Have you ever wanted to walk across the solar system and still have both feet flat on the ground? The Somerset Space Walk allows visitors to do something kind of like that. This large sculpture trail is a proportionate model of our entire solar system from the planet sizes to the distances in between them. It makes use of a 22kilometer Bridgwater and Taunton Canal to fully showcase its purpose. The Spacewalk was designed by Philip Robert Vassar Youngman for people to experience how truly large and extraordinary our solar system is. He challenges the flat perceptions of pictures and charts often seen today, because they do now show the full impact of the space we live in.
Photography by Pam Goodey
This bold model is built on a small scale of 1 is to 530,000,000. Such a scale is needed because of it optimal comparison to the actual solar system and heavenly bodies. one milimeter on the scaled replica is equal to the measurement of 530 kilometers. The project itself was a joint venture by Taunton Solar Model Group and British Waterways. The planets each have a description under them and are held up by stone blocks for a strong durability. It was very difficult to consider adding anything aside from the sun and planets because of the distance factor. Including the nearest star for example would entail placing it over 70,000 kilometers away. The entire trail can be walked from the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton or from theBridgwaters Morrison's Supermarket. Such a powerful display of the space outside of what we know, can be our own link into experiencing the feeling of a larger-than-life ambiance.
