's lunar cycle as it orbits the Earth.

Discovering space together

By studying the movements of your Tellurion Ugears puzzle, you'll learn that a full moon occurs when the moon is behind the Earth, far from the sun. This is because the sun illuminates the entire surface of the moon that is visible to us (the "bright side" of the moon). Conversely, when the moon is between the Earth and the sun, the sun's rays illuminate the part of the moon that is moving away from us (the "dark side" of the moon). This phase is called a "new moon," meaning the period during which the moon is not visible in the night sky. In the intervals between these phases, the moon waxes and wanes, changing its apparent shape, depending on the illuminated portion we can observe from Earth. The phases of the moon are just one of the many somewhat counterintuitive astronomical concepts that are easy to visualize with the Tellurion Ugears 3D puzzle.

At Ugears, a rough or "close enough" approximation isn't really our style. To represent the orbital periods of our planet and the Moon, our engineers equipped the mechanical Tellurion with a sophisticated gear system (first developed by the Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century) to achieve the most accurate approximations possible for a wooden mechanism at this scale. The Earth gear has an orbital period of 365.256 days, while the Moon-Earth gear has an orbital period of 27.323 days, resulting in an accuracy on the order of a thousandth of a day.

Technical information:

The Ugears Tellurion mechanical model kit includes 249 pieces. This model is of "Medium" difficulty and the assembly time is estimated at 5 hours. This 3D representation of Earth's movements and its interaction with nearby celestial bodies will appeal to anyone interested in space, astronomy, stargazing, or those who want to understand, or teach a child, the basic natural phenomena that govern our lives: day and night, the seasons, the lunar cycle, and the construction of time. The Tellurion is an excellent DIY project or gift idea for any hobbyist or budding astronomer. We are delighted to finally bring this magnificent 3D tellurion/planetary model to Ugears enthusiasts worldwide – the world we revolve around together.

Self-assembly required, no glue needed.

Dimensions: 40.4 x 26 x 30.5 cm
Number of pieces: 249

Assembly: approximately 5 hours