How big is our solar
system?
We have all seen a
diagram of the Sun and planets in a book. Or you may have seen a
revolving model called an orrery, pictured above (so named because
the first was built for the 4th Earl of Orrery in 1715). But few of
us can really visualize the true emptiness of space: just how small
the planets really are, and just how vast the distances are between
them.
The
model
In our 1:
6,336,000,000 scale model:
1 inch represents
100,000 miles
1 foot represents 1,200,000 miles
1 yard represents 3,600,000 miles
1 mile represents 6,336,000,000 miles
928 miles represents 5,880,000,000,000 miles = 1
light-year.
The cache
At each waypoint,
you will find an object representing the relative size of the
planet, and the coordinates for the next waypoint. The posted
coordinates bring you to the Sun, the start of our journey. The
final is located at Neptune. Pluto is a thousand yards
away.
Real distance
In model
(represented
by)
WP 1 The Sun
diameter
of Sun
800,000 miles
8.0 inches
(soccer
ball)
WP 2 Mercury
diameter
of Mercury
3,000 miles
0.03 inches
(pinhead)
distance: Sun to Mercury
36,000,000 miles
10 yards
WP 3 Venus
diameter
of Venus
7,500 miles
0.08
inches
(peppercorn)
distance: Mercury to Venus 31,000,000 miles
9 yards
WP 4 Earth
diameter
of Earth
8,000 miles
0.08 inches
(peppercorn)
distance: Venus to Earth
26,000,000 miles
7
yards
distance from Earth to Moon
240,000 miles
2.40
inches
diameter of Moon
2,000
miles
0.02
inches
(pinhead)
WP 5 Mars
diameter
of Mars
4,000 miles
0.04
inches
(pinhead)
distance: Earth to Mars
49,000,000
miles
14 yards
WP 6 Jupiter
diameter
of Jupiter
90,000
miles
0.90 inches
(chestnut)
distance: Mars to Jupiter
342,000,000 miles
95
yards
WP 7 Saturn
diameter
of Saturn
75,000
miles 0.75
inches
(acorn)
distance: Saturn to Uranus
896,000,000 miles
249 yards
You
are now at the half-way point in the journey from the Sun to Pluto.
Given how the solar system is usually depicted in illustrations,
most people think the halfway point is Jupiter or Saturn, and are
surprised to learn it is Uranus.
WP 8 Uranus
diameter
of Uranus
32,000 miles
0.30 inches
(peanut)
distance: Uranus to Neptune 1,011,000,000 miles
281 yards
WP 9 Neptune (Final)
diameter
of Neptune
30,000 miles 0.30
inches
(peanut)
distance: Neptune to Pluto
872,000,000 miles
242 yards
Why isn't Pluto the final?
diameter
of Pluto
1,400 miles
0.01 inches
(pinhead)
total of distances
3,666,000,000 miles
1,019 yards
Pluto is no longer considered a true planet by
astronomers, but has been demoted to the status of a dwarf planet;
one of 44 similar objects discovered to date in our Solar System.
Call me sentimental, but I have kept it in our model for old times
sake, but as a separate cache. To get the coordinates for Pluto, be
sure to gather the information at each stage. For more on why Pluto
is no longer a planet, Read this
article.
The solar system does not end with Pluto but, in our
model, continues for over 1,000 miles. The Kuiper Belt, and beyond
that the Oort Cloud (containing dust, and many small icy bodies)
are vast, extremely distant regions that extend past the orbit of
Neptune to the outer edges of our Sun's gravitational
influence.
The
nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is 4,000 miles away (Bedford, NH to
Rome, Italy in our model).
For
more information on the planets see this NASA
site.
This model is based on a booklet by Guy Ottwell, "The
Thousand-Yard Model; or, The Earth as a Peppercorn." Published by
The Universal Workshop.