Solar System models, especially mechanical models, calledorreries, that illustrate the relative positions and motions of theplanets andmoons in theSolar System have been built for centuries. While they often showed relative sizes, these models were usually not built to scale. The enormous ratio of interplanetary distances to planetary diameters makes constructing ascale model of the Solar System a challenging task. As one example of the difficulty, the distance between theEarth and theSun is almost 12,000 times the diameter of the Earth.
If the smaller planets are to be easily visible to the naked eye, large outdoor spaces are generally necessary, as is some means for highlighting objects that might otherwise not be noticed from a distance. TheBoston Museum of Science had placed bronze models of the planets in major public buildings, all on similar stands with interpretive labels.[1] For example, the model ofJupiter was located in the cavernousSouth Station waiting area. The properly-scaled, basket-ball-sized model is 1.3 miles (2.14 km) from the model Sun which is located at the museum, graphically illustrating the immense empty space in the Solar System.
The objects in such large models do not move. Traditional orreries often did move, and some used clockworks to display the relative speeds of objects accurately. These can be thought of as being correctly scaled intime, instead ofdistance.
Many towns and institutions have built outdoor scale models of the Solar System. Here is a table comparing these models with the actual system.
| Name | Location | Scale: 1 : … | Sun dia. | Earth dia. | Sun–Earth | Sun–Pluto | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actual Solar System | 1 | 1.392 Gm | 12.76 Mm | 149.6 Gm | 5.914 Tm | ||
| Sweden Solar System[2] |  Stockholm,Sweden | 20,000,000 | 71 m | 65 cm | 7,600 m | 300 km | permanent; country-wide (begun 1998) |
| Solar System Drive[3][4] |  Coonabarabran,Australia | 38,000,000 | 37 m | 34 cm | 4,100 m | 205 km | permanent; drivable; non-geodetic (est. 1997) |
| Space for MUCO project[5] |  | 40,000,000 | 34.8 m | 32 cm | 3,730 m | 147 km | permanent; country wide; non-scale sculptures (est. 2004) |
| Maine Solar System[6][7] |  Presque Isle, Maine | 93,000,000 | 15 m | 13.7 cm | 1,600 m | 64 km | permanent; drivable (est.2003) |
| Mont Megantic Dark Sky Reserve Great Solar System |  Parc national du Mont-Mégantic,Canada | 100,000,000 | 14 m | 12.4 cm | 1,450 m | 57 km | permanent; drivable (est.2018) |
| Otago Central Interplanetary Cycle Trail[8][9][10] |  Otago Central Rail Trail,New Zealand | 100,000,000 | 13.91 m | 12 cm | 1,496 m | 59.06 km | permanent; cyclable (est.2017) |
| Riverfront Museum Solar System[11][12][13][14] | Peoria, Illinois | 99,000,000 | 11 m | 10.0 cm | 1,200 m | 47 km | permanent; drivable (est. 1992?) |
| Vienna Solar System |  Vienna,Austria | 163,764,706 | 8.5 m | 7.78 cm | 913 m | 36 km | under construction since 2018. Physical + Augmented Reality |
| Planet Lofoten[15] |  Lofoten,Norway | 200,000,000 | 7 m | 6.4 cm | 750m | 30 km | under construction |
| Planet Trek Dane County | Madison, Wisconsin | 200,000,000 | 7 m | 6.6 cm | 777 m | 38.3 km | permanent; fully accessible by foot and bike paths (est. 2009) |
| Sunspot Solar System Model[16][17][18][19] | Sunspot, New Mexico | 250,000,000 | 5.6 m | 5.1 cm | 1.5 m | 23.6 km | permanent, drivable |
