Mercury Along 'Cycle The Solar System' - Bishopthorpe, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 55.481 W 001° 06.695
30U E 624001 N 5976794
This model of the planet Mercury is the second model from the beginning of the 10.2 km (6.4 mile) long scale model of the Solar System.
Waymark Code: WM15203
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/29/2021
Views: 2
The Solar System Model
The model is along part of National Cycle Route 65 that was converted from a former railway line to a 'rails to trails' route.
In 1999, the nearby York University that has an observatory, built a scale model of the Solar System along the route as part of the celebrations for the Millennium. They named the model 'Cycle the Solar System'.
Along it you can find scale models of the sun and all the planets in our solar system as well as models of the Cassini and Voyager spacecraft. The scale of the model is 575,872,239 to 1. So every 100 metres along the track corresponds to more than 57 million kilometres in space. This means that along the route the speed of light is about 1.16 mph, so it is easy to walk at around 3 times the speed of light and to cycle at about 10 times the speed of light!
The start of the route is close to the Askham Bar Park and Ride site and there is parking at the other end in the streets of Riccall.
Each of the models which is made to scale has direction arrows to the next model with distances in metres along the path and kilometres in space.
The Model Of Mercury
All the planet bases are made from concrete sewer pipes. The tops of the bases are made from stainless steel which was shot-blasted. The bases were filled with concrete and the tops set into the concrete after a few fine adjustments. Then the smaller planets were screwed in place.
Apart from the dwarf planet pluto, Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and so the model size is only 0.84cm in diameter.
Address:
National Cycle Route 65
Near to Askham Bar Park And Ride
Bishopthorpe, Yorkshire United Kingdom
YO23 2BB
To-Scale by distance: yes
To-Scale by Size: yes
Is the model an Orrery?: no
Web Page: [Web Link]
Hours:
All the time
Admission Fee: Not Listed
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