# Does there exist any reasonably observable scale model of the Solar System? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2007, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154 "2007-07-25T22:43:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/21 "2007-07-26T02:58:17Z")
Someone may have already linked to it, but there’s one in a US college town someplace. Saw it on the Science Channel a couple years ago. Starts with the Sun, or rather just a portion of it, in the school’s gym. Then the planets are in various locations all to scale both in size and distance. I think only up to Earth is even on the campus. The rest are in various buildings in the town. And Pluto is a couple miles out of town… ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/22 "2007-07-26T03:47:01Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] They have something along the sidewalk on the Mall side of the Air & Space Museum in DC, running towards the Castle (the old Smithsonian). I think that the sun is about grapefruit sized, and most of the planets are like BBs. So while the actual planet size might be a bit off so you can see them, the distances _are_ relative, and it’s an interesting perspective. [/QUOTE] That would be the [Voyage scale model of the solar system.](http://www.jeffreybennett.com/solar_systems/voyage.html) It was built on a 1-to-10-billion scale for both size and distance. The nearest star (Alpha Centauri) would be in California. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/23 "2007-07-26T03:54:36Z")
[QUOTE=KarlGauss] [Here you go](http://www.daykeeperjournal.com/aarch06/0608aug/feature3.shtml). Not what the OP was after, but a terrific model nonetheless. [/QUOTE] [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e6xkrj8eKI) is a rather fascinating video that scrolls from Mercury all the way to VV Cephei, to give you an idea of the enormous scale of things. By the time VV Cephei rolls around you realize that the sun is practically microscopic beside it. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/24 "2007-07-26T04:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] The article doesn’t say whether they included the sun. If my calculations are correct, the sun at that scale would be almost 50 feet in diameter. [/QUOTE] On the other hand Mars’ smaller moon would be a little over 0.0063". ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/25 "2007-07-26T10:24:34Z")
Most of these models only have the Sun and the nine traditional planets, plus sometimes some of the larger moons. Anyone else think these models are incomplete unless they have Ceres, Eris, and Sedna and perhaps several other large TNOs? Of course, then they would have to decide how to handle the distances to those objects that have highly eliptical orbits. Do they go with current position or the semi-major axes? If the former, the models expand by a factor of about 2.5, with Eris being the furthest at 97 AU. If the latter, then they expand by a factor of around 40, with Sedna’s semi-major axis of 525 AU. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/26 "2007-07-26T10:42:59Z")
Being an alum of Terminus Est’s school, I first thought of the Planet Walk as well. It’s a nice compromise between actually seeing the planets (which you can, though they’re very small), and being able to actually walk the solar system (which you can’t easily do with that one in Maine mentioned above.) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/27 "2007-07-26T11:42:28Z")
How would this change if the model also showed the planets’ orbits correctly, especially regarding the plane of the ecliptic? Would the ‘vertical’ offset be noticeable at the scale we’re discussing? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/28 "2007-07-26T12:06:05Z")
Here in Boston there’s a scale model of the solar system, with planets made of of brass! (And big enough to see and touch). The Sun is at the Hayden Planetarium in Science Park (Yes, New Yorkers, Boston has a Hayden, too), with models in the planetarium to show the size. But there are also models placed in the Boston area at their appropriately scaled distances. Mercury and Venus are in the museum itself, Earth is in a nearby hotel, Mars in the Cambridgeside Galleria mall, Saturn is in the Cambridge Public Library, Neptune is way out near me in the Saugus Square One Mall. Here’s a page, with a picture of Saturn: [http://www.mos.org/sln/wtu/css/places.html](http://www.mos.org/sln/wtu/css/places.html) [http://www.mos.org/sln/wtu/css.html](http://www.mos.org/sln/wtu/css.html) ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/29 "2007-07-26T14:01:00Z")
The University of Colorado at Boulder has an outdoor version that takes about 10 minutes to walk. The sun is the size of a grapefruit, while the earth is the size of a head of a pin. Here’s a link: [http://www.jeffreybennett.com/solar\_systems/colorado.html](http://www.jeffreybennett.com/solar_systems/colorado.html) ---
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/30 "2007-07-26T15:46:29Z")
I recommend the one in Peoria, but it has a few bugs. They had to move the sun a while back and at least Jupiter and Uranus are off a bit. The inner planets are OK though. Pluto is in Good’s Furniture in Kewanee which is worth a visit by itself. It takes about a day to see all nine planets. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/31 "2007-07-26T16:30:07Z")
There’s a very nice one at 1:1 scale which I can recommend. Perhaps you’ve visited it? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/32 "2007-07-26T17:24:30Z")