| Lethbridge Solar System Model | Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada | 254,000,000 | 5.5 m | 5 cm | 500 m | 14.7 km (Neptune) | permanent, drivable, walkable (est. 2022) |
| El Sistema Solar de la comarca de Ciudad Rodrigo |  Ciudad Rodrigo,Spain | 290,000,000 | 4.8 m | 4.4 cm | 1.2 m | 25 km | permanent, Walk & Drive |
| If the Earth were a Ping-Pong ball[citation needed] |  Westminster, London | 318,905,000 | 4.36 m | 4 cm | ? | ? | In construction; Walk & Drive (est. 2018) Centered around Deans Yard, Westminster |
| Moab Scale Model of the Solar System[20] | Moab,Utah | 385,937,677 | 3.6 m | 2.4 cm | ? | 15.3 km | permanent; Walk and Drive (est. 2007) |
| Light Speed Planet Walk[21] | Anchorage,Alaska | 390,000,000 | ? | ? | ? | 16.6 km | permanent; drivable (est. 2005) |
| Community Solar System Trail[22][23] | Boston,Massachusetts | 400,000,000 | 3.5 m | 3.2 cm | 380 m | 15.3 km | permanent; drivable (established in 1997, removed in 2015) |
| The Solar System to Scale |  Estremoz,Portugal | 414,000,000 | 3.4 m | 3.1 cm | 361 m | 14.3 km | permanent; drivable; bikeable |
| Solar System Stroll[24] |  Bratislava,Slovakia | 464,000,000 | 3 m | 2.7 cm | 322 m | 13 km | permanent; bikeable, drivable; under construction since 2024 |
| Somerset Space Walk | Bridgwater Canal,Somerset,England | 530,000,000 | 2.5 m | ? | ? | 11 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 1997) |
| York's Solar System model | York,England | 575,872,239 | 2.4 m | 2.2 cm | 260 m | 10.3 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 1999) |
| Traverse Bay Community Solar System[25] | Traverse City,Michigan | 592,763,356 | 0.9 m | ? | 209 m | 10.0 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 2004) |
| Michigan Solar System Model[26] | Coleman,Michigan | 608,000,000 | 2.3 m | 2.1 cm | 324 m | 9.8 km | permanent; bike trail Sun and Pls. Spheres (2017) |
| Solar System |  Opava,Czech Republic | 627,000,000 | 2.2 m | 2.0 cm | 239 m | 9.42 km | permanent; bikeable; walkable; drivable (est. 2006) |
| Nine Views |  Zagreb,Croatia | 680,000,000 | 2.0 m | 1.9 cm | 225 m | 8.7 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 2004) |
| Walk the Solar System | Fort St. John,British Columbia,Canada | 682,353,000 | 2.0 m | 1.9 cm | 219 m | 8.6 km | under construction |
| McCarthy Observatory[27] | New Milford,Connecticut | 761,155,000 | 1.8 m | 1.7 cm | 195 m | 7.1 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 2009) |
| Planet Walk[28] | Glen Burnie, Maryland. | 781,000,000 | ? | ? | 191.5 m | 7.56 km | Walkable, bikeable (est. 2008). Part of the permanentBaltimore & Annapolis Trail. |
| Trilho do Sistema Solar | Paredes de Coura,Portugal | 831,000,000 | 1.675 m | 1.533 cm | 180 m | 5.42 km (Neptune) | permanent; walkable; bikeable (est. 2016) |
| Planetenpad Utrecht |  Utrecht, TheNetherlands | 1,000,000,000 | 1.3 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 7.4 km (Neptune) | Leads from Centre Utrecht to Rhijnauwen, on foot, on bike or on kayak |
| Model of the Solar System |  Helsinki,Finland | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.2 cm | 149.6 m | 6.1 km | permanent; bikeable |
| Planetenmodell Hagen |  Hagen,Germany | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 1959) |
| Planetenweg Schwarzbach | Kriftel,Germany | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 1998) |
