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How to Build a Simple Model of the Solar System

Our solar system consists of eight recognized true planets and one newly classified dwarf planet, Pluto, all orbiting around the sun. The massive sizes of these planets and the tremendous distances between them can be difficult to visualize when simply reading astronomical statistics from a text. Solar system models are built proportionately as an effective way to clarify overwhelming astronomical concepts. All of the supplies for this project can be obtained inexpensively at your nearest craft store.

Things You'll Need

Two 4 1/2-inch Styrofoam rings
One 1-inch Styrofoam ball
Two 1 1/4-inch Styrofoam balls
Two 1 1/2-inch Styrofoam balls
One 2-inch Styrofoam ball
One 2 1/2-inch Styrofoam ball
One 3-inch Styrofoam ball
One 4-inch Styrofoam ball
One 6-inch Styrofoam ball
One 12-inch x 36-inch Styrofoam sheet
Black, blue, green, orange, purple, red and yellow acrylic paints
Two 36-inch by 1/8-inch wooden dowels
Paint brush
Ruler
Craft scissors
Glue

Instructions

- 1
  Cut your dowel rods into nine pieces of the following lengths: 2 1/2 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches, 6 inches, 7 inches, 8 inches, 10 inches, 11 1/2 inches and 14 inches.
- 2
  Paint all of the cut dowel rod pieces with black acrylic paint, sticking one end of each into a sheet of Styrofoam so they stand up and dry without smudging.
- 3
  Remove the dowels when they've dried and, one at a time, apply glue to one end of the dowel and insert it into the appropriate Styrofoam ball.
  
  Insert the 2 1/2-inch dowel into a 1-inch diameter ball (representing Mercury), the 4-inch dowel into a 1 1/2-inch ball (Venus), the 5-inch dowel into a 1 1/2-inch ball (Earth), the 6-inch dowel into a 1 1/4-inch ball (Mars), the 7-inch dowel into a 4-inch ball (Jupiter), the 8-inch dowel into a 3-inch ball (Saturn), the 10-inch dowel into a 2 1/2-inch ball (Uranus), the 11 1/2-inch dowel into a 2-inch ball (Neptune), and the 14-inch dowel into a 1 1/4-inch ball (Pluto).
- 4
  Apply acrylic paint to each Styrofoam ball. The ball 6 inches in diameter represents the sun. Use pictures of the planets as your guide when painting. Create extra realism by applying a base coat of one color for a planet, letting it dry, and then applying swirls or spots of a second color.
- 5
  Paint one of the Styrofoam rings with black acrylic paint, and the other ring the color or colors you feel are most representative of Saturn's rings. Allow the paint to dry.
- 6
  Apply glue to the rim of the black Styrofoam ring and place the sun on top of the ring's rim. Hold the sun in place until it has fully adhered to the black ring.
- 7
  Apply glue to the inner rim of the ring you've painted for Saturn, and gently press it down over the 3-inch ball representing Saturn.
- 8
  Apply glue to the other ends of the dowels on which your planets are impaled. Insert the glued end of the dowel holding Mercury into the sun, about 1 1/2 inches above the black ring base. Begin gluing and inserting the ends of the rest of the planet dowels in the following order: Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.

Astronomy