Charles River Solar System
The 2011 CRSolSys Exhibit:
May 1 and May 8
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
The CRSolSys exhibit for the 2011 Cambridge Science Festival simulates a solar
eclipse at a 1:400,000,000 scale. It also includes Venus and Mars.
The Charles River Solar System is located in Cambridge, along the Charles River, between the Museum of
Science and the Longfellow Bridge, in the grassy area closest to the river. The planet
Venus is near the Sonesta Hotel.
Directions
By car
On Sundays you can park on the streets of Cambridge in permit-ony locations without a resident parking permit.
If you don't find street parking, inexpensive garage parking is available nearby at the CambridgeSide Galeria Mall.
Make your way to the Royal Sonesta Hotel,
then go to the bank of the Charles River directly in front of the Sonesta. (You can take a shortcut through the Sonesta lobby.)
Turn right and follow the river toward the Longfellow Bridge.
You will soon find planet Venus.
From the Museum of Science
Turn left as you exit the museum and walk past the parking garage.
Turn left at the traffic light and then left again after crossing the canal bridge.
Walk along the bank of the river past the Sonesta Hotel until you reach Venus.
From the Red Line
Get off at the Kendall/MIT station. Walk toward Boston until you reach the river.
Turn left and follow the river. You will soon arrive at the Mars model.
After you arrive
Stroll among the planets
From either Venus or Mars it is a short stroll along the river to the model Earth.
At a slow walking pace, you will approximate the speed of light through the solar system.
From any location during your journey,
the planets and the sun will appear at the same size as they would if you were actually travelling through space.
You can watch Earth grow larger as you approach.
View a solar eclipse
When you reach Earth, don't miss your chance to view the solar eclipse. At the scale of this exhibit, the sun is eleven and a half feet in diameter,
and the moon is less than a three eights of an inch in diameter, yet the moon
can completely eclipse the sun. How is this possible? Even if you know the answer,
it's amazing to see with your own eyes.
