Accession No
5812
Brief Description
Musser Copernican orrery or planetarium Model 500, by Scientific Space Industries Inc. (a subsidiary of the the Howard Hughes Aircraft Company), after the design of Clair Omar Musser, U.S.A., 1962
Origin
U.S.A.; California; Oceanside
Maker
Scientific Space Industries Inc.
Class
astronomy; demonstration
Earliest Date
1961
Latest Date
1962
Inscription Date
Material
plastic; metal; paper; wood (pine)
Dimensions
height 712mm; width 540mm; depth 265mm
Special Collection
Provenance
Purchased from Christie’s LOS ANGELES, 360 North Camden Drive, Beverly Hills, California, 90210, USA, on 17/10/2000. Purchased with assistance of a 50% grant from the PRISM fund.
Inscription
Description Notes
Musser Copernican orrery / planetarium Model 500, by Howard Hughes’ ‘Scientific Space Industries', a subsidiary of the the Howard Hughes Aircraft Company, after the design of Clair Omar Musser, U.S.A., 1962.
An electrical orrery / planetarium in a form similar to a large television set with a circular viewing screen, behind which is a black and white photographed night sky with numerous stars. In the centre is a red bulb representing the sun; protruding from the screen on plastic arms from the bulb's support socket are painted planet balls: Mercury (red), Venus (green), Earth (green) with an attached moon ball (orange), Mars (dark orange), Jupiter (orange and yellow) and Saturn (green with a yellow ring). In addition three hemispheres are moulded onto the starry background to represent Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. The viewing screen is housed in a grey plastic casing, at the bottom of which are six knobs with planetary symbols and names, which can be turned anti-clockwise to move the planet balls and counter for the years. In addition, there is a scale with the index for months of the year, also showing the equinoxes and solstices. Further knobs turn on or off the White Light, Black Light, the Sun and the Planet Power. In addition, there are five overlays which sit over the viewing area. These are circular and depict: a star-chart centred around the Pole Star, with the celestial equator, the ecliptic, and numerous constellations. Overlay No1 - ‘Planet Setting', Overlay No2 ‘Comets and Meteors Streams', Overlay No19 ‘Earth mars Oppositions' and Overlay No20 ‘Planetary Configurations'.
The overlays and the planetarium come in a pine carry case with handles. A photocopy of the original manual has also been provided.
References
Events
Description
This Musser Electric Copernican Planetarium Model 500 was made in 1962 for the World's Fair in Seattle. The Russian astronaut Yuri Gagarin had become the first man in space the year before, so space travel and the future were very popular themes during this period. The design and shape of this planetarium reflects that. It was made to look futuristic using glowing paints, new plastics and chrome handles.
Like earlier mechanical planetariums, this one shows the movement of the planets around the Sun. It was designed for use by teachers in class, and is motorised so that the planets move automatically over time. It has built in ultra-violet lighting so that the planets glow as they move around.
Using some removable extra parts the planetarium can also be used to model eclipses, comets, meteors and the movement of the tides.
Created by: [Taken from Gallery Challenge - full research text for teachers]
FM:46218
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