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App-solutely Stellar
In Case You Ever Get Lost in Space
The Déjà Digest
February 23, 2024
Background: If you have a smart phone in your pocket, it's hard to get lost. GPS, Google Maps, Waze. Our smartphones often know more about our whereabouts than we do. But what if you're feeling lost lost.
Like, lost amidst the vastness of the celestial sphere?
The universe is incomprehensibly vast and cosmically speaking, where am I, exactly?
Well, your smart phone can help now. The recently launched Galactic Compass App always points towards the center of the Milky Way, regardless of Earth's position in its stellar waltz. Designed by Matt Webb, this iPhone app offers no practical navigation unless you're plotting a course to Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's heart. Its real journey is one of perspective, not location, offering a digital finger pointing to our place in the universe.
Deja Vu: We've always wanted to know our place in the universe. The Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient Greek artifact dating back to around 100 BC, was used to predict the movements of the Sun, Moon, and even planets like Mars and Venus, allowing calculations of eclipses, phases, and calendar dates. Crafted from bronze and housed in a wooden frame, it's a complex system of at least 30 meshing gears. The mechanism was powered by a hand crank, believed to have been operated by a skilled astronomer-priest. Some of the gears have unique, non-circular shapes, allowing for precise calculations of complex astronomical cycles.
This artifact stands as a testament to the extraordinary mathematical and engineering skills of the ancients, showcasing a sophistication that would not be matched for centuries.
Despite decades of research, only fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism remain. So while the basic functionality is understood, the full capabilities and exact methods remain debated, sparking ongoing research and fascination.
The Antikythera Mechanism was a physical manifestation of astronomical knowledge and mechanical ingenuity; the Galactic Compass app is a product of digital technology, utilizing sophisticated algorithms.
Our tools may change, but our fascination with the stars endures.
Fact:
In 1901, sponge divers near the Greek island of Antikythera stumbled upon the wreckage of an ancient Roman ship laden with treasures, including statues, jewelry, and coins dating back to the 1st century BCE. Among these artifacts, they found a corroded chunk of metal that, upon further examination, revealed the gears and dials of the mechanism. It wasn't until decades later, with advancements in imaging technology, that researchers began to unravel the true nature and capabilities of this ancient marvel.
Number: 26,000 light-years
That's the distance between Earth and Sagittarius A*, give or take a few stops to refuel and use the facilities.
Word: Orrery
A mechanical model of the solar system that illustrates or predicts the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons. While the Antikythera Mechanism predates known orreries, it functions similarly by modeling celestial bodies' movements.
Quote:
“In short, the Antikythera Mechanism was a machine designed to predict celestial phenomena according to the sophisticated astronomical theories current in its day, the sole witness to a lost history of brilliant engineering, a conception of pure genius, one of the great wonders of the ancient world—but it didn’t really work very well!
Passage from The Cosmos in the Antikythera Mechanism, a paper by Tony Freeth and Alexander Jones1
List: There’s An App for That?
You could call the Galactic Compass app neat, or interesting. Could you call it practical? Useful?
Yo! This app lets you send the word "Yo!" to another person's phone. That's it.
Hold On: This app challenges users to press and hold a button for as long as possible.
SimStapler: Simulating the mundane action of using a stapler, this app does nothing more than mimic the sound and action of a stapler when the screen is tapped.
Is It Dark Outside? Based on your current location and time zone, this App determines, if it is dark outside or not
WeCroak: This app sends users reminders that life is temporary. Inspired by a Bhutanese folk saying that to be happy one must contemplate death five times daily, its purpose is to evoke contemplation and mindfulness by reminding you of you mortality.
We wonder if the Galactic Compass might pair well with WeCroak? Get the “you’re going to die” notification, then open the Compass and remember you’re a mere 26,000 light years from a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy from which no matter or light can escape.
Astronomical serenity, you know?
It might make you think about what really matters. Maybe inspire you to call your parents, or say Yo! to a friend.
Recommended Reading: Decoding the Heavens: A 2,000-Year-Old Computer-and the Century-long Search to Discover Its Secrets
In Decoding the Heavens, Jo Marchant tells for the first time the full story of the hundred-year quest to decipher the ancient Greek computer known as the Antikythera Mechanism. At its heart, this is an epic adventure and mystery, a book that challenges our assumptions about technology through the ages.