Finished Planet Pointer
Since I liked the first sun pointer so much, I decided to build a second one for myself.
The algorithm for the sun position is simple, thus I decided to improve upon the sun pointer by adding a second pointer towards the moon.
Turns out there is no simple equation available and I had to dig deep into astrophysics to derive at a working prototype.
Took me almost 60 hours just for this algorithm, but at the end it was worth it.
Please note, the moon is not a planet. The sun is not a planet as well.
However, 'Planet Pointer' sounds great, thus I will continue to use that name for this project.
Most of the electronics are reused from the sun pointer.
The only difference is that now the microcontroller is controlling 4 stepper motors, 2 for each pointer.
The pointer/arrows are now 3D printed.
The blue one points towards the moon, the yellow towards the sun.
In total, I made two Planet Pointers, one for me and one for my parents.
First Protype
View of the Base Internals
Base with Cover
© Michael Smirnov 2020
m_smirnov@me.com