Lunar Pointer — A Celestial Instrument

For centuries, humans have looked skyward and wondered about the dance of the Moon across the heavens. Lunar Pointer is a tactile homage to that curiosity — a physical instrument that brings the intangible geometry of the sky into your hands.

At its core, Lunar Pointer answers a simple question:

Where is the Moon right now — and where would it be if you looked?

By setting the current elevation (angle above the horizon) and azimuth (compass direction), this mechanical pointer physically indicates the Moon’s position relative to your location — even when it’s hidden beneath the horizon.

A Whiff of Antiquity… With a Twist

Inspired by the spirit of ancient skywatchers like Hipparchus — a thinker who first sought to measure the heavens — Lunar Pointer is less a gadget and more a bridge between numbers and experience. Imagine an early philosopher with a star chart and a keen eye: this is the kind of tool that would make sense in their hands.

But whereas Hipparchus worked with naked eyes and scribbled degrees, you get the benefit of millennia of refinement — and a web browser.

Beyond Mere Curiosity

This isn’t a desktop toy.
This is a device that invites exploration.

It makes visible what is normally invisible: how positions in the sky are truly three-dimensional — not flat, not random, but governed by geometrical relationships.

With Lunar Pointer you don’t just read numbers — you feel them. Angles become rotation. Directions become touchpoints. The sky becomes something you can physically interpret.

How to Use It

To use Lunar Pointer:

1. Find current lunar elevation & azimuth
   A reliable source is:
   👉 https://www.heavens-above.com/moon.aspx
2. Align the base toward geographic (true) north
3. Set the elevation value on the pointer arm
4. Set the azimuth on the outer ring

Now the pointer indicates where the Moon would be in your sky — whether you can see it or not.

This process is pleasantly manual, oddly meditative, and deeply instructive.

More Than Just the Moon

The design isn’t limited to our lunar companion.
Feed it the data for the Sun, planets, or bright stars, and it will point those too.

A manual celestial index for:

✨ Moon
✨ Sun
✨ Planets
✨ Bright stars
✨ Any object with horizontal coordinates

A Little Mystique

Like an astrolabe sculpted from reason rather than myth, Lunar Pointer reminds us that the cosmos has structure — and that structure can be felt.

It doesn’t pull answers from the ether — it reveals them.

Printing & Assembly

Lunar Pointer is composed of four print plates that together form a complete, mechanically functional instrument. Each plate serves a purpose in the geometry and movement of the device, and when assembled they create a fully operational celestial pointer.

The model is optimized for PLA, which works well and is easy to print with most FDM printers.

A print profile has been prepared with recommended support structures where needed — simply use it to prepare the parts for printing without manual support design.

Assembly note

Even though I tried to make sure it can only be assembled in one way I have made one mistake so, please - MAKE SURE YOU MOUNT THE TWO HOLDERS FOR THE WHEEL/ARROW CORRECTLY. The one with the elevation wheel should be placed according to picture 4 (between the texts ‘240’ and ‘300’).