This is super cool! I’ve lived in Stockholm for almost 15 years and I had no idea about this.<p>Just for fun I plotted the route on google maps. I have my doubts I’ll be able to convince my wife this is a worth-while road trip...<p><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/TYTSnCVA9Vi8s4MMA" rel="nofollow">https://goo.gl/maps/TYTSnCVA9Vi8s4MMA</a>
Two years ago I visited Stockholm and rode a borrowed bike from the Sun (Globen) out to Mars (Mörby Centrum) and visited all the planets along the way. Life goal is to do the entire thing.<p>Trip only took a few hours and there are plentiful bike lanes to reach that far. Along the way, or on the way back, check out the Hagaparken, Natural History Museum, and campus of Stockholm University.
Also in the Boston Area. The sun, Mercury and Venus are in the Museum of Science. Earth is supposed to be in the Royal Sonesta hotel, but I believe it was moved to clean the area and never put back. Mars is in the Galleria mall, Jupiter is at South Station, and the rest of the planets are much further out.
More details at <a href="https://www.bostoncentral.com/activities/landmarks/p1018.php" rel="nofollow">https://www.bostoncentral.com/activities/landmarks/p1018.php</a>
Apparently there are lots of these kinds of things around the world. I never knew that.<p>There's one in the Helsinki area in Finland as well: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pajam%C3%A4ki_Solar_System_Scale_Model" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pajam%C3%A4ki_Solar_System_Sca...</a><p>The funny thing is that its most central parts (the Sun and the inner planets) are in the least central location, in a wooded area in the suburbs, close to an industrial zone. Many other similar models seem to have placed the planetary monuments in public buildings or plazas. Helsinki? Yeah, we'll place it in the middle of the woods next to a bunch of garages.<p>(The reason for the location of the Sun might actually be that, according to the Wikipedia article, the model was designed by an amateur astronomer who has had his own observatory in the area. The model of Sun is also on a hill, which is nice and might make it more visible from further away except that, you know, it's not actually emitting a ridiculous amount of light.)
Melbourne has one too: <a href="http://thenomadicexplorers.com/sites/default/files/users/65/files/australia-victoria-melbourne-362/THE%20MELBOURNE%20SOLAR%20SYSTEM.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://thenomadicexplorers.com/sites/default/files/users/65/...</a><p>(Not as big as the one in Sweden though)
There are many of them around the world, maybe even near you: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System_model#Scale_models_in_various_locations" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System_model#Scale_model...</a><p>I live in Zagreb, Croatia, and we have "Nine Views": <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Views" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Views</a>
I'm shocked how many Swedes (and Stockholmers in particular) don't know this.<p>They just think that Globen (the Sun) is just a big spherical venue.<p>EDIT - but to be fair there is also a surprising lack of signage or announcement that such a thing exists.
>> Pluto and Charon are supported by two tomb-like pillars reminding of the mythological meaning of Pluto (Hades), the god of the underworld.<p>And if anyone even thinks about removing that monument I will lead a total boycott of all Swedish educational institutions.<p>In all seriousness, public art is how science and government present ideas. How planets are depicted, or not, modifies public behavior and thinking towards science. I do not want to see public art be used to promote one team of scientists over another[1] as they fight for naming rights to objects. The Swedish Solar System seems to have taken a very neutral stance on naming conventions, addressing most objects only by given name. It should stay that way.<p>[1] "Planetary scientists" v. "Astronomers" as to who gets to classify objects. It is two increasingly different teams.
One in Gainesville, Georgia, USA:
<a href="https://www.exploregeorgia.org/gainesville/entertainment/tours/walking-tour-of-our-solar-system" rel="nofollow">https://www.exploregeorgia.org/gainesville/entertainment/tou...</a>
I hadn’t appreciated that Saturn is almost twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter is, or how far out Uranus and Neptune are. Here’s another representation (although obviously the planet sizes are way wrong): <a href="https://fineartamerica.com/featured/solar-system-distances-to-scale-mark-garlick.html" rel="nofollow">https://fineartamerica.com/featured/solar-system-distances-t...</a>
there's one in my hometown (Zagreb) as well!<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Views" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Views</a><p>Here's some blogpost with nice pictures<p><a href="https://punkufer.dnevnik.hr/galerija/gdje-se-u-zagrebu-nalaze-planeti-suncevog-sustava---468982.html/61335895/468982" rel="nofollow">https://punkufer.dnevnik.hr/galerija/gdje-se-u-zagrebu-nalaz...</a>
There is also a model in and around the natural history museum in Gothenburg, Sweden. Some of the planets are close to some really good MTB trails in the nearby forest Änggårdsbergen!<p><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6teborgs_Naturhistoriska_museum#Rymdpromenaden" rel="nofollow">https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6teborgs_Naturhistoriska...</a>
Peoria, Illinois has one too and claims the "world's most complete large-scale model of the Solar System. The scale factor is 99,000,000:1, covering 6,000 square miles of Central Illinois."[0] and you can "become a part of the world's most complete large scale model of the Solar System by purchasing an Unnamed Comet Plaque in the Peoria Riverfront Museum Store. Unnamed comet plaques are located on all seven continents, stretching as far north as Barrow, Alaska, and as far south as South Pole Station, Antarctica."[1]<p>[0] <a href="https://www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.org/dome-planetarium/community-solar-system" rel="nofollow">https://www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.org/dome-planetarium/comm...</a><p>[1] <a href="https://www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.org/dome-planetarium/community-solar-system/unnamed-comet-locations" rel="nofollow">https://www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.org/dome-planetarium/comm...</a>
There's one in Ithaca, NY (home of Cornell univ) as well. It's spread over 1.2 km, and is just a fun walk. [1]<p>Ithaca is just such a wonderful place to live, winters included!<p>[1] <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_Planet_Walk" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagan_Planet_Walk</a>
Someone also built a scale model of the solar system in the desert: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj4524AAZdE" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj4524AAZdE</a>
One in Prague (CZ): <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/9092952" rel="nofollow">https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/9092952</a>
When my daughter was in elementary school, she and I prepared a presentation where her teacher would be the sun, a soccer ball Jupiter, a volleyball saturn, and so on. Earth was a blue marble, moon a playdoh pellet. Distances where trickier and we did our best to associate them with local landmarks: bakery, park, ... Quite a bit of fun. For some time we kept calling the soccer ball Jupiter.
Göttingen has the Planetenweg, a 1:2 billion-scale solar system<p><a href="https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/planetenweg-gottingen" rel="nofollow">https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/planetenweg-gottingen</a>
lol.. I was jumping back and forth between mercury, venus, and earth everyday during my two years stay in Stockholm 6 years ago. I had no clue this thing exists!