Solar System model

Jupiter at South Station, part of Museum of Science, Boston scale model

Solar System models, especially mechanical models, called orreries, that illustrate the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar System have been built for centuries. While they often showed relative sizes, these models were usually not built to scale. The enormous ratio of interplanetary distances to planetary diameters makes constructing a scale model of the Solar System a challenging task. As one example of the difficulty, the distance between the Earth and the Sun is almost 12,000 times the diameter of the Earth.

If the smaller planets are to be easily visible to the naked eye, large outdoor spaces are generally necessary, as is some means for highlighting objects that might otherwise not be noticed from a distance. The objects in such models do not move. Traditional orreries often did move and some used clockworks to make the relative speeds of objects accurate. These can be thought of as being correctly scaled in time instead of distance.

Scale models in various locations

Several towns and institutions have built outdoor scale models of the Solar System. Here is a table comparing these models.

Scale models of the Solar System: Permanent installations

Name	Location	Scale	Sun dia.	Earth dia.	Sun–Earth	Sun–Pluto	Description
Actual statistics		1:1	1.392 Gm	12.76 Mm	149.6 Gm	5.914 Tm
Sweden Solar System	Sweden	1:20,000,000	71 m	65 cm	7,600 m	300 km	permanent; country-wide (begun 1998)
Solar System Drive	Coonabarabran, New South Wales	1:38,000,000	37 m	34 cm	4,100 m	205 km	permanent; drivable (est. 1997)
Maine Solar System Model	University of Maine at Presque Isle, Maine	1:93,000,000	15 m	13.7 cm	1,600 m	64 km	permanent; drivable (est.2003)
Scale Model of the Solar System	Peoria, Illinois	1:125,000,000	11 m	10.0 cm	1,200 m	47 km	permanent; drivable (est. 1992?)
Planet Lofoten	Lofoten	1:200,000,000	7 m	?	?	30 km	under construction
Light Speed Planet Walk	Anchorage, Alaska	1:350,000,000	?	?	?	16.6 km	permanent; drivable (est. 2005)
Moab's Scale Model of the Solar System	Moab, Utah	1:400,000,000	142 inch	?	?	9.5 miles	permanent; Walk & Drive (est. 2007)
Community Solar System Trail	Boston, Massachusetts	1:400,000,000	3.5 m	3.2 cm	380 m	15.3 km	permanent; drivable
The Solar System to Scale	Estremoz	1:414,000,000	3.4 m	3.1 cm	361 m	14.3 km	permanent; drivable; bikeable
Somerset Space Walk	Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, Somerset	1:530,000,000	2.5 m	? cm	? m	11 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 1997)
York’s solar system model	York, England	1:575,872,239	2.4 m	2.2 cm	260 m	10.3 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 1999)
Nine Views	Zagreb	1:680,000,000	2.0 m	1.9 cm	225 m	8.7 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 2004)
Walk the Solar System	Fort St. John, British Columbia	1:682,353,000	2.0 m	1.9 cm	219 m	8.6 km	under construction
McCarthy Observatory	New Milford, Connecticut	1:761,155,000	1.8 m	1.7 cm	195 m	7.1 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 2009)
Model of the Solar System	Helsinki	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.2 cm	149.6 m	6.1 km	permanent; bikeable
Planetenmodell Hagen	Hagen	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.3 cm	150 m	5.9 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 1971)
Planetenweg Schwarzbach	Kriftel	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.3 cm	150 m	5.9 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 1998)
Uetliberg Planetenweg	Zurich	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.3 cm	150 m	5.9 km	permanent; bikeable
Planetenwanderweg	Ehrenfriedersdorf, Drebach and Heidelbachtal	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.3 cm	150 m	5.9 km	permanent; bikeable
Planetary Trail	Hradec Králové	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.3 cm	150 m	5.9 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 2005)
Melbourne Solar System	Melbourne	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.3 cm	150 m	5.9 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 2008)
Scale Model Solar System	Eugene, Oregon	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.2 cm	150 m	5.9 km	permanent; bikeable (est. 1997)
Planet Walk	Munich	1:1,290,000,000	1.1 m	1.0 cm	116 m	4.6 km	permanent; walkable (est. 1995)
Strolling at the speed of light	La Malbaie, Quebec	1:1,500,000,000	0.9 m	0.8 cm	100 m	3 km (Neptune)	permanent; walkable (est. 2009) (temp?)
Rymdpromenaden ("Spacewalk")	Gothenburg	1:2,000,000,000	0.7 m	0.6 cm	75 m	3 km	permanent; walkable (est. 1978)
Elmhurst Scale Model of the Solar System	Elmhurst, Illinois	1:3,044,620,000	18 in	0.1647 in	161.2 ft	6,330 ft	permanent; walk & drive (est. 2013)
Wooster Planet Walk	Wooster, Ohio	1:5,000,000,000	0.3 m	0.3 cm	30 m	1.2 km	permanent; walkable (est. 2014)
Voyage	National Mall, Washington, D.C. (2001) Power & Light District to Union Station, Kansas City, Missouri (2008) Space Center Houston, Texas (2008) Corpus Christi, Texas (2009) State Capitol Grounds, Des Moines, Iowa (2009) Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland (2010)	1:10,000,000,000	0.1 m	0.1 cm	15 m	0.6 km
New Jersey State Botanical Garden	Ringwood, New Jersey	1:10,000,000,000	8.7 in	0.079 in	26 yd	1014 yd	walkable
Solar System Walking Tour	Gainesville, Georgia	1:2,000,000,000	0.7 m	0.6 cm	75 m	2.9 km	permanent; walkable (est. 2000)
Montshire Museum of Science	Norwich, Vermont	1:2,200,000,000	0.6 m	0.6 cm	68 m	2.7 km	permanent; walkable
Ride to Pluto: Boise's Solar System	Boise Greenbelt, Boise, Idaho	1:2,200,000,000	0.5m	n/a		2.4 km	permanent; walkable & bikeable;
The Solar walk	Longview, Washington	1:??	0.6 m	0.6 cm	? m	2.7 km	permanent; walkable (est. 2001)
Milky Way path	Westerbork	1:3,700,000,000	?	?	?	2.5 km	permanent; walkable
Solar Walk	Gainesville, Florida	1:4,000,000,000	0.3 m	0.3 cm	37.4 m	1.5 km	permanent; walkable (est. 2002)
Otford Solar System Model	Otford, England	1:4,595,700,000	0.3 m	0.3 cm	32 m	0.9 km	permanent; walkable
The Sagan Planet Walk	Ithaca, New York	1:5,000,000,000	0.3 m	0.3 cm	30 m	1.2 km	permanent; walkable (est. 1997)
The Solar Walk	Cleveland, Ohio	1:5,280,000,000	0.3 m	0.2 cm	28.4 m	1.1 km	permanent; walkable
Delmar Loop Planet Walk	University City, Missouri	1:5,000,000,000	0.3 m	0.2 cm	30 m	0.87 km (Neptune)	permanent; walkable (est. 2009)
Colorado Scale Model Solar System	Fiske Planetarium, Boulder, Colorado	1:10,000,000,000	0.1 m	0.1 cm	15 m	0.6 km	permanent; walkable (est. 1987)
Anstruther Model Solar System	Anstruther, Scotland	1:10,000,000,000	0.1 m	0.1 cm	15 m	0.6 km	permanent; walkable (est. 2014)
Le Chemin Solaire	La Couyère, Brittany	1:10,000,000,000	1 m	0.1 cm	-	0.45 km	permanent; walkable (est. 2011)
Sunspot Solar System Model	Sunspot, New Mexico	1:250,000,000	18 ft 3 in	2 in	60.3 in	14.68 mi	permanent, drivable

