# Antikythera Mechanism used bronze gears to mimic Moon’s changing speed 2026-08-08T13:01:05+00:00 | World & Diplomacy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Researchers have confirmed that the Antikythera Mechanism, a bronze device built in the second century BC, used a pin-and-slot gear system to replicate the Moon's variable speed along its elliptical orbit. The Moon travels faster at perigee and slower at apogee, a pattern Hipparchos had described theoretically. A study in Nature details how high-resolution X-ray tomography revealed two offset gears connected by a sliding pin that accelerated and decelerated the output in a repeating cycle, effectively producing a mechanical sine wave. The device also combined Babylonian arithmetic cycles with Greek geometric theory to predict lunar and solar eclipses, as deciphered from newly read inscriptions. The finding upends assumptions about ancient technical capability, showing that craftsmen translated abstract astronomy into physical machinery without algebra or trigonometry. The mechanism is now widely considered the world's oldest known analogue computer. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Tags: ancient Greek astronomy, Antikythera Mechanism, gears, history of science, lunar orbit, nature Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/antikythera-mechanism-used-bronze-gears-to-mimic-moons-changing-speed/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/antikythera-mechanism-used-bronze-gears-to-mimic-moons-changing-speed/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.