sigma7: Sims (The Presence)
sigma7 ([personal profile] sigma7) wrote2008-09-30 01:19 pm
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Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do

You know, I completely forgot about this until [livejournal.com profile] dancinastrophys reminded me today....

En route to Caribou last year, I noticed planets along the highway on the way up. They'd been painted and positioned, to scale, along a length of US Highway 1. It's the Maine Solar System Model, the world's largest to-scale 3d solar system model in the world¹ -- 1:93,000,000 scale. A few moons (Luna, Io, Callisto and Charon among others) also make the cut. Pluto's since been retired, but it did get to hang out at the adults' table for a while.

The sun is 50 feet across, Earth 5.5 inches, Jupiter 61.4 inches -- Earth is one mile away from the sun, Pluto (pre-demotion, of course) was one inch across and 40 miles away from Sol.

¹Redundant much? Feh. But as we all know, Earth is the largest planet in the world.

[personal profile] beeform 2008-09-30 07:29 pm (UTC)(link)
That is so darned cool! :-)

[personal profile] beeform 2008-09-30 07:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Pop goes the world?

*bopping head*

[identity profile] ravenword.livejournal.com 2008-09-30 07:39 pm (UTC)(link)
That's awesome! My home town had a very small scale version of the solar system in a long stretch along one road. And Boston has one that starts at the Museum of Science and ends about 10 miles out.