Renumbering of the Antikythera Mechanism Saros cells, resulting from the Saros spiral mechanical apokatastasis

TL;DR

This study reanalyzed the Antikythera Mechanism's Saros spiral, leading to a corrected numbering of Saros cells, revealing that the Saros cycle begins with a solar eclipse within a month, and refining the mechanism's eclipse event sequence.

Contribution

The paper introduces a new geometrical calibration method that corrects Saros cell numbering and refines the understanding of the mechanism's eclipse cycle timing.

Findings

Saros cycle starts only with a solar eclipse within a month.

Corrected Saros cell numbering impacts the initial date calculations.

New symmetry insights into eclipse event sequences.

Abstract

After studying the design geometry of the Antikythera Mechanism Saros spiral, new critical geometrical/mechanical characteristics of the Back plate design were detected. The geometrical characteristics related to the symmetry of the Antikythera Mechanism design, are independent to the present irregular deformation of the Mechanism parts and were used as calibration points for the Saros spiral cells positional measurements. The Saros cells numbering was recalculated using the calibration points position. A correction of minus one to the currently accepted numbering of the Saros cells was applied. Following the new numbering, a new proper position for the (displaced) Saros pointer axis-g, in graphic design environment was calculated. The measurements were tested on a bronze reconstruction of the Back plate, by the authors. This research leads to a new important result that the Saros does not start in a random or arbitrary date but only when a solar eclipse occurs within a month. Additional results were also calculated regarding the symmetry of the eclipse events/sequence. The new Saros cell numbering strongly affects the calculations for the initial starting date of the Saros spiral and the eclipse events scheme of the Antikythera Mechanism.