What’s Out Tonight?

Solar System Walk

Info and thoughts on my Walks to give you ideas for yours!

A Solar System Walk is a popular activity at public astronomy events and you will also find permanent walks at many public planetariums, educational institutes and other venues.

Some Walk Consideration Notes

1
If you are making a temporary walk for a public event, don't make it too long. And, try to keep the total walk within the venue. A walk of about 1000 to 2000 feet is probably the longest you want to do.

2
Please try not to have a straight walk that takes one outside a venue. One reason for this is safety considerations. I have heard of walks that cross streets—that is not good.

3
My Solar System walks are not a straight line from the Sun to Pluto—they are somewhat of a circle. My walks bring people back close to the Sun—I always end with Pluto being close to the Sun. I don't like the idea of possibly leaving people at the “end of nowhere.” So, when I give my guided tour of the walk, I always mention to the group, a few times, that the distance we are walking between planets is the spacing of the planets.

4
Although I always have a poster(s) that shows the placement of the Sun/planets, I always give a guided tour at specific times. I don't think most people engage in a self-guided walk. Anyway, a guided tour is more fun, all around.

Two posters that I have used at venues announcing the guided Solar System Walks. The one on the left is just letter size while the right one is tabloid size (two letter size taped together). Currently I am conducting the 1500 feet Solar System Walk.

Distance & Size Calculations

Distances from
Sun for 100 Foot Solar System

Actual 
Distance from Sun
in
MILES

Diameter of Sun and Planets for 100 Foot Solar System

Actual 
Diameter
in
MILES

CALCULATING  Distances & Diameters of Solar System Bodies+
for Different Lengths of the Solar System Walk

1
The Yellowish and Pinkish columns above represent the distances and sizes of the “bodies” if the radius of the Solar System is 100 feet, that is, the distance you would walk from the Sun to Pluto.

NOTES
A. The DISTANCES are in feet because most US tape measures are in feet. The DIAMETERS are in millimeters because these can be fairly small and these number would be much smaller and more confusing if expressed in inches.
B.  I highly recommend that your Solar System Walk is between 1,000 and 2,000 feet to make the diameter of the “bodies” visible to the eye and to make the distances between planets more pronounced especially for the Gas Giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune).


2
The two colored columns above represent the distances and diameters for a 100 foot long Solar System. To calculate other distances/diameters, simply divide your Solar System Walk length by 100 (feet) and multiply this number with ALL values in the two colored columns.

Example 1:  Your Solar System Walk from the Sun to Pluto is 500 feet. 500÷100 = 5 times. Multiple all the values in the two colored columns by 5 to get your distances and diameters.

Example 2:  Your Solar System Walk from the Sun to Pluto is 750 feet.
750÷100 = 7.5 times. Multiple all the values in the two colored columns by 
7.5 to get your distances and diameters.

My Planet Markers

My bundle of wooden broom handles. There are 2 holes drilled in each for a tabloid size info sheet that I originally used for my Walks—see photos at the very bottom of this page for that first iteration of my Walk.

My Planet Markers are 4-sided boxes that rotate on top of broom handles.
Maybe what I have done will give you ideas for your situation(s).
All 4 sides of all 10 markers are shown below—keep scrolling.

Planet on a Broom Handle

Many years ago I went to a janitorial supply store and bought a box of 12 wooden broom or mop handles. I only needed 10 (9 planets plus Sun), so a box of 12 was perfect and gave me a few spares. Also, they were relatively inexpensive (at that time).

My Planet Markers measure 4x4x8 inches. They swivel around the top of the poles. The 4 sides that are covered with information are made of hardboard. Pine was used for the top and bottom. The hole in the bottom is slightly larger than the diameter of the wooden broom handles and there is another partial hole inside the top of the “box” to steady the box, as it turns, on the pole. Originally, I wanted to make the marker boxes taller, but I did not have enough wood on hand and just used what I had. At this time, the outside info has been printed on a home color printer. I will probably get higher quality laminated prints made in the future.

Placing the Planet Markers/Poles

2-inch wide shipping tape that I use to secure the poles by wrapping them around a “structure.” It usually involves multiple wraps in a high and low spot on the pole.

It is not easy to see the Planet Markers in these photos but I try to attach the poles with 2-inch wide shipping tape to some existing “structure.” I have always used tape so I would not damage anything at the venue. So, I have placed the planet poles on fences, trees, existing poles and even bushes​. The broom handles have worked for me and my venues but you may have to get creative and do something different for your situation, especially if it is indoors. Oh, I try to get as close as possible to the exact distances the markers are from the Sun—but these distances might vary a little depending on what is available for attachment.

Hey, what about the Asteroid Belt?

How do I deal with the Asteroid Belt?
I stop about halfway between Mars and Jupiter to talk about the “Belt.” Then I take a few meteorites from my pocket(s) to show and pass around. Usually my groups are very small and I don't have to worry about the rocks getting lost or taken. I do have a small piece of a Mars meteorite that I also talk about and pass around—it is in the plastic specimen box in the picture.

The Four Sides of the 10 Planet Markers

I do attach a model of the Sun and Saturn on top of their respective boxes. They are detachable using 3M Dual Lock (Velcro does not work). The Sun is the size of the Sun for the distance of my walk. Saturn is much bigger but who can resist those rings!

My Original Planet Poles
I was never really happy with them but it got me by for 10 years

I conducted a 2000 foot Solar System Walk at the Riverside Telescope Making Conference and Astronomy Expose for a good 10 years. I was never really happy with the Sun and Planet markers. The tabloid-sized info sheets were laminated and I clipped them to slightly larger hardboard bought from Home Depot. The hardboards were bolted in two places on the broom handles. I always taped the poles to some structure with 2-inch shipping tape so I would not damage any venue property.