II - Forever spinning… The Urania world clock

Urania is known as the muse of astronomy by the Greeks but it is also the name of the world clock (Wetlzeituhr) located on the Alexanderplatz in Berlin, another "forever spinning" object...

Urania -Weltzeituhr, Alexanderplatz-Berlin

This spinning clock, with a shape strikingly similar to MSG-4, was designed by Erich John and erected in 1969 at the time of DDR. The rotating inner cylinder gives the time of the 24 Earth time zones in 148 cities around the world (but not including Cayenne :-( ). On the top, one can find a representation of our solar system with its planets.

From the perspective of the picture below, one can see the edge of the Alexanderplatz Bahnhof, the S-Bahn tracks and, in the background, a second spinning object: the restaurant at the top of the television tower (Fernsehturm).

Urania and Fernsehturm/TV tower - Berlin

Can the TV tower/World clock be compared to the Earth/MSG couple? No, the rotating restaurant sees the Urania clock every hour (or even more) while MSG, from its GEO position, always looks at the same portion of the Earth. If there is no way to see MSG from Earth, you may have a chance to observe the world clock from the restaurant at the top to the TV tower. The happy few who did that on 04/11/1989  have seen what a crowd the Urania clock was attracting that day!, Why?

Alexanderplatz in 1989 around Urania

…on November 1989, large demonstrations took place in the Eastern part of Berlin. These demonstrations that started earlier in Leipzig led to to the fall of the Berlin wall on 09/11/1989.
In more quiet periods, the world clock seen from the "spinning restaurant" would appear on the Alexanderplatz together with few circulating streetcars, tourists as well as commuting Berliners…
Below, two pictures of the Urania Clock seen from the TV tower/Fernsehturm in such quiet periods:

Left: in 2009, for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall, with an exhibition of posters remembering the demonstration slogans. Right: Easter 2015.

So when MSG-4 eventually disappear to take up duty in orbit, as time goes by, just visit the Alexanderplatz in Berlin to get rid of any MSG nostalgy (but not "Ostalgy" :-)!

Urania clock in good "spinning company" !