Somerset Space Walk
Encyclopedia
The Somerset Space Walk is a sculpture trail
model of the solar system
, located in Somerset
, England. The model uses the towpath
of the 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
to display a model of the Sun
and its planets in their proportionally correct sizes and distances apart. Unusually for a solar system model
, there are two sets of planets.
Aware of the inadequacies of printed pictures of the Solar System, the Space Walk was designed by inventor Pip Youngman as a way of challenging our perceptions of space and experiencing the vastness of our own Solar System.
The model is built to a scale of 1:530,000,000, meaning that one millimetre on the model equates to 530 kilometres. The Sun is sited at Higher Maunsel Lock, and one set of planets is installed in each direction along the canal towards Taunton
and Bridgwater
; the distance between the Sun and each model of Pluto
being 11 kilometres (6.8 mi). Fortunately for less hardy walkers, the inner planets are within 67 metres (219.8 ft) of the Sun, and near to the Maunsel Canal Centre (and tea shop) at Lower Maunsel Lock, where a more detailed leaflet about the model is available.
The Space Walk was opened on 9 August 1997 by British astronomer
Heather Couper
. In 2007, a project team from Somerset County Council refurbished some of the models.
, with support from Somerset County Council
, Taunton Deane
Borough Council and the Somerset Waterways Development Trust. The Taunton Solar Model Group comprised Pip Youngman, Trevor Hill – a local physics teacher who had been awarded the title of "Institute of Physics
(IOP) Physics Teacher of the Year" – and David Applegate who, during his time as Mayor of Taunton, had expressed a wish to see some kind of science initiative in the area. Pip came up with the idea for the Space Walk, and Trevor assisted by calculating the respective positions and sizes of the planets.
Funding for the project came from the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science
(COPUS), the initial advertising leaflet was paid for by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
(PPARC) and there was also a small grant from Sustrans
, who fund art installations along cyclepaths, to deal with maintenance requirements in the years before Somerset County Council took on that responsibility. In order to apply for the COPUS funding Youngman needed two 'sponsors', so he wrote to Arthur C. Clarke
(a local boy himself, then living in Sri Lanka) and Patrick Moore
, who both wrote warm letters in support. Arthur C Clarke's brother Fred read out his letter at the opening ceremony.
ReadyMix Concrete supplied the concrete for the plinths, and Avimo (now part of Thales Group
), a local defence contractor, supplied the steel for the models.
is a 2.5 metres (8.2 ft)-wide 14-ton concrete sphere, with a vertical segment removed to give two vertical faces upon which explanatory plates are mounted. The solid sphere was cast by Pip Youngman and Trevor Hill in the grounds of what was the SWEB storage yard adjacent to the Obridge Viaduct in Taunton
. Originally 'natural' in colour (matching the other models) it was painted yellow as part of the refurbishment, making it much more visible.
Each of the smallest planet models is contained within a round-topped concrete plinth about 1 metres (3.3 ft) high. The stainless steel model is held inside a circular hole through the side of the plinth; hence the model of the planet may be viewed by looking through the hole. The plinths were created by Youngman using fibreglass moulds which he had also made.
The models of the largest gas giant
s, Saturn
and Jupiter
, are moulded as part of the top face of the concrete pillars. Originally concrete-coloured, they have been painted as part of the refurbishment.
Each pillar doubles-up as a milepost: the distance to Bridgwater
and Taunton
is cast in the concrete at ground level – below a depiction of the British Waterways
'bridge' logo – although the sculptures are sited according to the spacings needed for the model, and not at kilometre increments for the convenience of boaters.
On each pillar is a plaque containing a short inscription describing the planet. The Earth inscription reads:
, which is about one-seventh the size of the Sun) would need to be a red ball 37.5 centimetres (14.8 in) in diameter sited 76000 km (47,224.3 mi) away (roughly twice the circumference of Earth
).
to adapt a mechanical calculator he had designed, originally protoyped in Lego
, into a product suitable for school use. The result was the "Ball Operated Binary Calculator And Tutor" (BOBCAT), a mechanical model for teaching binary arithmetic and the inner workings of the computer, using ball bearings for binary data bits and plastic levers for the calculating logic.
to Maunsel Lock (Pluto
to the Sun) or from Bridgwater's Morrison's Supermarket to Maunsel Lock (also Pluto to the Sun) or of course, vice versa.
