Community Solar System Scale Model
Peoria Riverfront Museum's Community Solar System model is the world's most complete large-scale model of the Solar System. The scale factor is 99,000,000:1, covering 6,000 square miles of Central Illinois. In addition to the Sun and 8 planets, the model includes 5 dwarf planets and numerous unnamed comets spread across the globe. Click here to see a list of cities home to unnamed comets.
The Sun is the center of the model, and is depicted on Riverfront Museum's Sun Plaza (and the wall of Dome Planetarium lobby). The Earth (5 inches in diameter) is nearly one mile from the Museum on the Rock Island/Pimiteoui Trail at the Peoria riverfront. The 3 stars of the Alpha Centauri system (the closest stars to the Sun) are represented by Little West Crater at the Apollo 11 landing site - they could be lined up across the 100’ crater, accurate for both their size and distance to the scale of the model.