| Uetliberg Planetenweg |  Zürich,Switzerland | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; bikeable |
| Planetenwanderweg | Ehrenfriedersdorf,Germany | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; bikeable |
| Planetary Trail | Hradec Králové,Czech Republic | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 2005) |
| Planetary Trail | Prague,Czech Republic | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 13 km (Sedna as discovered) 5.9 km (Pluto) | permanent; bike & walk; all objects above 1000km; (est. 13.5.2018) |
| Melbourne Solar System[29][30] | Melbourne,Australia | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km (Pluto) 40 140 km (Proxima Centauri) | permanent; bikeable (est. 2008) Proxima Centauri scale distance calculated travelling Melbourne to Melbourne via the Poles.[31] |
| Scale Model Solar System[32] | Eugene,Oregon | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.2 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; bikeable (est. 1997) |
| Planetstien, Sandnes | Sandnes,Norway | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.2 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; walkable, bikeable (est. 2010) |
| Planetstien, Lemvig |  Lemvig,Denmark | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.2 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | permanent; walkable |
| Grand Trunk Pathway Solar System Model | Terrace, British Columbia | 1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 6 km | permanent; walkable/bikeable (est. 2018) |
| Planet Walk | Munich,Germany | 1,290,000,000 | 1.1 m | 1.0 cm | 116 m | 4.6 km | permanent; walkable (est. 1995) |
| Strolling at the speed of light | La Malbaie,Quebec,Canada | 1,500,000,000 | 0.9 m | 0.8 cm | 100 m | 3 km (Neptune) | permanent; walkable (est. 2009) (temp?) |
| State of the Solar System[33][34][35] | Bellingham,Washington | 1,826,770,000 | 0.762 m | 0.6858 cm | 82 m | ? | permanent; walkable (est. 2016) |
| Meteoria Söderfjärden | Vaasa,Finland | 2,000,000,000 | 0.7 m | ? | ? | ? | permanent; walkable |
| Planetenweg Göttingen | Göttingen,Germany | 2,000,000,000 | 0.70 m | 0.65 cm | 75 m | 3.2 km | permanent; walkable/bikeable (est. 2013) |
| Solar System Walking Tour[36][37][38] | Gainesville,Georgia | 2,000,000,000 | 0.7 m | 0.6 cm | 75 m | 2.9 km | permanent; walkable (est. 2000) |
| Rymdpromenaden ("Spacewalk") | Gothenburg,Sweden | 2,000,000,000 | 0.7 m | 0.6 cm | 75 m | 3 km | permanent; walkable (est. 1978) |
| Montshire Museum of Science[39] | Norwich,Vermont | 2,200,000,000 | 0.6 m | 0.6 cm | 68 m | 2.7 km | permanent; walkable |
| Ride to Pluto: Boise's Solar System[40] | Boise Greenbelt,Boise,Idaho | 2,200,000,000 | 0.5 m | ? | ? | 2.4 km | permanent; walkable & bikeable |
| The Solar walk[41][42] | Longview,Washington | 2,240,000,000 | 0.6 m | 0.6 cm | 56.94 m | 2.7 km | permanent; walkable (est. 2001) |
| Akaa Solar System Scale Model | Akaa, Finland | 3,000,000,000 | 0.46 m | 0.4 cm | 49.9 m | 1.958 km (Pluto) 13 370 km (Proxima Centauri) | permanent; walkable (est. 2017), Proxima Centauri in Yulara, Australia |
| Elmhurst Scale Model of the Solar System[43][44] | Elmhurst,Illinois | 3,044,620,000 | 0.5 m | 0.4 cm | 49.1 m | 1.929 km | permanent; walk & drive (est. 2013) |
