We at IMBOLDN remember fondly our school days in which we got to learn about the solar system. For those of us who have never stopped being fascinated by the cosmos, the Orrery Lamp makes science beautiful in bringing it into our personal space.
Named for orreries, the 18th and 19th-century mechanical solar system models, not only is this a warm, dimmable lighting fixture, but it is a movable, abstract representation of our orbiting planet earth, the moon, and the sun. This lamp’s intergalactic superpower doesn’t stop in its elegant, vaguely mid-century look, but any user can adjust the wooden earth and moon globes to revolve around the sun with the help of a calibrated website that gives you the exact coordinate of any previous and future movements. The corresponding site allows you to view astronomical information right down to the nitty, gritty details as you play around with the visualization. It’s a living, breathing science lesson helping you to better understand the movements of the earth, moon, and sun.
Available in floor lamp and table lamp sizes, each Orrery Lamp is designed and made in Los Angeles by a tight knit community of designers and manufacturers. The lamps feature a custom hand-blown glass diffuser, of four inches in diameter, to represent the sun. Machined brass and a walnut wood base form the rest of the device along with a cork bottom base to maintain friction.
You can order your own piece of the universe via the project’s Kickstarter campaign.