Solar System model

Solar System models, especially mechanical models, called orreries, that illustrate the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar 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 a scale model of the Solar System a challenging task. As one example of the difficulty, the distance between the Earth and the Sun is almost 12,000 times the diameter of the Earth.

A 1766 Benjamin Martin mechanical model, or orrery, on display at the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments

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. The Boston 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 of Jupiter was located in the cavernous South 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 in time, instead of distance.

Permanent true scale models

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]	Brussells, Belgium	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 permanent Baltimore & 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, The Netherlands	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 by Horn 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 and Eureka, 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

Other models of the Solar System: historic, temporary, virtual, or dual-scale

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	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 near Graham'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 honouring Eise Eisinga, the creator of the world famous Planetarium 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 of geocaching caches have been laid out as Solar System models.

See also

• Outer space portal
• Solar System portal

• Numerical model of the Solar System
• Historical models of the Solar System
• Infinite Corridor