Sweden Solar System

The Sweden Solar System is the world's largest permanent scale model of the Solar System. The Sun is represented by the Avicii Arena in Stockholm, the second-largest hemispherical building in the world. The inner planets can also be found in Stockholm but the outer planets are situated northward in other cities along the Baltic Sea. The system was started by Nils Brenning, professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, and Gösta Gahm, professor at the Stockholm University.[1][2] The model represents the Solar System on the scale of 1:20 000 000, i.e. one metre represents 20,000 km.[3]

Sweden Solar System is located in Sweden
Swift-Tuttle
Swift-Tuttle
Halley
Halley
Earth, Eros, Saltis, Mars, Sun, Mercury, Venus
Earth, Eros, Saltis, Mars,
Sun, Mercury, Venus
Sweden Solar System
Sweden Solar System
Sweden Solar System
Sweden Solar System
Sweden Solar System
Sweden Solar System
Jupiter
Jupiter
Sweden Solar System
Saturn and 5025 PL
Saturn and 5025 PL
Uranus
Uranus
Neptune
Neptune
Pluto and Charon
Pluto and Charon
Ixion
Ixion
Eris
Eris
Sedna
Sedna
Termination Shock
Termination Shock
The Sweden Solar System

The system

Avicii Arena, representing the Sun in the Sweden Solar System

The bodies represented in this model include the Sun, the planets (and some of their moons), dwarf planets and many types of small bodies (comets, asteroids, trans-Neptunians, etc.), as well as some abstract concepts (like the Termination Shock zone). Because of the existence of many small bodies in the real Solar System, the model can always be further increased.

The Sun is represented by the Avicii Arena (Globen), Stockholm, which is the second-largest hemispherical building in the world, 110 m (360 ft) in diameter. To respect the scale, the globe represents the Sun including its corona.

Inner planets

Mercury Model just outside the Stockholm City Museum
  • Mercury (25 cm (9.8 in) in diameter) is placed at Stockholm City Museum, 2,900 m (1.8 mi) from the Globe. The small metallic sphere was built by the artist Peter Varhelyi.
  • Venus (62 cm (24 in) in diameter) is placed at Vetenskapens Hus at KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), 5,500 m (3.4 mi) from the Globe. It was previously located at the Observatory Museum in Stockholm (now closed). A previous model, made by the United States artist Daniel Oberti, was inaugurated during a Venus transit on 8 June 2004 and placed at KTH. It fell and shattered around 11 June 2011.
  • Earth (65 cm (26 in) in diameter) is located at the Swedish Museum of Natural History (Cosmonova), 7,600 m (4.7 mi) from the Globe. Satellite images of the Earth are exhibited beside the Globe. An elaborate model of the Moon (18 cm (7.1 in) in diameter) is also on display, about 20 meters from the model of Earth.
  • Mars (35 cm (14 in) in diameter) is located at Mörby centrum, a shopping centre and Stockholm metro station in Danderyd, a suburb of Stockholm. It is 11.6 km (7.2 mi) from the Globe. The model, made in copper by the Finnish artist Heikki Haapanen, is connected by an "umbilical cord" to a steel plate on the floor having an Earth image.[4] The globe also features marks that represent some typical Martian chemical elements.

Gas giants

  • Jupiter (7.3 m (24 ft) in diameter) is placed inside the Clarion Hotel located at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality, 40 km (25 mi) from the Globe. Previously, it was made as a flower decoration, with different flowers representing different zones of the giant gas planet. Today, the planet is depicted as a ring light above a lobby.[5]
  • Saturn (6.1 m (20 ft) in diameter) is placed outside the old observatory of Anders Celsius, in the so-called Celsius Square, in the centre of Uppsala, 73 km (45 mi) from the Globe. Inaugurated during the International Year of Astronomy,[6] the model is a mat with a picture of Saturn, but will eventually grow to crown a school planetarium in the city. In addition, several schools in Uppsala are to provide moons of Saturn: the first completed was Enceladus (diameter 2.5 cm or 0.98 in) at Kvarngärdesskolan.[7]
  • Uranus (2.6 m (8 ft 6 in) in diameter) was vandalized and the new model was reconstructed behind Stora magasinet in Lövstabruk in 2012. It is an outdoor model made of blue steel bars. The rotation axis of the planet is marked in red.[8]
2.5-m representation of Neptune, by the river Söderhamnsån in Söderhamn
  • Neptune (2.5 m in diameter) is located by the river Söderhamnsån in Söderhamn, a coast town with tradition of fishing and sailing (which relates to Neptune being the deity of the seas). Placed 229 km (142 mi) from the Globe, the model is made of acrylic and, at night, shines with a blue light.

