Space is big very big. Welcome to the Otford Solar System. This scale model shows just how big space is. It was built in 1999 to celebrate the new millennium.
The Otford Solar System’s scale is 1:4,595,700,000. One millimeter equals 4,595.7 kilometers. The planets are located in their relative positions at midnight on January 1, 2000.
Each planet is shown as a scaled engraving. It is on a sun-sized stainless steel disc. The disc sits on a three-foot-tall white concrete column. The Sun and planets out to Jupiter are on the village recreation ground. The remaining planets are around the village.
The Sun is a polished steel dome. An engraved ring shows the directions to the other planets. Mars is not on a pillar. It is in the middle of a football pitch. Pluto is included because it was a planet in 2000.
All planet pillars are in public places. It takes about two hours to walk to all the planets. Walking to all planets and back to the Sun means you have traveled 25,000,000,000 miles to scale.
The Otford Solar System may not be the largest scale model. However, it has an unusual detail. A 38-millimeter model of Proxima Centauri is at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. That’s 5,390 miles away. A 600-millimeter globe representing Sirius is at Sydney Observatory 10,550 miles away. A 50-millimeter sphere for Barnard’s Star is at the Falklands Islands Museum 7,825 miles away.
The positions of the pillars show where the planets were at midnight on January 1, 2000. The model shows the orbits of the inner planets.
Otford is in Kent, England. It is on the River Darent. Otford is two miles north of Sevenoaks. It is twenty-five miles southeast of central London. You can easily reach it by road and rail. The Solar System Model is half a mile from Otford Station. It is a 35-minute journey from London’s Victoria Station.
At this scale, the nearest star is 8,844km away near Los Angeles USA. To cross the Milky Way, you would be on a jet for twenty-four years.
If you walk from the Sun to Earth in less than 8 minutes. Then in the scale of the model you are moving faster than light. One mm on the model represents 4,595,700 metres.
So as you explore the Otford Solar System, think about the vastness of space. Consider the distances between the stars. This unique model brings the universe to our village.