On the map below you can see our Solar System Series follows a rough line north to south along the Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales and covers 40 miles using 1 mile to 1 astronomical unit, which itself equals 93 million miles. When finding the caches you will also notice we have chosen cache sizes relative to the size of the planets etc.
The picture below shows the relative size and positions of the objects in our series, which starts with Sol near Dylife then travels in a southerly direction nearly 40 miles to end with Pluto near Llanwrda just south-west of Llandovery.
There are 15 caches in all, as we have included the first four Asteroids to be discovered and a famous Comet. We have also included Pluto, as most people have grown up learning that Pluto was a planet, though now demoted to dwarf planet status.
Discovered in 1930, Pluto was long considered our Solar systems 9th planet, but further discoveries in the outer regions and within the Kuiper belt zone, caused this icy body to be reclassified, along with Asteroid Ceres, into the Dwarf Planet section of our Sun’s family.
When deciding where to place our Solar System series we thought of using the Cambrian Mountain Ridge as a guideline to give Geocachers a scenic route and to give suitable cache sites with interest. We chose to start the series with Sol at it's northern end near the Star Inn because of the connection... Sol being our nearest 'star'.
Here, at the "end" of our Solar System, Pluto is 39.5 (GZ 39.4) miles away from Sol. From here you can take in the vista overlooking the Tywi Valley and 10 miles away to the south-east you can see the Black Mountain ridges of Bannau Sir Gaer (677m) above Llyn y Fan Fach, Picws Du (749m) and Fan Brycheiniog (802m) above Llyn y Fan Fawr.
If you are interested in Astronomy here in the Dark Skies of the Cambrian Mountains then check out our Mid Wales Astronomy Fb page ... www.facebook.com/midwalesastronomy and you are welcome to join us at Newtown Astronomy Society who have monthly meetings from September to June... www.facebook.com/groups/1412459148966189
We hope you enjoy our Welsh Solar System series...D&W