# No scale model of the Solar System? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773 "2008-07-17T01:09:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/1 "2008-07-17T01:09:17Z")
Because The Sun’s too big, right? I _think_ I picked this up years ago at The Exploratorium in San Francisco. Excellent place to take the kiddies, BTW. So, if Pluto were the size of a pea, The Sun would be the size of a ? By what measure? I dunno, take your pick. Peace, mangeorge BTW; I understand that the distances are also way too large. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/2 "2008-07-17T01:15:48Z")
About 3.6 meters, assuming a pea is 6 mm. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/3 "2008-07-17T01:16:54Z")
How about this? [Scale Model of the Solar System, Peoria, Illinois](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11386) ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/4 "2008-07-17T01:24:52Z")
[QUOTE=beowulff] How about this? [http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11386](http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11386) [/QUOTE] “When we visited, we learned too late that the barbershop housing Venus was closed Sundays and Mondays.” I need to write a song around that. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/5 "2008-07-17T01:28:50Z")
Eugene Oregon had one I think. I found Earth and Mars at Alton Baker Park but that was all I ever saw of it. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/6 "2008-07-17T01:30:47Z")
[QUOTE=WarmNPrickly] Eugene Oregon had one I think. I found Earth and Mars at Alton Baker Park but that was all I ever saw of it. [/QUOTE] Eugene still has it. You can see it by following along the river trail away from downtownish (near Skinner’s Butte, if memory serves) towards the Valley River Center. It gives a good perspective, for sure! (The inner system is relatively close, but then everything gets spread way the heck apart!) ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/7 "2008-07-17T01:31:43Z")
Ah! So it’s distance, rather that size, that keeps the model from fitting in my basement. I haven’t seen one of those models as in the link, but I have seen The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle. 🆒[In person](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Collinsville_watertower.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/8 "2008-07-17T01:33:08Z")
[Here’s a list of solar system scale models](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_system_model). ---
**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 17, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/9 "2008-07-17T01:38:41Z")
There’s a Solar System model right here in Boston. They used to have Neptune at the mall near my house, but it got taken away. God knows where Neptune is now. They’ve also got one laid out along the lampposts on the Mall in Washington, D.C. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/10 "2008-07-17T01:43:32Z")
One that doesn’t seem to be listed in the previous link is the model that starts at the [Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum](http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/smithsonian_system_011010.html) on the National Mall in Washington DC. ---
**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 17, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/11 "2008-07-17T02:13:16Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] One that doesn’t seem to be listed in the previous link is the model that starts at the [Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum](http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/smithsonian_system_011010.html) on the National Mall in Washington DC. [/QUOTE] Here’s the current link for that: [Voyage Scale Model of the Solar System](http://voyagesolarsystem.org/program/program_default.html) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/12 "2008-07-17T07:52:51Z")
Shouldn’t this whole task be a lot easier now that Pluto has been demoted? ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/13 "2008-07-17T08:19:12Z")
The biggest one is in Stockholm. > **[Sweden Solar System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_Solar_System)** > > The Sweden Solar System is the world's largest permanent scale model of the Solar System. The Sun is represented by the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, the second-largest hemispherical building in the world. The inner planets can also be found in Stockholm but the outer planets are situated northward in other cities along the Baltic Sea. The system was started by Nils Brenning, professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and Gösta Gahm, professor at the Stockholm University. The The b... The sun is the 110 m diameter Globen arena and Pluto is 12 cm and 300 kilometres away. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/14 "2008-07-17T09:06:34Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] There’s a Solar System model right here in Boston. They used to have Neptune at the mall near my house, but it got taken away. God knows where Neptune is now. [/QUOTE] Sigh. This is going to cause peturbations that are going to require all the other orbits to be recalculated. Dammit, now the whole thing’s out of whack! ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/15 "2008-07-17T09:14:13Z")
There’s also a scale model online [here](http://www.phrenopolis.com/perspective/solarsystem/index.html). Be warned, it requires a bit of scrolling… EDIT: Though it’s not to scale in relative size, only in distance. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/16 "2008-07-17T09:56:37Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Shouldn’t this whole task be a lot easier now that Pluto has been demoted? [/QUOTE] There’s no reason they have to exclude non-planets from the models. Including the dwarf planets (Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Makemake) and other objects (Halley’s Comet, other large asteroids and TNOs, centaurs, and the larger moons) should make for a richer model. I think we should make a model covering the entire USA. The Sun would have to be in New York, of course, since it’s already the center of the universe. A scale of about 100 Km to 1 AU would be about right. The main problem would be finding an object in New York the right size (about 932 meters in diameter – Donald Trump’s ego is probably too large) to represent the Sun. Other objects could be in various cities. For example Mercury - White Plains NY Venus - Princeton NJ Earth - New Haven Mars - Philadelphia Vesta - Harrisburg or Providence Ceres - Baltimore Pallas - Boston Hygiea (4th largest asteroid) - Washington Jupiter - Pittsburgh Saturn - Columbia SC, Cincinnati, Lexington KY, or Asheville NC Chiron - Chicago, St Louis, Minneapolis, or numerous other cities Uranus - Baton Rouge or Topeka Neptune - Great Falls MT Pluto - Flagstaff Eris - Los Angeles Sedna - Honolulu Note that I didn’t restrict the locations to cities at exactly the semi-major axis, but any city between the perihelion and aphelion was allowed. For instance, Philly is about at Mars’s perihelion. Other TNOs could probably be fit in at other cities on the west coast. Halley’s Comet could go just about anywhere except for the area around New York. We could auction it off. So anyone up for doing this? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/17 "2008-07-17T12:57:31Z")
[QUOTE=dtilque] So anyone up for doing this? [/QUOTE] I’ve always thought these scale models of the solar system are a bit crap because they don’t actually _move_! I want my 12cm Pluto to be _orbiting_ 300km away, damn it! It might take a bit of logistical planning, and people might have to duck every so often, but how cool would it be? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/18 "2008-07-17T17:39:53Z")
The model on the mall in DC is fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/19 "2008-07-17T18:05:30Z")
There used to be one painted on the sidewalk in Berkeley–it started next to an elementary school and ended near the UC campus. I walked to class along that street for a long time and every once in a while I would discover a new planet! It was old and faded then, you see, and you couldn’t see all the planets any more (I never did find Pluto), and it was really easy to walk over the planets without seeing them, especially Neptune which was right under a bunch of olive trees or something. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773/20 "2008-07-17T18:10:02Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] They’ve also got one laid out along the lampposts on the Mall in Washington, D.C. [/QUOTE] Those are not on lampposts, but are mounted in their own little “obelisks” that sort of resemble parking meters from the _Jetsons_. (To my eye anyway.) There’s a picture of one of them [here](http://www.arcscience.com/otherProducts/images/gallery/3d-over.jpg). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-scale-model-of-the-solar-system/456773.md?page=2)