Supposedly my Zodiac identity, and likely not yours, the model sits 20.7 miles from the sun model at the bigging of the display. Here its diameter is 22 inches.

The reason for the angled arm that lifts the planet is to present the axis with its extreme tilt, pointing its North Pole permanently toward the sun.

And we think a midnight sun at the height of summer’s a big deal? How about the endless darkness at the South Pole?

When you stop to think about it, the labor and care supporting this solar system presentation is astonishing. Just whose flash of inspiration came up with the calculations of our central star and its orbiting bodies, starting by placing Earth a mile from the sun?

And then came all the craftsmanship not just with the heavenly bodies but also the concrete bases and metal arms plus landscaping and the willingness of landowners to make room for the displays on their properties and tourists poking around. In all, 700 volunteers were involved one way or another.

For a large county with a small population, it was a truly astronomical undertaking. And there’s more …

Getting further out on our solar system journey, we come to the dramatically ringed planet. Sitting 9.7 miles from Aroostook County’s model sun in Presque Isle, its diameter here is 51.9 inches but the outer ring extends the diameter to 117 inches – nearly 12 feet.

Of its many moons, only Titan is large enough to be displayed on this scale.

 

The largest planet in our solar system represents a gap between the cluster of planets closest to the sun and those beyond. At 5.2 miles from our model sun on our astro-scavenger hunt, we’re finally getting some size. This one’s a bit wider than a five-foot arm span – it’s 61.4 inches – like a really big beach ball. And its four largest moons are Io, 1.6 inches; Europa, 1.3; Ganymede, 2.3; and Callisto, 2.1.

Remember, this is a scale of one to 93 million. As inconceivable as that seems.

At 3/8 of an inch in the scaled solar system – that is, a steel ball bearing – this is the largest object in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The model was erected after the rest of the Aroostook system was in place.

Did you even know about this body? Hate to admit, but I didn’t.

 

At 1.4 miles from the sun in our scale, Mars is about half the size of Earth and has two moons that are too small to be presented in this display.

The angled post in the crescent, as we were learning, represents the planet’s tilt in its orbit, the major factor that gives us our seasons.

By this point in our drive, we were beginning to catch on to what we were looking before rather than passing by and having to circle about. The game now became who would spot the next stop first.

In our eyes, in the perspective of gazing from Earth, the sun and full moon appear roughly the same size.

Not so in an actual size comparison.

The model, 1½ inches in diameter, is a fiberglass covered golf ball. Remember how big the sun was, back in the science building?

My, what the miles can do.

 

Exactly a mile from the college, for good reason. The scale for the solar system model is one mile on U.S. 1, befitting the astronomical unit (AU), which is the distance from the earth to the sun. Everything else was then put into relation to that.

The model is 5½ inches.

The display is outside a used-car dealership on U.S. Route 1.

Home, sweet home, right?

Or should that be “makeup”? Weathering has taken a toll on the coloration of what lurks beneath the heavy cloud cover.

Set six-tenths of a mile from the sun and sized at 5.2 inches, it’s a Styrofoam ball with a fiberglass cover.

It sits outside the chamber of commerce.

 

Our next stop was within sight of the college, about three-tenths of a mile away.

The brochure said the planet was to be found at the Honda dealer, but we couldn’t find it. This was not a Ford-Lincoln product, after all.

This time, after a laugh, I was pointed across the street.

Here’s how big the little planet appears in relation to the sun we’d just met earlier. While the sun was built with a 598-inch diameter, Mercury weighs in at a mere 1.1 inches.

 

In my telling of our trip to The County, I omitted a delightful activity along the main road through potato country.

Our encounter started with a stop at the state university branch on the southern fringe of the county seat, Presque Isle.

We were looking for the sun on a cloudy day. It was harder than you’d think.

According to the brochure, it was supposed to be at the base of a flagpole. No luck there.

Finally, asking passers-by, “Where can we find the sun?” we were pointed to a science building and told with a laugh, “It’s inside, by the stairwell.”

The yellow arch represents the size of the sun in relation to the earth, set out by U.S. Route 1 a mile away. As you’ll see. I’m assuming this is an economy version, considering how big a fuller version placed in an atrium or outside would be.

Welcome to a three-dimensional run through our solar system, one created by an imaginative science teacher abetted by enthusiastic students both at the college branch and the community college plus high school and tech center kids and interested adults (aka the space enthusiasts) in the county, the results were executed without big grant money et cetera. Amazing.

As a small correction: The model is now the second-largest, the biggest in the Western Hemisphere. Or so I read elsewhere.

To be continued, if you’re patient.