Astrock, the model of Orloj
Orloj in Prague has displayed the current state of the universe for almost six hundred years. Events such as dawn, dusk, sunset, sunrise, moonrise etc differs every day, however they are predictable and useful to know. Spoledge has developed the computer model of Orloj for iPhone called Astrock with all that information and brings the captivating medieval piece to any pocket.
The possible usage of Astrock is surprisingly rich ranging from a tourist souvenir, through a useful tool for everyday life to an educational tool of physics, it's history, geography or positional astronomy. The clock features sun, moon and planets and offers a real-time sky map, daylight awareness and a bird's eye view to planet positions.
The clock travels in a pocket all around the world, both literally and imaginary. At each destination Astrock displays the sky as the original Orloj would, as if it had been built for that very location. Astrock easily reveals the sky at the Nordkapp, the northernmost point of Europe, where polar day and night occur. The light blue colors reveal that the sun is never high and the soft yellow light known from photography as magic hour, can last for a third of the day. On equator, the twilight is short and it gets dark fast. The clock can also travel in time. One might find interesting to see how long the days will be when planing for a vacation.
Those interested in astronomy would appreciate suggestions for planet observations. Who knows that it is Jupiter that can be easily observed tonight. Astrock shows Jupiter, the time of rise, the time of set and Jupiter's height over the horizon. The clock also shows oppositions, conjunctions of the planets as well as Moon phases. All that and even more can be read from the medieval astrolabe, there are no numbers involved.
And lastly for those who have been in Prague, Astrock can remind them the magic town and the clock itself.
Do you want to know more? Visit the AppStore and look for Astrock, the Astronomical Clock or visit our web page www.spoledge.com.
Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/
