Explanation:
What is it?
It was found at the bottom of the sea aboard an ancient Greek ship.
Its seeming complexity has prompted decades of study, although many of its functions remained unknown.
Recent
X-rays of the device have now confirmed the nature of the
Antikythera mechanism,
and discovered several surprising functions.
The Antikythera mechanism
has been discovered to be a mechanical computer of an accuracy thought impossible in 80 BC, when the ship that carried it sunk.
Such sophisticated technology was not thought to be developed by humanity for another 1,000 years.
Its wheels and gears create a portable
orrery of the sky
that predicted star and planet locations as well as
lunar and
solar eclipses.
The
Antikythera
mechanism,
shown above, is 33 centimeters high and similar in size to a large book.
