Your Own Home Planetarium

The Planterarium of Eise Eisinga

First off, this planetarium was absolutely amazing and to still be functioning since the 1700s is just mind boggling. An interesting part of keeping it functioning was the weight system that was in the closet, that needed to be reset during certain times to keep the system running in perfect timing. The other thing that was maintained is the wonderful blue paint and the beautiful art on all the dials and read outs.

The amount of detail and intricacy involved was really neat to see. I think the guide said over 10000 nails were used in the gears and mechanisms that make the whole system work and I could not imagine having to cut and set all of those nails, especially with the precision needed to keep the whole planetarium functioning accurately. The other amazing fact is that Eisinga built the entire planetarium with only the help of his father, it is no wonder that's it took 7 years to finish. It also floors me a bit that Eisinga did all the math and was able to create a fully functional planetarium, especially having to change the system from a 60 second pendulum to a 80 second pendulum because the pendulum was too long for his wife's liking.

I really enjoyed seeing the interactive displays that you could look through of Eisinga's original blueprints. I find it really interesting that most of the people involved in science at the time are really good artists too. The drawings and schematics in his book are beautiful as well functional drawings of his planetarium. Overall, this site visit was really jaw dropping and really gave me a sense of wonder that one person, with hard work and dedication, can really just about do anything when they are motivated.