The Solar System to Scale

The Solar System Sized to Scale

The first time I saw a model of our solar system sized to scale I was amazed at the size of the sun compared to our home planet. In fact, I learned that 1.3 million earths would fit inside the sphere of the sun! But what was still missing was a scale showing the distance between the sun and the planets. About 20 years ago I found a website where one could set the diameter of the sun and the planets would automatically all be scaled both in size and distance from the sun. It blew my mind.

I have since built my own solar system scaling spreadsheet which came in useful several years ago at a client retreat where we did a solar system walk. I had the 8 children gather small round rocks, place the appropriately sized rocks representing the planets in small glass containers, and using a basketball as our sun we marched off and planted a flag next to each planet at the calculated distance from our sun. Today there are numerous websites that give instructions for setting up your own solar system walk. I strongly encourage you to undertake this walk as I believe it will leave a lasting impression on the participants, both young and old.

A few years ago I found the following amazing video. On a dry lakebed in Nevada, a group of friends built the first scale model of the solar system with complete planetary orbits; a true illustration of our place in the universe. After watching this I don’t think you will every look in the sky again without awe and wonder. As Douglas Adams put it in The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: “Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely mind-bogglingly big it is”.

Psalm 8:3-4 . . . When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 19:1-4 . . . The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.