Copernican orrary
Atelier Fortin Paris, vers 1775 Bois, papier, carton, fer
Made in a workshop of “celestial mechanics”, this instrument illustrates the spread of the heliocentric model championed by Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543). The 18th century gradually saw this new model of the solar system gain acceptance, despite years of opposition from the Church, which championed Ptolemy’s Earth-centric model. The realisation that the Earth was one of several planets revolving around the sun indirectly called into question God’s central place in the universe. The idea that the Earth revolved around the Sun, rather than the other way around, gained traction in Diderot’s time. It was one of the great scientific advances of the Age of Enlightenment.