The Otford Solar System
The Otford Solar System is a scale model of the solar system constructed in and around the village of Otford, near Sevenoaks in Kent.
The Otford Solar System is one of the largest scale models in the world. Reflective domes on plinths accurately represent the positions of the planets in relation to the Sun. The Sun and the nearby planets are all located on the village playing field with short walks to the next nearest planets.
If a visitor walks to Pluto and looks back towards the recreation ground, there is a sense of the vastness of space.
The Otford Solar System was set up as a millennium project by Otford Parish Council. For this reason, it was spatially configured so as to accurately reflect the positions of the planets at midnight on 1st January 2000. The positions of Juiter, Saturn and Pluto were slightly adjusted in order to make them accessible.
To add to the interest and sense of perspective - four of the nearest stars to our solar system are also included in the model. The nearest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is located in Los Angeles, Barnard’s Star in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, Sirius in Sydney, Australia and Ross 154 in Christchurch, New Zealand!
Further reading
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