Other Models of the Solar System: temporary, virtual, or dual-scale

Name	Location	Scale	Sun dia.	Earth dia.	Sun-Earth	Sun-Pluto	Description
Scottish Solar System Project	Scotland	1:8,200,000	170 m	156 cm	18,300 m	551 km (Neptune)	(virtual)
Spaced Out Project	England	1:15,000,000	-	-	-	-	under construction; country-wide. Partially dual scale (No scale model of the sun.)
Sorghvliet	The Hague, Netherlands	1:696,000,000	2.0 m	1.8 cm	215 m	6.5 km (Neptune)	(temporary)
Sol Chicago	Illinois, Chicago	1:73,660,000	19 m	17.3 cm	2,050 m	61 km (Neptune)	(temporary) proposed
Le Chemin des planètes	Saint-Luc, Switzerland	1:1,000,000,000	1.4 m	1.3 cm	150 m	5.9 km	uses two different scales for distance and size
The Madison Planet Stroll	Madison, Wisconsin	1:4,000,000,000	0.3 m	0.3 cm	37 m	1.5 km	(virtual)
The Thousand-Yard Model	(virtual)	1:6,336,000,000	0.2 m	0.2 cm	25 m	1 km	(virtual)
(dismantled)	Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!, Quebec	1:10,000,000,000	0.1 m	0.1 cm	15 m	0.6 km	(dismantled) (est. 1985)
Lafayette Walk	Detroit, Michigan	1:6,336,000,000	23 cm	0.2 cm	25 m	983 m	A Walking Demonstration of (un)imaginable distances. "It's nowhere near Graham's Number."
Planets on the Path	Chicago, Illinois	1:2,195,000,000			1500 ft	11.4 m	(2015, temporary)
The Solar System, to scale, for a school yard	PDF for printing	1:11,945,400,000	11.6 cm	0.1 cm	12.5 m	492 m	PDFs, A4 and 8½″×11″, to be printed, affixed to cards which are affixed to sticks; then to be held by children standing in a school yard. Includes major moons and asteroids.