| Solar System model group of sculptures |  Kecskemét, Hungary | 3,300,000,000 | 0.418 m | 0.4 cm | 45 m | 1.8 km | permanent; walkable (est. 2002) |
| Milky Way path | Westerbork, The Netherlands | 3,700,000,000 | ? | ? | ? | 2.5 km | permanent; walkable |
| Solar Walk | Gainesville,Florida | 4,000,000,000 | 0.3 m | 0.3 cm | 37.4 m | 1.5 km | permanent; walkable (est. 2002) |
| Otford Solar System Model[45] | Otford, England | 4,595,700,000 | 0.3 m | 0.3 cm | 32 m | 900 m | permanent; walkable; Includes: Proxima Centauri in Los Angeles, USA; Barnard's Star in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands; Sirius in Sydney, Australia; and Ross 154 in Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Wooster Planet Walk | Wooster,Ohio | 5,000,000,000 | 0.3 m | 0.3 cm | 30 m | 1.2 km | permanent; walkable (est. 2014) |
| The Sagan Planet Walk | Ithaca, New York | 5,000,000,000 | 0.3 m | 0.3 cm | 30 m | 1.2 km | permanent; walkable (est. 1997) |
| Delmar Loop Planet Walk | University City,Missouri | 5,000,000,000 | 0.3 m | 0.2 cm | 30 m | 870 m (Neptune) | permanent; walkable (est. 2009) |
| The Solar Walk | Cleveland,Ohio | 5,280,000,000 | 0.3 m | 0.2 cm | 28.4 m | 1.1 km | permanent; walkable |
| Solar System Walk An Exploration of Scale | Carlsbad, California | 5,280,000,000 | ? | ? | 28 m | 1.119 km | Located near Lake Calavera |
| O Sistema Solar no Parque[46] |  Natal,Brazil | 7,000,000,000 | 0.2 m | 1.8 mm | 22 m | 875 m | permanent; walkable/bikeable (est. June 3rd, 2016) |
| A True Scale Model of the Solar System[47][48] | Cookeville, Tennessee | 10,000,000,000 | 0.14 m | 0.12 cm | 15 m | 590 m | permanent; walkable (est. 2017) |
| Voyage National Program[1] | National Mall, Washington, D.C. (2001)Kansas City, Missouri (2008)Space Center Houston, Texas (2008)Corpus Christi, Texas (2009)Boulder, Colorado (2021)Palo Alto, California (2022)[49][50]Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (2022)Ocala, Florida (2022)Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana (2022)Dover, New Hampshire (2023)Spokane, Washington (2022)Memphis, Tennessee (2023)Chalmette, Louisiana (2023)Jonesboro, Arkansas (2023)Troy, New York (2024) | 10,000,000,000 | 0.1 m | 0.1 cm | 15 m | 600 m | permanent; walkable; US national program |
| Lake Innitou Thousand Yard Interplanetary Walk | Woburn, Massachusetts | 10,000,000,000 | 0.23 m (bowling ball) | N/A (stone plaque) | 24 m | 932 m (1019 yd) | permanent; walkable (est. 2004); along the sidewalk byHorn Pond. |
| NJ Botanical Garden | Ringwood,New Jersey | 10,000,000,000 | 0.2 m | 2.0 cm | 23.8 m | 927 m | walkable |
| Colorado Scale Model Solar System | Fiske Planetarium,Boulder,Colorado | 10,000,000,000 | 0.1 m | 0.1 cm | 15 m | 600 m | permanent; walkable (est. 1987) |
| Anstruther Model Solar System | Anstruther, Scotland | 10,000,000,000 | 0.1 m | 0.1 cm | 15 m | 600 m | permanent; walkable (est. 2014) |
| Le Chemin Solaire |  La Couyère,Brittany | 10,000,000,000 | 1 m | 0.1 cm | ? | 450 m | permanent; walkable (est. 2011) |
| Solar Walk UofT Scarborough | Toronto,Ontario andEureka, Nunavut | 10,000,000,000 | 0.14 m | 0.13 cm | 15 m | 591 m | permanent; walkable/bikeable (est. 2017) |
| MIT's Infinite Solar System[51][52][53] | Cambridge,Massachusetts | 30,000,000,000 | 4.6 cm | 0.43 mm | 5.0 m | 200 m | permanent; walkable (est. 2018); along "Infinite Corridor" |