[QUOTE=JohnGalt] The University of Colorado at Boulder has an outdoor version that takes about 10 minutes to walk. The sun is the size of a grapefruit, while the earth is the size of a head of a pin. Here’s a link: [http://www.jeffreybennett.com/solar\_systems/colorado.html](http://www.jeffreybennett.com/solar_systems/colorado.html) [/QUOTE] Thank you! I knew there was another one I had seen when I was visiting grad schools, but I couldn’t remember where it was. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/33 "2007-07-26T17:32:50Z")
[QUOTE=psychonaut] Why not try a logarithmic scale model? You might need separate scales for the sizes of the celestial bodies and the distances between them, though. [/QUOTE] A brilliant notion that would totally confuse the hell out of everyone. My hat is off to you, sir. [QUOTE=Chronos] There’s a very nice one at 1:1 scale which I can recommend. Perhaps you’ve visited it? [/QUOTE] Only the small blue-green planet about 150 million kilometers from the central body. The rest of it is kind of a wasteland, with few golf courses and fewer bars, and practically no jeweled beaches suitable for lounging to speak of. I understand Triton is quite nice, but cold, and Io is very smelly. Plus, the colors of Saturn’s rings just aren’t as vibrant as they are in the brochure. All in all, a rather disappointing system to visit, but it’s mostly harmless. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/34 "2007-07-27T01:56:01Z")
As described by Prof. Jay M. Pasachoff of Williams College-Hopkins Observatory in Williamstown, Mass. in his book _Astronomy; From the Earth to the Universe_ (Sauders College Publishing 1983), and paraphrased a bit here: Imagine the Solar System is scaled down and placed on a map of the United States. The Sun is a hot ball of gas taking up all of Rockefeller Center, a kilometer wide, in the heart of Manhattan in New York City. Mercury, then, is a sphere four meters wide in mid-Long Island. Venus is a ball ten meters around, about one and a half times farther away. The Earth is only slightly bigger, located near Trenton, N.J., while Mars is half that size, five meters wide, located past Philadelphia, Pa. Jupiter, the next planet out from the Sun, is a hundred meters across (about the size of a baseball stadium), past Pittsburgh on the Ohio border. Saturn, with its rings, is a little larger than Jupiter, and is beyond Cincinnati, toward the Indiana state line. Uranus and Neptune are each about thirty meters across, about the size of a baseball infield, and are near Topeka, Kans. and Santa Fe, N.M., respectively. Pluto, about the size of Mercury, is near Los Angeles, forty times the distance of the Earth from the Sun. And occasionally, a comet sweeps in from Alaska… ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/35 "2007-07-27T02:14:07Z")
Sweden has put together what is apparently the [world’s biggest](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_Solar_System) scale model solar system, installed at appropriate points throughout the country. Conveniently, Stockholm has a spherical [arena](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_Globe_Arena) 360’ across, which serves nicely as a sun. Earth is a two-foot globe in a museum about five miles away. Pluto is a 6" sphere on a pedestal in a town 180 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/36 "2007-07-27T02:24:46Z")
> [@](#): > > if Jupiter were the size of the period at the end of this sentence, neptune would be both 35 feet away and microscopic. A bit of exaggeration. Jupiter’s radius (71,492 km) is only about three times the size of Neptune’s (24,764 km). A dot on that scale would be very small but hardly microscopic. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/37 "2007-07-27T02:49:15Z")
[QUOTE=dtilque] Most of these models only have the Sun and the nine traditional planets, plus sometimes some of the larger moons. Anyone else think these models are incomplete unless they have Ceres, Eris, and Sedna and perhaps several other large TNOs? [/QUOTE] Not to mention the asteroids. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/38 "2007-07-27T06:46:23Z")
I used to work across the street from the American Geophysical Union headquarters in Washington DC, which has a SS scale model set into the [sidewalk](http://dc.metblogs.com/archives/2006/12/kicking_pluto_o.phtml) at Florida Avenue and 20th Street NW. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2007, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154/39 "2007-07-27T07:17:53Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] Not to mention the asteroids. [/QUOTE] Well, Ceres is still considered an asteroid, despite its recent “promotion” to dwarf planet[sup]1[/sup]. But they probably should have several others just to show that it’s not alone in the asteroid belt. Also they could have a Centaur[sup]2[/sup] or two to show that there are a few other things out there besides planets. [sup]1[/sup] A singularly useless category, in my estimation, but this isn’t the forum to debate that. [sup]2[/sup] Objects whose orbits lie completely within those of the outer planets. They originate in the Kuiper Belt, but have been perturbed into orbits further in. Eventually some will become short period comets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-there-exist-any-reasonably-observable-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/413154.md?page=1)