Frequently Asked Questions
What is the OV Planet Tour?
The tour is a 13 mile long scaled model of the Sun and solar system planets (including Pluto to represent dwarf planets an Kuiper Belt Objects) which courses through Ogden Valley from Compass Rose Lodge HALO observatory in Huntsville to North Fork Park main entrance in Liberty. The planets are scaled in size to each other, and the distances apart from one another are placed at their respective orbital distances from each other.
How did you choose the start and end points?
In order for the planet models to not be microscopic , the models had to cover a lot of ground to accurately reflect orbital distances of planets. HALO Observatory and North Fork Park are locations which share a common interest in space, astronomy and Dark Skies. North Fork Park was the first ever IDA accredited bronze tier Dark Sky Park in the world. HALO offers regular observatory tours and star parties using telescopes. Dark skies are an important factor to astronomy efforts.
Where is the Sun? Where does the model begin?
The Sun is located on the southwest corner of the ground at Compass Rose Lodge (home of HALO Observatory) at 198 S 7400 E Huntsville Utah 84401. The Sun diameter is represented by the large rustic arch (not the stainless steel sphere attached). The Sun would be roughly 12 feet 8 inches (almost 3.9 meters) in diameter. Next to the Sun, you will find a sign with fun facts about the Sun. Information on the bottom of the sign will direct you to the first planet, Mercury, using two different coordinate systems.
How do we find each planet model?
If you begin at the Sun, information on the bottom of the sign will guide you to the next planet (Mercury). Information on the bottom of the Mercury sign will then guide you to the next planet, (Venus). Venus will guide you to Earth and so forth. The location every subsequent planet is on each planetary sign. The location of each planet will also be listed on the planet pages of this website.
Each planet model sits atop the respective sign pole. Yes, Mercury is about the size of a small marble and Pluto is about the size of a pea!
What are the coordinate systems to find each planet?
The first coordinate system used to find each solar system model and sign is called decimal degrees. For example, The Sun location is 41.260902, -111.76997. You can type these coordinates into a GPS, phone GPS app or even Google Maps on a phone to be guided to the location. The other system we chose is called What3Words. This is a proprietary geocode system designed to identify any location wih a resolution of about 3 metres (9.8 ft). The system encodes geographic coordinates into three random, permanently-fixed dictionary words. For example, the Sun model is ///starring.fundraising.obstinate.
What3Words offers a free app for Apple iOS and Android products in their respective app stores. Once a three-word location is entered, the app allows navigation to the location via Apple Maps, Google Maps or What3Word’s digital compass feature which shows an a direction arrow to the target location as well as a distance to that location.
If you are not familiar with traditianl latitude-logitude coordinates, What3Words will be the easy solution for you. If you like activities like geo-caching and would like the challenge of improving your latitude-longitude navigation skills then the decimal degree system will be the option for you.
How Close do the coordiates guide you to each model?
Though we strive for a high degree of accuracy with each of the sign coordinates and wish for the coordinates to land you right in front of each sign, you may end up 16 feet or even slighly farther away from each model. There are several limiting factors involved in accuracy including the device used for navigation. According to gps.gov, “GPS-enabled smartphones are typically accurate to within a 4.9 m (16 ft.)”
We also used two differect systems for each location (decimal degree latitiude longitude system, and What3words described above). These systems do not directly correlate with eachother so there may be slight variance between the two. Happy hunting!
Who is involved in this project?
This project is a collaboration between HALO and Mountain Arts and Music Organization. It is partially RAMP funded. Students from Valley Elementary and Snowcrest Jr High also submitted fun fact ideas about the planets to contribute to the planet facts signs attached to each planet Display. We also appreciate contributions from people and organizations like local metal artist Mary Hardy, who created the Sun sculpture, Boman-Kemp for steel material contributions to the project, and Austin with Tefco of Ogden for donation of the custom fabricated planet sign poles.
Other honorable mentions are Dakota Hyde, creator of the project; Trish Painter with Mountain Arts and Music who wrote funding grants and coordinated the “Here Comes the Sun” Planet Tour celebration hosted by Mountain Arts and Music; River Hyde for planet sign graphic design contributions. Jeff Hyde and Curtis Hyde for being the first to pick up the shovels and get the models installed.
What is the scale of OV Planet Tour to the actual solar system?
The model is roughly a 1 to 357,679,609 scale of our actual solar system.
What sources were used to determine Solar System Scale?
Most of the figures used to determine model and orbital scale
of the solar system came from the NASA Planetary Fact Sheet.
The dimensions to construct Saturn’s Rings to scale can be
found in NASA’s Saturnian Rings Fact Sheet. Saturn’s A Ring,
B Ring and Cassini Division are represented in the model.
If you have interest in experimenting with the scale of the solar system or want to build your own model, check out this Solar System Building Model calculator availble through Exploratorium.edu.
