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ODE TO PLUTO: IMPROMPTU MEMORIAL APPEARS
AT SCALE MODEL OF SOLAR SYSTEM ON NATIONAL MALL
REPLICATIONS OF MODEL SOLAR SYSTEM AVAILABLE
FOR PERMANENT INSTALLATION IN COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE U.S. AND
INTERNATIONALLY
(September 2006; USRA Press Release) An impromptu memorial to Pluto’s
planet status has appeared at a scale model of the Solar System on the
National Mall in Washington, DC. At Pluto’s place in the Voyage
exhibition–a one to 10-billion scale model of the Solar System designed
to convey the distances between the Sun and its planets and the
relative sizes of these bodies–visitors have left condolence cards,
affectionate notes, and flowers to mark the passing of Pluto from
“planet” to “dwarf planet” status. Pluto has held the designation of
“planet” since 1930 but on August 24th the International Astronomical
Union announced that it had agreed to adopt a new definition of
‘planet’–and that Pluto did not make the cut. [More]
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REJECTED AS A PLANET, PLUTO HAS A SPACE IN
PEOPLE'S HEARTS
(September 2, 2006; Washington Post) Outside the Smithsonian Castle,
people have come to mourn the "death" of a planet.
The Pluto we knew "died" last week at the hands of
a bunch of astronomers in Prague who demoted it to a "dwarf planet." [More]
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VOYAGE: A JOURNEY THROUGH OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
(January 2002; NASA Newsletter) On October 17, 2001, a new long term
space science exhibit Voyage – A Journey Through Our Solar System
opened on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Created by Challenger
Center for Space Science Education, the Smithsonian Institution, and
NASA, Voyage is a one to 10-billion scale model of the solar system
that provides visitors a dramatic understanding of Earth's place in
space, and celebrates our ability to reach beyond our tiny world and
uncover the breadth and majesty of the universe. [More]
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PUTTING THE PLANETS IN PERSPECTIVE
(November 23, 2001; Washington Post) The problem for any museum project
director who wants to design and present a scale model of the solar
system is, well, the phrase "scale model."
Unless you have access to a room the size of an
airplane hangar, it's going to be tough to represent the vastness of
our solar system without reducing the planets to the size of something
it would take an electron microscope to see. [More]
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STROLL ACROSS SOLAR SYSTEM
(November 15, 2001; Washington Times) Not long ago, humans thought
Earth was in the center of the universe and Saturn was the most remote
planet. Now we know not only the order of the planets, but the exact
distances between them. [More] |
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NEW OUTDOOR EXHIBIT ON THE
NATIONAL MALL TAKES VISITORS ON A VOYAGE THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM
(September 6, 2001; Smithsonian Press Release) The Smithsonian
Institution, in collaboration with Challenger Center for Space Science
Education and NASA, will premiere a new permanent outdoor exhibition on
Wednesday, Oct. 17 in the nation's capital. “Voyage – A Journey
Through Our Solar System” is a model of the solar system – the
actual solar system is 10 billion times larger. [More] |
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SMITHSONIAN TAKES VISITORS
ON A VOYAGE THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM
New Outdoor Exhibition Celebrates Space Science
and Human Exploration
(June 25, 2001; Smithsonian Press Release) The Smithsonian Institution,
in a collaboration with Challenger Center for Space Science Education
and NASA, will premiere a new permanent outdoor exhibition on
Wednesday, Oct. 17 in the nation's capital, “Voyage – A Journey
Through Our Solar System.” [More] |
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