Trans-Neptunian objects

  • Pluto (12 cm (4.7 in) in diameter) and its largest moon Charon are placed near the southern of the Dellen lakes, in Delsbo, 300 km (190 mi) from the Globe. The lakes are thought to be formed by a meteorite impact 90 million years ago. The two bodies' sculptures are supported by two gravelike pillars (as Pluto is the deity for death), made up with dellenite, a rare mineral formed at that place by the meteorite impact.
  • Haumea (8.5cm (3.3 in) in diameter) and its moons are depicted in the 2047 Science Centre, Borlänge, 200 km (124 mi) from the Globe.
  • Quaoar (6cm (2.4 in) in diameter) is located in the library in Gislaved, 340 km from the Globe.
  • Ixion (6.5 cm (2.6 in) in diameter), a dwarf planet candidate, is located at Technichus, a science center in Härnösand, 360 km (224 mi) from the Globe. The sculpture is an orb held by a hand with the arm. This plutino was discovered by a team which included scientists from Uppsala.
  • Makemake (7cm (2.8 in) in diameter) is located at Slottsskogsobservatoriet, an observatory in Gothenburg, 400 km (249 mi) from the Globe.
  • 'Oumuamua (0.3 mm (0.012 in) in diameter) is placed in the village of Plönninge, Halland, 440 km (273 mi) from the Globe.
  • Gonggong (7.5 cm (3.0 in) in diameter) is placed near the Tycho Brahe Observatory in Oxie, Malmö, 500 km (311 mi) from the Globe.
  • Eris (13 cm (5.1 in) in diameter) is located at Umestans Företagspark, Umeå, 518 km (322 mi) from the Globe. Made by Theresa Berg, the golden model is inspired by the mythical story of Eris sparking a quarrel between three Greek goddesses with a golden apple bearing the inscription καλλίστῃ (kallistē, "to the most beautiful one").
  • Sedna (10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter), another dwarf planet candidate, is located at Teknikens Hus, a science center in Luleå, 734 km (456 mi) from the Globe. This represents a distance of about 15 billion km; Sedna has a highly elliptical orbit, its distance from the Sun varying between 11 and 140 billion km.

