‘Scale Model of the Solar System’ was commissioned by Otford Parish Council
and is centred upon Otford Recreational Ground. It in on a scale of 1:4.59 billion;
planets are represented by a scale engraving on a stainless steel disk, and the sun by a 1 foot hemisphere of stainless steel, each mounted on 3 foot concrete pillars.

The aim of the model is to celebrate the Millennium and demonstrate the vastness of the solar system and our place within it. The placement of the pillars reflects the positions of the planets as at midnight on Millennium Eve.

Otford Parish Council used the prize money to help maintain accessability to the pillars; install information boards; enhance footpaths where the outer pillars are located and marking the inner planet’s orbits. A display cabinet was created for the Otford Heritage Centre.

31st July 2006

Lately, the model has grown to include some stars closest to our solar system. To keep to the same scale as the Otford model, has meant that that these four stars are located at the Sydney Observatory, Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, Stanley Museum in The Falklands and at Caterbury Museum.

Canterbury Museum's scale model is of star Ross 154 which is 9.7 light years away and the seventh closest star to our Sun. It is located in the eastern part of the constellation Sagittarius, commonly called the Archer. Ross 154 is more than ten thousand times dimmer than our Sun and too faint to be seen with the naked eye. However, in the Southern Hemisphere you can see Sagittarius, high overhead, but the Archer is upside down. The model at Otford is visited by 2,000 to 3,000 people a year, including school parties, walking groups and astronomical parties.