New Installation at University of Arizona Provides Humbling Perspective of the Solar System
TUCSON, AZ – The University of Arizona (UA) unveiled a new installation that aims to offer a true representation of our solar system’s vastness. The Arizona Scale Model Solar System is a collection of 10 informative signs spread from the Kuiper Space Sciences Building on the UA Mall to Main Gate on the west side of campus.
The installation features each planet and celestial object, placed in accordance with their relative positions in orbit around the sun. Even at a scaled-down ratio of 1:5 billion, the display covers over half a mile. To walk from the sun to Neptune, visitors can expect a real-space journey of almost 2.8 billion miles, taking approximately 10 minutes.
Zarah Brown, a doctoral student at UA’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and project lead, emphasized the difficulty in comprehending astronomical scales. The signs provide details about each object’s mass, diameter, surface gravity, and temperature, and are adorned with NASA images and artwork by James Keane, an alumnus of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.
In addition to offering an accurate representation of our solar system, the display also pays homage to UA’s significant contributions to planetary science. At each stop along the solar system tour, visitors can learn about UA research pertaining to the respective object.
Brown mentioned that finding connections to Tucson was not challenging, but rather choosing which ones to include was the difficult part.
The installation was inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held in front of the Kuiper Building in late August. The first stop on the tour features a scaled-down version of the sun, about the size of a basketball, along with the inner planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – grouped within a 150-foot area.
Moving westward along the UA Mall, the distances between the signs increase as visitors venture past the asteroid belt. The signs for Uranus and Neptune are separated by two-tenths of a mile, demonstrating the vastness of the outer solar system and why some objects remain under-studied.
The solar system walking tour was developed with the assistance of a multidisciplinary team, including approximately 10 graduate researchers who contributed to writing and editing the information displayed on the signs. Funding for the exhibition was provided through a NASA Space Grant Fellowship awarded to Brown in 2020.
Brown’s fascination with the enormity of the solar system began during her elementary school years. As a child, she attempted to draw the planets at their proper scale and distance but soon realized that several hundred additional sheets of paper would be required.
The display serves as an educational tool for UA students and campus visitors alike. Brown is in the process of creating lab exercises to help undergraduates comprehend large numbers and vast distances through the experience of walking the installation and making calculations along the way.
Aside from its educational value, the installation also includes elements of environmentalism. The sign for Venus discusses the “runaway greenhouse effect” that has caused the planet’s surface to become hot enough to melt human-built space probes within minutes. Brown highlights the parallels between Venus and Earth in terms of surface and atmospheric processes.
Each sign features a QR code that links to a website that can be accessed by screen readers for the visually impaired. Brown hopes to expand the website to include more information about the solar system and UA’s contributions to its exploration, as well as updates on new discoveries.
The placement of the signs corresponds to each object’s average orbital distance, with minor adjustments made to ensure safety and convenience. However, the sign for Neptune slightly deviated from its exact placement and is instead situated within the volcanic rock wall of Main Gate at Park and University Boulevard.
Future plans for the installation include an extension off-campus to encompass Pluto. Brown intends to place the sign near the corner of University and Euclid Avenue, pending a legal agreement with the Marshall Foundation, which owns most of the Main Gate Square commercial development.
The addition of Pluto was motivated by the ongoing debate surrounding its classification as a planet. Brown appreciates how strongly people feel about the issue and hopes it will spark emotional engagement. She notes that the dwarf planet’s strange, elongated orbit could theoretically position its sign as far away as Time Market on University Boulevard, an extra third of a mile westward.
To put the scale of the solar system into perspective, if the closest star to our sun, Proxima Centauri, were to be included, the model would have to be extended by about 5,000 miles, equivalent to the distance between Tucson and Glasgow, Scotland.
Zarah Brown emphasizes the model’s main takeaway: our planet’s preciousness and fragility. She hopes that the installation will inspire people to care for Earth and treat one another better, as they are the only inhabitants of our vast and spacious universe.
For more information on the installation or to contact reporter Henry Brean, email [email protected] or reach out on Twitter: @RefriedBrean.