What is it?
Planet Trek Dane County (PTDC) was constructed in April 2009 as a celebration of the International Year of Astronomy by UW Space Place and partners. PTDC is an installation uniting science education, art, and outdoor recreation. PTDC is, at heart, a scale model of our solar system: We shrunk the Sun, planets, and other bodies by the same factor so that the sizes and distances are represented to scale relative to each other. In our model, the scale is about 200 million to 1. This means the Sun is a sphere about 24 feet in diameter at Monona Terrace, and Pluto the size of a marble in Mt. Horeb.
Where is it?
The PTDC Sun is located at Monona Terrace Convention Center in downtown Madison. To begin your trek through the solar system, leave the Sun, keeping the lake on your left, and watch for Mercury. Don’t miss the sharp right turn just past Mercury at North Shore Dr., crossing John Nolan Dr. Pass Venus, then Earth, and follow the Southwest Path, which is another sharp right turn just past Earth, where you cross North Shore Dr. Stay on the trail a few million miles past Saturn, then follow the Military Ridge Bike Trail towards Verona. PTDC ends at Pluto, which is located about 23 miles away from Monona Terrace in the village of Mt. Horeb.
Who can ride it?
All parts of PTDC are open to the public. You can voyage anywhere from the Sun to Saturn (just west of Midvale Blvd. on the bike path), on foot or bicycle whenever you like. Uranus and points beyond require access to Military Ridge Trail, which requires purchase of a trail pass from the Wisconsin DNR.
When can I see it?
PTDC is currently on display.
Who created it?
We thank our sponsors: Monona Terrace, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison Parks Division and Friends of Washburn Observatory.
Thanks go to Nick Schweitzer for the project concept and working out many details of planning and installation. Tsela Barr designed the graphics. UW Space Place originated and surveyed the recreational trail version and designed the scale model. Images are courtesy of NASA.