This site tells the story of the history of the universe. Click Earlier and Later to follow the story. Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand.
It might help to get some idea of the scale of the solar
system if you make a model of it.
The map below allows you to design your own model for your school, village
or park and create a link to it.
Warning: the wheel on your mouse will probably zoom the map, so use the
scroll bar to move up and down the page.
How to use the map
Set the Sun's location by entering a street, town and postal or zip
code into the box below. (Notice that zip codes alone are not always
accurate.)
Drag the Sun to the exact place you want your model to be. Notice
that the planets move with it.
Zoom in to place it exactly using the + button or your mouse wheel.
If needed use the satellite view to find the Sun's new home.
Scale the map.Currently the scale is 1 to
billion.
To change the scale enter a new number and click:
Or change the distance from Sun to Earth in the model:
kilometres and click
Drag the planets around to the place you want them to be. Each planet
knows how far it should be from the Sun and will automatically adjust
its distance from the Sun. So you might put the planets in a store in
your town, in somebody's home or some other place.
Keep adjusting the scale and the locations until you find the best
homes for your Solar System.
If you want the Sun to be the size of a soccer ball, click here
Once everything is right, click
to generate the unique URL for your model.
Copy the text in the box above and paste it into an email or your web site to link
to your map.
Look at the table below showing the size of the Sun and each planet.
Find or make objects this size and put them in the right place.
Visit the pages for each of the planets and print out the information.
Put this near the planet.
Now advertise your model.
Sit back and wait for the congratulations!
Diameters of objects in your Solar System Model
(mm across)