Several sets of geocaching caches have been laid out as solar system models.

A model based on a classroom globe

Most classroom globes are 41 cm (16 inches) in diameter. If the Earth were reduced to this size, the Moon would be a 10 cm (4 in) baseball floating 12 metres (40 feet) away. The Sun would be a beach ball 14 stories tall (somewhat smaller than the Spaceship Earth ride at Epcot) floating 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away. While a complete model to this scale has never been built, a Solar System built centered in Washington DC, London, or Sydney, to that scale (approximately 1:31 000 000) would look like this:

If the scale of the above model is increased to 1:310 000 000, i.e. all distances and sizes reduced by a factor of 10, then the Earth and Venus can be modeled by ping pong balls, the Moon and smaller planets by various size marbles or lumps of modeling clay, the gas giants by balloons or larger playing balls, and a circle the diameter of the Sun can be drawn on the floor of most classrooms. The scale distance to α Centauri would be 1/3 of the way to the Moon.

Some planetaria and related museums often use this type of scale model of the Solar System, with a planetarium dome representing the Sun. Examples of this can be seen in planetaria like the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, the Clark Planetarium, the Griffith Observatory, the Louisiana Arts and Sciences Museum, the Adventure Science Center, etc.

See also

• Numerical model of the Solar System
• Orrery

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solar System models.

• A list of websites related to Solar System models
• Otford Solar System model
• An online scale model (does not work in some browsers)
• An online 3D model
• An article on the Solar System in Maine
• An article about a temporary exhibit in Melbourne, Australia
• A map with Solar System models in Germany
• A tool to calculate the diameters and distances needed for an accurate scale model
• To Scale: The Solar System - video of model built in desert with Earth as the size of a marble.

The Solar System The Sun Mercury Venus Earth Mars Ceres Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris Planets Terrestrial planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars Giant planets Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Dwarf planets Ceres Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris Rings Jovian Saturnian (Rhean) Charikloan Chironean Uranian Neptunian Moons 1 Terrestrial (Moon) Other near-Earth objects 2 Martian Phobos Deimos 67 Jovian Ganymede Callisto Io Europa all 62 Saturnian Titan Rhea Iapetus Dione Tethys all 27 Uranian Titania Oberon Umbriel Ariel Miranda all 14 Neptunian Triton Proteus Nereid all 5 Plutonian Charon Nix Hydra Kerberos Styx 2 Haumean Hiʻiaka Namaka 1 Eridian (Dysnomia) Lists Solar System objects By size By discovery date Minor planets Gravitationally rounded objects Possible dwarf planets Natural satellites Comets Small Solar System bodies Meteoroids Minor planets Comets Damocloids Mercury-crossers Venus-crossers Venus trojans Near-Earth objects Earth-crossers Earth trojans Mars-crossers Mars trojans Asteroid belt Asteroids first discovered: Ceres Pallas Juno Vesta Notable asteroids Kirkwood gap Main-belt comets Jupiter trojans Jupiter-crossers Centaurs Saturn-crossers Uranus trojans Uranus-crossers Neptune trojans Cis-Neptunian objects Trans-Neptunian objects Neptune-crossers Plutoids Kuiper belt Plutinos Cubewanos Scattered disc Detached objects Sednoids Oort cloud Hypothetical objects Vulcan Vulcanoids Phaeton Planet V Theia Fifth giant Planets beyond Neptune Tyche Nemesis Planet Nine Portals Solar System Astronomy Earth sciences Mars Jupiter Uranus Cosmology Solar System → Local Interstellar Cloud → Local Bubble → Gould Belt → Orion Arm → Milky Way → Milky Way subgroup → Local Group → Virgo Supercluster → Laniakea Supercluster → Observable universe → Universe Each arrow (→) may be read as "within" or "part of".