Central Illinois Community Solar Model - Uranus - Pekin, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 40° 33.746 W 089° 37.829
16T E 277303 N 4493510
Uranus, the 7th planet from the sun, is depicted in Mineral Springs Park. This placement is associated with the original Model installation that emanated from the former Lakeview Museum, since re-deployed from the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
Waymark Code: WMR21V
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 04/30/2016
Views: 3
Uranus is depicted as a blue sphere surrounded by a silver ring and is 18 inches in diameter. The real planet Uranus is actually 31,763 miles in diameter, and 1,784,800,000 miles from the Sun. An adjacent informational plaque explains that Uranus was discovered in 1781 by William Herschel and has 15 known moons.
The new Solar System Model centers on the sun located at the Peoria Riverfront Museum - see waymark (
visit link) . From their website: "Peoria Riverfront Museum's Community Solar System model is the world's most complete large-scale model of the Solar System. The scale factor is 99,000,000:1, covering 6,000 square miles of Central Illinois. In addition to the Sun and 8 planets, the model includes 5 dwarf planets and numerous unnamed comets spread across the globe."
An informational plaque on a nearby wall there lists the locations and sizes of the other planets and objects in the Model. According to this plaque, a (new?) Uranus is located in Troutman Park in Princeville, about 16 miles from the Museum. This awaits verification by another intrepid waymarker. I'm somewhat surprised that the original Uranus model was left here rather than relocated. Perhaps this was done due to the ambiance of the adjacent and awesome Sundance Sundial (
visit link) . You get a lot of astronomical education at this location. I just happened to find it while driving by!