CA3 Project: Proportional Solar System Scale Model ("Planetwalk" Cebu City)

[rodsky]

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with regards to chad's new thread, unsa nay progress ani rods?

Since I'm the only one who seems to be really serious about it, and since I don't have the time and resources at the moment to act upon it by myself, it will remain to be shelved for now, but I'll know I'll get to do this someday (hopefully in the near future) here in Cebu City.

-RODION

[rodsky]

Ok, did a preliminary scaling test.

The assumption is, our model SUN will measure about 1.1 meters in diameter. And we'll place the SUN at the flagpole of Cebu's Capitol. Using Google Earth and Bill Nye's video, here are the distances to Jupiter from the sun...


1. Mercury will be as small as a mongo seed, and will just be across the road from Capitol flagpole

2. Venus will be as big as a marble (jolen), just 33 meters behind Mercury

3. Earth will be as big as a marble (jolen) too, and will be near C24 convenience store

4. Mars will be smaller than a marble, and will be near Gloria Jeans/Jollibee Capitol

5. Jupiter will be as big as a tennis ball, and waaaay down Osmena street, just past the Cebu Public Library (520 meters from the Capitol flagpole).

So as you can see, Jupiter pa lang daan, layo na kaayo. Wait til you see the other planets, when I post them later

-RODION

[handsoff241]

That's good progress so far... I bet if you set it up people's attention will be caught. And I'll be there to play with the marble.

No seriously... i'm also excited.

[rodsky]

That's good progress so far... I bet if you set it up people's attention will be caught. And I'll be there to play with the marble.

No seriously... i'm also excited.

I did the measurements for Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Saturn is waaay past Fuente Circle, it's over at Metrobank (just before Crown)!

Neptune? It lies exactly at the edge of the water, near the SRP highway (3 kilometers away).

So it's really really really really big model after all, and I don't think even Neptune can be part of the planetwalk (it's beyond the Osmena-Jones length).

-RODION

[handsoff241]

How bout a big poster then to explain stuffs...

I understand you are being accurate with the scaling, but people will be very confused nganung naay jolen nga gi-labelan ug Mercury ug Earth.

Supplement na lang ug dako nga poster/billboard sa fuente circle...

or for Neptune and Pluto... try using the opposite/adjacent direction.. katong sa may Escario dapit... latas sa ayala

[rodsky]

How bout a big poster then to explain stuffs...

I understand you are being accurate with the scaling, but people will be very confused nganung naay jolen nga gi-labelan ug Mercury ug Earth.

Supplement na lang ug dako nga poster/billboard sa fuente circle...

or for Neptune and Pluto... try using the opposite/adjacent direction.. katong sa may Escario dapit... latas sa ayala

Nope, that would confuse people even further. Dapat one direction only.

And no, they shouldn't look like marbles/tennis balls. They should be very accurate models.

Pluto, btw, is over at the Petron depot, in the middle of Mactan channel.

-RODION

[handsoff241]

More like a "Planet-Tour"

And no, they shouldn't look like marbles/tennis balls. They should be very accurate models.

I hope you can provide it.

Can you post the calculations for the scaling?

[rodsky]

I hope you can provide it.

The call is for artists and modelers too. If someone can make really good tiny models of planets, then it's a chance for them to showcase their ability.

Can you post the calculations for the scaling?

The scales I mentioned (i.e. mongo seed, marble, etc.) were based on Bill Nye's video. But the calculation for scales are easily based on one reference point: Distance of Earth to sun.

And thus, using this scale...
149,600,000 kilometers (ave.) = 100 meters = 100,000 millimeters

So doing 149,600,000 / 100,000 we get 1,496...which when used...

149,600,000 / 1,496 = 100,000 millimeters

Now when we substitute the Earth-sun distance with planetary diameters, we easily arrive at the planetary diameters in millimeters:

Mercury = 4,879 km = 3.2 millimeters

Venus = 12,103.6 km = 8 millimeters (actually smaller than a marble, which is about 10-12 mm, so just 2mm bigger than an airsoft BB pellet!)

Earth = 12,756.2 km = 8.5 millimeters (almost as thick as a 9mm bullet)

Mars = 6,794 km = 4.5 millimeters

Jupiter = 142,984 km = 95.5 millimeters (actually larger than tennis ball, which is only about 65 millimeters)

-RODION

[Hellblazer 2.1]

Again, you're not getting the point of the activity. The point is appreciation of space and vast distances, which some (if not most) people have difficulty in comprehending unless you do a real-world (rather than a virtual) demonstration.

-RODION

oh, i got the point of the activity all right. i don't need vast distances on the ground to "appreciate" space and the planets. i'd find it boring if you ask me. imagine after having viewed the "sun," we need to travel vast distances just to view "jupiter?" i mean, what's the point of laying the "planets" on the ground when everybody knows there's a great distance between them in space, right? and please don't presume to post that most people have "difficulty" in comprehending that just because we didn't take up astronomy class. what we do have is common sense. i'd still say this "proposed project" won't sell. if you want a real-world demonstration, you might as well take the real solar system tour in space. i'd still say the virtual demonstration is the next best thing to the real thing, kidon.

i hope i didn't get your ire or something, now that you're a moderator/god in the science thread.

[rodsky]

when everybody knows there's a great distance between them in space

If that statement were true, then there's no point in doing this activity. Again, the fact is, unlike you, the general population doesn't really have a good idea how vast space really is.

i'd find it boring if you ask me.

This activity is not about you.

-RODION