The main Asteroid Belt (shown in white) is located
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
This is the 6th cache in a series that creates the model of the
Solar System with objects located (where possible) in different
California Counties, USGS Quadrangle sections, and DeLorme pages
that are primarily north of Concord. For this cache:
| County: |
Contra Costa |
| USGS Quadrangle: |
Clayton |
| Northern California DeLorme: |
Page 105 |
| California DeLorme: |
Page 72 |
Parking for this cache is available within 350 feet.
The Sun for the Vgr2 Solar System Model is located near the
center of Concord in a triangle bounded by I-680, CA-4, and CA-242
and is named
Vgr2 - Sun. Objects are placed at a distance from
Vgr2 - Sun relative to their average orbital distance (+/- 5%).
The scale used is 2 miles for every Astronomical Unit. An
Astronomical Unit is the average distance between the Sun and the
Earth. With this scale, Neptune, the farthest planet, is in the
range of 59.5 to 60.9 miles distant. Eris, the farthest dwarf
planet, is in the range of 128.6 to 142.1 miles distant. Sorry
folks, Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet and is in the
range of 75.0 to 82.9 miles distant.
The cache log sheet contains a number associated with the
coordinate code letter "k". You should record this number. In
case the log sheet is destroyed, the same value is written on the
inside lid of the container and the upper inside edge of the
container. If you find all 15 object caches (the sun, the 8
planets, the 5 dwarf planets, and the asteroid belt), this number
will help you find the bonus
Voyager 2 (August 2009) cache.
The container itself is a cylinder about 3 inches in diameter
and about 7 inches log. At placement, it contained a log sheet in a
protective baggy, a pen to sign the log sheet, and a $1.00 coin for
the FTF prize.
Please consider visiting the other caches in the Vgr2 Solar
System Model.
This
link will take you to a list of the Vgr2 caches. You may also
pick from the table below.
If you do your homework, it is possible to do this entire series
in three (long) days. The total round trip from the
Vgr2 - Sun cache to the
Voyager 2 (August 2009) cache is some where between 1,100 -
1,300 miles, depending how often you double back to for missed
exists, find other caches, etc.
For more information on the Asteroid Belt, visit its
Wikipedia
description.
For more information on the Solar System, visit its
Wikipedia
description.
The idea was inspired by TeamJiffy's great series I finished at
the end of 2008;
Northern CA Solar System Model: Comet Halley