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Posted by: Stu Oct 10 2009, 03:26 PM

We (that's the Eddington Astronomical Society) held our "Scale Model of the Solar System" event here in Kendal today, and I'm happy to report that it was a FANTASTIC success. We think more than 200 people toured our scaled version of the solar system at Kendal Castle, including some very excited kids. Huge thanks to Doug for making all the model planets and a gazillion info sheets, postcards and other bits and pieces for us, and for travelling up from UMSF HQ to help with the event itself today, too. I don't think we could have done it without him, TBH.

Full write up on my blog tomorrow, in the meantime you can find a few pics on my twitpic gallery, here:

http://twitpic.com/photos/mars_stu

Posted by: Stu Oct 11 2009, 06:39 PM

Full write-up here: http://ksssm.wordpress.com/well-how-did-it-go Thanks again to Doug for making it work! :-)

Posted by: Stu Oct 16 2009, 07:10 AM

Good pic of Doug... not so good of me... but great coverage in Westmorland Gazette of our event!

http://twitpic.com/lpkwn

Already looking forward to next year!

Posted by: AndyG Oct 16 2009, 09:11 AM

Next year ...

Stu, just a thought: I've always seen people surprised at how far away the Moon is, when related to scaled models of both the Earth and Moon.

Might it be worth introducing people to the moons of the Solar System, to a common scale? Take a trip to the Moon! Explore the Jovian Big Four! Visit Titan!

Andy

Posted by: Stu Oct 16 2009, 09:31 AM

I've been thinking along those lines Andy, yeah... maybe, at certain points along the route, have separate models showing things like that. An Earth-Moon system would be a natural.

Posted by: ngunn Oct 16 2009, 10:52 AM

If you're planning a repeat event at the same scale I will try to bring along a laminated set of the 10 sheets of my A4 paper model. As well as the planets at their 'true' sizes they also show the larger moons at their correct distances. People are often surprised that with the whole model filling the castle grounds (or equivalent) all the major moons are near enough their primaries to fit on the same sheet of paper. (Of course you're welcome to use them even if I don't make it.)

Being a Cassini fan I'd love to see a big scale walkaround model of the Saturn system, extending outward to the 'comet' Phoebe. If that were done on a hill you could even approximate the true orbital inclinations of the moons, with the most distant ones having more open views of the rings.

Posted by: djellison Oct 16 2009, 11:01 AM

We actually had, at the 1:10,000,000,000 scale - on the info sheets, the Earth and Moon, Saturn + Titan, and Jup + Galileans at the scale sizes and distances.

I was going to take my 40cm earth and 10cm moon that I can place 12m apart for scale - but I was worried that the scales would be confusing for the general public, and my experience on the day actual confirmed those worries and I'm glad I didn't take them. People were looking at the images on the info sheets (which were, 50x, 100x, 10x scale size) and thinking THAT was the scale, several times I had to correct people and show them the actual scale on top of the black cane.

A scale Saturnian system would be brilliant - but having two different scales at the same venue would, for the general public, be confusing.

Posted by: ngunn Oct 16 2009, 12:16 PM

(I agree, though, not at the same event as a solar system model)

10**8 scale would put Phoebe at 130m distance with a diameter of 2mm. Big flat rings 2.8 metres diameter would not be too hard to make but finding a 1.2 metre oblate spheroid might be challenging.
2010 would be a good year to do it - 400 years after Galileo noticed that Saturn has funny things on either side.

Posted by: Stu Oct 16 2009, 12:21 PM

What we'll be doing next year is having the same model as this year, laid out along a riverside path - better access for disabled people, and also good to have a logival, set "start" that can be accurately signposted - and at the end, after Pluto, there'll be a collection of models, ideally including an Earth-Moon model, a "Galilean moons" model and a couple of others. This way the thing won't just peter out in an "Oh, is this the end?" way, and also the people exiled to the end of the line to represent Pluto won't feel so out of it if they have company. :-)

Posted by: Astro0 Oct 28 2009, 04:02 AM

This image was passed on to me. Thought others here might like it.
Sorry, no idea of its origins. Some else might though?!

Posted by: nprev Oct 28 2009, 04:34 AM

Dunno where that came from, Astro0, but it is WAY cool!

Posted by: stevesliva Oct 28 2009, 05:29 AM

It's from national geographic.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/map/map-day/2008/10/28

Blogged at Bad Astronomy:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/10/12/50-trippy-years-of-space-trips/

Posted by: stevesliva Oct 28 2009, 05:33 AM

This thread being bumped reminds me also of this-- for when the Sun doesn't make you feel small enough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8BncJ7XMLk

Posted by: jasedm Oct 28 2009, 07:24 AM

Fabulous way to depict the activity of our curious species - a few little errors, but very very cool!

Posted by: Astro0 Oct 28 2009, 08:49 AM

Thanks stevesliva....I knew someone here would know the answer.

Art by Sean McNaughton, National Geographic Staff, Samuel Valasco, 5W Infographics
Sources: NASA; Chris Gamble. Sun, asteroid and comet images: NASA/JPL

jasedm...what are the errors? don't leave us in the dark!

Posted by: Phil Stooke Oct 28 2009, 11:43 AM

One error, it calls asteroid Eros, 'Eris'. Oops!

Phil

Posted by: jasedm Oct 28 2009, 05:51 PM

I didn't want to be nit-picky - it's a marvellous piece of work, but yes the Eros/Eris leapt out at me, and also, a moon of Saturn called 'Thetis'???
Interestingly, the astronomer Pickering announced the discovery of a new moon in Saturn's system at the turn of the last century, which he named 'Themis' - it was never confirmed, and appears to have been an error.

Posted by: Stu Oct 28 2009, 10:20 PM

Always nice to hear from a satisfied customer! :-)

http://twitpic.com/nbb3c

Posted by: centsworth_II Oct 29 2009, 06:52 AM

Looks like a classic album cover to me.

Posted by: PFK Oct 29 2009, 10:41 PM

That was from their late Folk period, 1972. Wikipedia takes up the sorry story:

After the disappointing sales of "Music of the Spheres" (one brief week in the Top 100 for the album) and a disasterous appearance on Top of Pops (where their novelty single "Uranus here we come" elicited the fury of Mary Whitehouse) Doug and Stu followed the route of so many disillusioned pop stars in the early 70s . They went Glam. The gamble paid off when their album "New Horizons" went Platinum....

Posted by: Stu Oct 30 2009, 01:40 PM

Posted by: ElkGroveDan Oct 30 2009, 10:28 PM

Wait a minute. Doug is NOT that much shorter than Stu. Was Doug standing in a hole in the ground or was Stu standing on a stool?

Posted by: djellison Oct 30 2009, 11:25 PM

The photographer wanted DEPTH and PERSPECTIVE - so I was standing in Aberdeen, Stu was standing in Carlise, and the Sun was 4 microns from the front of the lens.