The locations of the end and middle point (with postcodes and coordinates) are:
, in order:
Sculpture trail
A sculpture trail—sculpture walk - also known as "a culture walk" - is a walkway through open-air galleries of outdoor sculptures along a defined route with sequenced viewings encountered from planned preview and principal sight lines.-Settings:...
model of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, located in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. The model uses the towpath
Towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
of the 22 kilometres (13.7 mi) Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal is a canal in the south-west of England between Bridgwater and Taunton, opened in 1827 and linking the River Tone to the River Parrett. There were a number of abortive schemes to link the Bristol Channel to the English Channel by waterway in the 18th and early 19th...
to display a model of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
and its planets in their proportionally correct sizes and distances apart. Unusually for a solar system model
Solar system model
Solar System models, especially mechanical models, called orreries, that illustrate the relative positions and motions of the planets and moons in the Solar System have been built for centuries. While they often showed relative sizes, these models were usually not built to scale...
, there are two sets of planets.
Aware of the inadequacies of printed pictures of the Solar System, the Space Walk was designed by inventor Pip Youngman as a way of challenging our perceptions of space and experiencing the vastness of our own Solar System.
The model is built to a scale of 1:530,000,000, meaning that one millimetre on the model equates to 530 kilometres. The Sun is sited at Higher Maunsel Lock, and one set of planets is installed in each direction along the canal towards Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
and Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
; the distance between the Sun and each model of Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
being 11 kilometres (6.8 mi). Fortunately for less hardy walkers, the inner planets are within 67 metres (219.8 ft) of the Sun, and near to the Maunsel Canal Centre (and tea shop) at Lower Maunsel Lock, where a more detailed leaflet about the model is available.
The Space Walk was opened on 9 August 1997 by British astronomer
Astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Heather Couper
Heather Couper
Heather Anita Couper CBE CPhys is a British astronomer who popularized astronomy in the 1980s and 1990s on British television. She is a former president of the British Astronomical Association from 1984 to 1986.-Early life:...
. In 2007, a project team from Somerset County Council refurbished some of the models.
Background
The Walk is a joint venture between the Taunton Solar Model Group and British WaterwaysBritish Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
, with support from Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council
Somerset County Council is the county council of Somerset in the South West of England, an elected local government authority responsible for the most significant local government services in most of the county.-Area covered:...
, Taunton Deane
Taunton Deane
Taunton Deane is a local government district with borough status in Somerset, England. Its council is based in Taunton.The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, by a merger of the Municipal Borough of Taunton, Wellington Urban District, Taunton Rural District,...
Borough Council and the Somerset Waterways Development Trust. The Taunton Solar Model Group comprised Pip Youngman, Trevor Hill – a local physics teacher who had been awarded the title of "Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
(IOP) Physics Teacher of the Year" – and David Applegate who, during his time as Mayor of Taunton, had expressed a wish to see some kind of science initiative in the area. Pip came up with the idea for the Space Walk, and Trevor assisted by calculating the respective positions and sizes of the planets.
Funding for the project came from the Committee on the Public Understanding of Science
Committee on the Public Understanding of Science
The Committee on the Public Understanding of Science or Copus was founded in 1985 by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Institution and the Royal Society...
(COPUS), the initial advertising leaflet was paid for by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council
The Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council was one of a number of Research Councils in the United Kingdom. It directed, coordinated and funded research in particle physics and astronomy for the people of the UK...
(PPARC) and there was also a small grant from Sustrans
Sustrans
Sustrans is a British charity to promote sustainable transport. The charity is currently working on a number of practical projects to encourage people to walk, cycle and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment"...
, who fund art installations along cyclepaths, to deal with maintenance requirements in the years before Somerset County Council took on that responsibility. In order to apply for the COPUS funding Youngman needed two 'sponsors', so he wrote to Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
(a local boy himself, then living in Sri Lanka) and Patrick Moore
Patrick Moore
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...