| Solar System Lawn Model[54] | Griffith Observatory,Los Angeles,California | 105,000,000,000 | 1.32 cm | 0.12 mm | 1.42 m | 56 m | permanent; walkable; engraved in the front sidewalk |
| Name | Location | Scale | Sun dia. | Earth dia. | Sun-Earth | Sun-Pluto | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkhill model 1776[a] |  Scotland | 1:778,268,620.8 | 1.8 m | 1.6 cm | 197 m | - | decayed |
| Planetenpad Utrecht | Utrecht,Netherlands | 1:1,000,000,000 | 1.3 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 7.4 km (Neptune) | Leads from Centre Utrecht to Rhijnauwen, on foot, on bike or by kayak |
| Planet Walk Malta[1] |  Buġibba,Malta | 1:2,956,760,000 (distance) / 695,000,000 (sizes) | 2.0 m | 1.84 cm | 50.60 m | 2.0 km (Neptune) | Leads from Malta Aquarium west along promenade |
| Sorghvliet | The Hague,Netherlands | 1:696,000,000 | 2.0 m | 1.8 cm | 215 m | 6.5 km (Neptune) | (temporary) |
| Sol Chicago[55][56] | Illinois,Chicago | 1:73,660,000 | 19 m | 17.3 cm | 2,050 m | 61 km (Neptune) | (temporary) proposed |
| Le Chemin des planètes | Saint-Luc,Switzerland | 1:1,000,000,000 | 1.4 m | 1.3 cm | 150 m | 5.9 km | uses two different scales for distance and size |
| The Madison Planet Stroll[57] | Madison,Wisconsin | 1:4,000,000,000 | 0.3 m | 0.3 cm | 37 m | 1.5 km | (virtual) |
| Solar System Stroll | Perth,Western Australia | 1:5,000,000,000 | 0.3 m | 0.3 cm | 30 m | 1.2 km | permanent; walkable (est. 2016) |
| The Thousand-Yard Model[58][59] | (virtual) | 1:6,336,000,000 | 0.2 m | 0.2 cm | 25 m | 1 km | The scale of the planets is the same as the scale between them, and the planets are represented by everyday objects; the Earth is a peppercorn, Jupiter is a walnut, and Neptune is a coffee bean. |
| (dismantled) | Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha!,Quebec | 1:10,000,000,000 | 0.1 m | 0.1 cm | 15 m | 0.6 km | (dismantled) (est. 1985) |
| Lafayette Walk | Detroit,Michigan | 1:6,336,000,000 | 23 cm | 0.2 cm | 25 m | 983 m | A walking demonstration of (un)imaginable distances. "It's nowhere nearGraham's Number." |
| Planets on the Path | Chicago, Illinois | 1:2,195,000,000 | 457 m | 13.5 miles | (2015, temporary) | ||
| The Solar System, to scale, for a school yard | PDF for printing | 1:11,945,400,000 | 11.6 cm | 0.1 cm | 12.5 m | 492 m | PDFs, A4 and 8½″×11″, to be printed, affixed to cards which are affixed to sticks; then to be held by children standing in a school yard. Includes major moons and asteroids. |
| Naas Virtual Solar System |  Naas,County Kildare | 1 : 154,557,330 | 9 m | 82 mm | 968 m | 29 km (Neptune) | In Ireland, this instantly recognisable roadside spherical sculpture is well known, and is used as the model for the Sun. The website[60] maps out the planetary orbits and shows everyday objects to scale the planets (e.g. a golf ball for Mars) |
| Saskatoon Solar Walk | Saskatoon,Saskatchewan | 1 : 1,275,600,000 | 109 cm | 1 cm | 110 m | 4,500 m | Personal and public art installation. |
| Eise Eisinga Visvliet[61] | Visvliet,The Netherlands | 1: 870,000,000 | 160 cm | 1.5 cm | 172 m | n/a | Permanent installation honouringEise Eisinga, the creator of the world famousPlanetarium in Franeker, who lived in Visviet in 1700. As the original Planetarium only includes the planets up to Saturn, so does this one. |
Several sets ofgeocaching caches have been laid out as Solar System models.
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