I came across this while reading the July 1993 edition of Sky & Telescope and thought it was interesting. I wonder if this could be done here in one of our cities.....
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by http://www.bradley.edu/las/phy/solar_system.html
The Lakeview Museum Community Solar System is the world's largest, as listed in the Guiness Book of Records. It is a unique model of our Sun and its nine (eight) planets, in which both size and distance are represented on the same scale (42 ft. = 1 million miles/1 m = 1.4x105 km). The planets are centered around the sun, depicted on the Lakeview Planetarium dome, offering an earthbound concept of the vastness of space.
While models of the solar system may be common, virtually all of these show only relative sizes or relative distances to the same scale if any attempt is made at all to be accurate. (Frequently such models only show the relative order of the planets from the sun). In any case, the impression is created that our solar system is much smaller and the planets much closer than they actually are, and a correct understanding of the vastness of space is totally lost.
Since the space between the planets is enormous relative to the sizes of the planets, few models exist in the world which show the true scale of our solar system, since they have to be miles across.
Peoria's model starts at Lakeview Museum of the Arts and Sciences. (1125 West Lake Avenue, Peoria Il 61614 (309) 686-7000) The Sun is the planetarium dome, and is also painted on the outside of the building. Descriptive graphics about the Sun and the model are located in the planetarium lobby. At each planet location visitors find a custom moldePlexiglas sphere, painted by local spacescape artist Walter Kinsman. Planets approximate the detail seen in the best space probe astronomical photographs. The 45 inch sphere of Jupiter is surrounded by a 76 inch ring system of clear Plexiglas, and Saturn's 3 foot sphere is surrounded by a 90 inch ring plane, painted in full detail. Uranus and Neptune also have their rings represented. The full scale utilized is as follows:
BODY : SCALE DISTANCE FROM LAKEVIEW (SCALE SIZE DIAMETER)
The Sun: N/A 11 m (36 feet)
Mercury: 0.4 km (0.25 miles) 3.8 cm (1.5 inches)
Venus: 0.8 km (0.5 miles) 9.6 cm (3.8 inches)
Earth: 1.2 km (0.75 miles) 10 cm (4 inches)
Mars: 1.9 km (1.2 miles) 5.6 cm (2.2 inches)
Jupiter: 6.4 km (4 miles) 1.1 m (45 inches) rings 1.9 m (76 inches)
Saturn: 13 km (8 miles) 0.97 m (38 inches) rings 2.3 m (90 inches)
Uranus: 24 km (15 miles) 0.41 m (16 inches) rings 0.81 m (32 inches)
Neptune: 37 km (23 miles) 0.38 m (15 inches) rings 0.76 m (30 inches)
Pluto (deceased): 64 km (40 miles) 2.5 cm (1 inch)
|
Cheers
Chris