Gainesville, Georgia: Scale Model of the Solar System

Gainesville's Scale Model of the Solar System is worth the stop!

In 1998, the North Georgia Astronomers group wanted to show the residents of Gainesville and its surrounding areas exactly how massive the solar system was (3.6 billion miles from the Sun to Pluto) and created a 1:2 billion scale model that spanned 1.8 miles across Hall County. The model is made of several granite stones (quarried from Elberton, the home of another famous roadside attraction, the Georgia Guidestones) with bronze markers identifying each heavenly body. The markers and their locations are as follows:

-The Sun Is represented by a 27.5-inch diameter stainless steel globe in Gainesville Square.
- Mercury, Venus, and the Earth are also in Gainesville Square.
- Mars is across the street at the corner of Washington and Main.
- The Asteroid Belt is outside of the Hall County Library on Main Street. - Jupiter is in Rock Creek Veterans Park on Main Street.
- Saturn is in Ivey Terrace Park.
- Uranus is in Wilshire Trails Park on Wilshire Road (the halfway point of the walking trail).
- Neptune is off of Pearl Nix Parkway at the entrance to Longwood Park.
- Pluto is at the southernmost part of Longwood Park, between the flagpole and John Morrow Parkway, across from Gainesville High School.

At the far end of the model is a granite bench labeled "Time Machine" where the North Georgia Astronomers encourage visitors to take and share pictures of themselves with the NGA. The bench is between Pluto and a marker directing visitors to the Alpha Centauri galaxy...12,500 miles away.