, who both wrote warm letters in support. Arthur C Clarke's brother Fred read out his letter at the opening ceremony.
ReadyMix Concrete supplied the concrete for the plinths, and Avimo (now part of Thales Group
Thales Group
The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...
), a local defence contractor, supplied the steel for the models.
Individual models
The model of the SunSun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
is a 2.5 metres (8.2 ft)-wide 14-ton concrete sphere, with a vertical segment removed to give two vertical faces upon which explanatory plates are mounted. The solid sphere was cast by Pip Youngman and Trevor Hill in the grounds of what was the SWEB storage yard adjacent to the Obridge Viaduct in Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
. Originally 'natural' in colour (matching the other models) it was painted yellow as part of the refurbishment, making it much more visible.
Each of the smallest planet models is contained within a round-topped concrete plinth about 1 metres (3.3 ft) high. The stainless steel model is held inside a circular hole through the side of the plinth; hence the model of the planet may be viewed by looking through the hole. The plinths were created by Youngman using fibreglass moulds which he had also made.
The models of the largest gas giant
Gas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
s, Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
and Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, are moulded as part of the top face of the concrete pillars. Originally concrete-coloured, they have been painted as part of the refurbishment.
Each pillar doubles-up as a milepost: the distance to Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
and Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
is cast in the concrete at ground level – below a depiction of the British Waterways
British Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
'bridge' logo – although the sculptures are sited according to the spacings needed for the model, and not at kilometre increments for the convenience of boaters.
On each pillar is a plaque containing a short inscription describing the planet. The Earth inscription reads:
Nearest star
The installation does not include a model of the nearest star for comparison, as this would be impractical. On the same scale as the other models, the nearest star (Proxima CentauriProxima Centauri
Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star about 4.2 light-years distant in the constellation of Centaurus. It was discovered in 1915 by Robert Innes, the Director of the Union Observatory in South Africa, and is the nearest known star to the Sun, although it is too faint to be seen with the naked eye...
, which is about one-seventh the size of the Sun) would need to be a red ball 37.5 centimetres (14.8 in) in diameter sited 76000 km (47,224.3 mi) away (roughly twice the circumference of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
).
Pip Youngman
The Space Walk's designer, Philip Robert Vassar Youngman (born: 26 August 1924, Hunstanton, Norfolk – died: 23 May 2007, Taunton, Somerset), known as 'Pip', was a designer and inventor of mechanical apparatus. Around 1969, Youngman was approached by the Open UniversityOpen University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
to adapt a mechanical calculator he had designed, originally protoyped in Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
, into a product suitable for school use. The result was the "Ball Operated Binary Calculator And Tutor" (BOBCAT), a mechanical model for teaching binary arithmetic and the inner workings of the computer, using ball bearings for binary data bits and plastic levers for the calculating logic.
Location
The trail can be walked either from Taunton's Brewhouse TheatreBrewhouse Theatre
The Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre is the largest theatre and arts centre in Taunton, the county town of Somerset, England.The building opened 28 March 1977 on the banks of the River Tone, and offers a 350 seat auditorium and supporting studio and exhibition spaces...
to Maunsel Lock (Pluto
Pluto
Pluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-most-massive body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
to the Sun) or from Bridgwater's Morrison's Supermarket to Maunsel Lock (also Pluto to the Sun) or of course, vice versa.
The locations of the end and middle point (with postcodes and coordinates) are:
- Pluto in Taunton – TA1 1JL 51.01826°N 3.10261°W
- Maunsel Canal Centre – TA7 0DH 51.0626°N 2.98888°W
- Pluto in Bridgwater – TA6 3RF 51.12529°N 3.00794°W
Model gallery
The models of the Solar SystemSolar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, in order:
External links
– with map of canal showing approximate locations of models- Maunsel Lock Canal Centre
- Somerset Space Walk at HiddenSomerset.com – includes travel directions + pictures of Sun and Earth models
- Photos of first seven models + the Sun – before refurbishing