I expected to see mention of the volvelle - a medieval device made of paper that could approximate the phase of the moon by moving a circular hole around a carefully designed track. There’s a long explanation of it at https://astrolabeproject.com/downloads/volvelle/deconstructi...
Does the "double bosom" occlusion mechanism have a proper name? I always thought it was a bit daft — excusable on watches perhaps — but on larger clocks where there's plenty of space why not just have a half black sphere that rotates once per lunar month? (Even better would be a small model of the moon with a half black shade rotating around it).
Anyway: I made a (web) clock with that shows the moon position and phase: https://sunclock.net
Ages ago, a "Moonphase" font which I did was used in the typesetting of _Calendrical Tabulations_, so this sort of thing has always been near to my heart (I also used to use a "Phases of the Moon" application as a desktop background).
It takes a special kind of mind to tackle an idea so entrenched, rethink the design from first principles, do it well, and come up with something so different from what was there before.
Lunase moon phase watch mechanism
(genuineideas.com)29 points by huhtenberg 14 January 2025 | 5 comments
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Anyway: I made a (web) clock with that shows the moon position and phase: https://sunclock.net
Ages ago, a "Moonphase" font which I did was used in the typesetting of _Calendrical Tabulations_, so this sort of thing has always been near to my heart (I also used to use a "Phases of the Moon" application as a desktop background).
Bravo.