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My college had a similar installation, with the inner solar system on the walls of the physics/astronomy building and the other planets scattered about the camp
by mcherm 4y ago
My college had a similar installation, with the inner solar system on the walls of the physics/astronomy building and the other planets scattered about the campus at appropriate distances. But my favorite part was the plaque that said that somewhere in Alaska was the final piece of the installation: a scale model of the nearest star.
- dylan604 4y agoFor the scale model in Alaska to really sink in for your story, it would have helped to know where your college was located. If your college was in the Yukon would be one thing, but if your college was in Miami that would be totally different.
- rz2k 4y agoThat might not help without the size of the astronomy building, the size of the models, or how long the walk was to the nearest star. Here are some approximate dimensions. In Miami the sun would be 9in or 22cm[1], the inner solar system could be depicted on a line 120ft or 35m[2] long, and Pluto would be about 1000yds or 1km[3] away. Divide by two if the university is in San Francisco, which is about 2000 miles away from Anchorage rather than 4000. Or divide by ten if the university is in Alaska and the nearest star's model is only 400 miles away. [1] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=4000+miles+*+%28diameter+of+Sun+%2F+distance+to+Proxima+Centauri%29 https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=4000+miles+*+%28diamete... [2] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=4000+miles+*+%28orbit+radius+of+Mars+%2F+distance+to+Proxima+Centauri%29 https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=4000+miles+*+%28orbit+r... [3] https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=4000+miles+*+%28orbit+radius+of+Pluto+%2F+distance+to+Proxima+Centauri%29 https://www.wolframalpha.com/input?i=4000+miles+*+%28orbit+r...