Artists create world's first scale model of the solar system

By Dom Carter
published

Those models of the solar system you remember from school are way off. This is what it really looks like.

Universe model

We all know the solar system is huge. But just how large it is, is something that goes unappreciated by most. Until now. To help understand Earth's size relative to other planets in their orbits, filmmakers Wylie Overstreet and Alex Forosh – the team behind the YouTube channel To Scale: (opens in new tab) – created a fully scaled model of the Solar System, using a tiny blue marble to represent Earth.

In just 36 hours, Overstreet, Forosh and a group of friends mapped out the orbits of the planets with the help of a GPS and a drone in seven miles of dry lakebed in the Nevada desert, then recorded time-lapse footage of the models in motion.

Watch their stunning video below to get a sense of perspective.

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Dom Carter
Dom Carter

Dom Carter is a freelance writer who specialises in art and design. Formerly a staff writer for Creative Bloq, his work has also appeared on Creative Boom and in the pages of ImagineFX, Computer Arts, 3D World, and .net. He has been a D&AD New Blood judge, and has a particular interest in picture books.

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