Copernican armillary sphere

A Sun-centred cosmos

With the Sun at the centre, this model demonstrates Nicolaus Copernicus’s vision of the cosmos. The central band shows the Sun’s apparent annual path through the zodiac, while the crossed bands mark the seasons. Copernican theory was firmly established by the time this model was made in the early 1800s. It includes recent discoveries such as the asteroids Ceres and Vesta. The model may have been used as a teaching aid or decorative item for a wealthy customer.