Other bodies

The dwarf planet Sedna

List of objects

ObjectDistance from Globen[9]Diameter[9]Location[9]CoordinatesInauguration date
Sun71 m (233 ft), the disk
110 m (361 ft), incl. the corona
The Avicii Arena in Stockholm59°17′36.80″N 18°04′59.65″E / 59.2935556°N 18.0832361°E / 59.2935556; 18.083236119 February 1989
471926 Jörmungandr1.8 km0.05 mmIon Game Design in Stockholm59°18′34.7″N 18°04′21.9″E / 59.309639°N 18.072750°E / 59.309639; 18.07275023 september 2023[10]
Mercury2.9 km (1.8 mi)25 cm (9.8 in)Stockholm City Museum in Stockholm59°19′11″N 18°04′16″E / 59.31972°N 18.07111°E / 59.31972; 18.071111998
Venus5.5 km (3.4 mi)62 cm (24.4 in)Vetenskapens Hus59°21′10.38″N 18°03′30.78″E / 59.3528833°N 18.0585500°E / 59.3528833; 18.05855008 June 2004
Earth and Moon7.6 km (4.7 mi)65 cm (25.6 in) and 18 cm (7.1 in)Cosmonova Riksmuseet in Stockholm59°22′08.48″N 18°03′12.34″E / 59.3690222°N 18.0534278°E / 59.3690222; 18.0534278before 2000[11]
(433) Eros11 km (6.8 mi)2.0 mm × 0.7 mm × 0.7 mmMörbyskolan, a school in Danderyd59°23′38″N 18°02′41″E / 59.39389°N 18.04472°E / 59.39389; 18.04472
(36614) Saltis11 km (6.8 mi)< 1 mmKunskapsskolan, a school in Saltsjöbaden59°16′21″N 18°18′17″E / 59.27250°N 18.30472°E / 59.27250; 18.3047214 January 2010[12]
Mars11.6 km (7.2 mi)35 cm (13.8 in)Mörby Centrum in Danderyd59°23′52.58″N 18°02′11.58″E / 59.3979389°N 18.0365500°E / 59.3979389; 18.0365500before 2000[11]
4 Vesta16.4 km (10.2 mi)2.6 cmÅva gymnasium in Täby59°26′24″N 18°03′47.16″E / 59.44000°N 18.0631000°E / 59.44000; 18.06310006 September 2017[13]
Jupiter40 km (25 mi)7.3 m (24 ft)Arlanda airport in Märsta59°38′58.52″N 17°55′50.38″E / 59.6495889°N 17.9306611°E / 59.6495889; 17.9306611before 2000[11]
(306367) Nut (5025 PL)60 km (37 mi)0.2 mmin Knivsta59°45′25″N 17°45′57″E / 59.75694°N 17.76583°E / 59.75694; 17.76583
Saturn73 km (45 mi)6.1 m (20 ft)Celsius square in Uppsala59°51′34″N 17°38′14″E / 59.85944°N 17.63722°E / 59.85944; 17.637222010 (only Titan)
Uranus125 km (77 mi)2.6 m (8.5 ft)Stora magasinet in Lövstabruk60°24′31″N 17°52′37″E / 60.40861°N 17.87694°E / 60.40861; 17.8769413 October 2012[14]
Haumea200 km10 cmBorlänge60°29′18.1″N 15°25′51.5″E / 60.488361°N 15.430972°E / 60.488361; 15.430972
Halley's Comet204 km (127 mi)Four representations, not scale models.[a]Balthazar Science Center in Skövde58°23′14″N 13°51′11″E / 58.38722°N 13.85306°E / 58.38722; 13.8530616 December 2009[17]
Neptune229 km (142 mi)2.5 m (8.2 ft)by the river Söderhamnsån in Söderhamn61°18′07″N 17°03′19″E / 61.30194°N 17.05528°E / 61.30194; 17.0552829 October 1998[18]
Pluto and Charon300 km (186 mi)12 cm (4.7 in) and 6 cm (2.4 in)by the lake Dellen South, in Delsbo61°47′50.13″N 16°32′59.96″E / 61.7972583°N 16.5499889°E / 61.7972583; 16.5499889before 2000[11]
50000 Quaoar340 km6 cmGislaved’s library57°17′46.9″N 13°31′49.8″E / 57.296361°N 13.530500°E / 57.296361; 13.53050018 November 2017[19]
(28978) Ixion360 km (224 mi)6.5 cm (2.6 in)Technichus, a science center in Härnösand62°37′49″N 17°56′12″E / 62.63028°N 17.93667°E / 62.63028; 17.9366718 April 2002[20]
174567 Varda370 km33 mmBohusläns museum in Uddevalla58°20′57.4″N 11°55′44.0″E / 58.349278°N 11.928889°E / 58.349278; 11.9288894 september 2021[21]
109P/Swift-Tuttle comet390 km (242 mi)< 1 cmKreativum, a science center in Karlshamn56°11′39″N 14°51′09″E / 56.19417°N 14.85250°E / 56.19417; 14.85250
Makemake400 km7 cmSlottsskogsobservatoriet in Gothenburg57°41′28.3″N 11°56′36.4″E / 57.691194°N 11.943444°E / 57.691194; 11.94344423 September 2017[22]
ʻOumuamua440 km0.3 mmHalmstads56°44′04.8″N 12°44′42.8″E / 56.734667°N 12.745222°E / 56.734667; 12.745222
225088 Gonggong400 km7.5 cmTycho Brahe-observatoriet, Oxie55°32′33.9″N 13°05′04.0″E / 55.542750°N 13.084444°E / 55.542750; 13.08444423 September 2017[23]
(136199) Eris510 km (317 mi)13 cm (5.1 in)Företagspark in Umeå63°50′05″N 20°15′37″E / 63.83472°N 20.26028°E / 63.83472; 20.260286 December 2007[24]
(90377) Sedna810 km (503 mi)10 cm (3.9 in)Teknikens Hus, a science center in Luleå65°36′59.50″N 22°08′06.00″E / 65.6165278°N 22.1350000°E / 65.6165278; 22.13500008 December 2005[25]
Termination shock950 km (590 mi)A plateInstitute of Space Physics in Kiruna67°50′27″N 20°24′34.5″E / 67.84083°N 20.409583°E / 67.84083; 20.409583

See also

Notes

References