Maps

(available on Main St at Ledyard Bank, Chamber of Commerce, and State House gift shop)

The circles on the maps show the average distance of the planets from the State House dome (Sun) in a 1 to 140 million scale model of the solar system. The orbits are depicted as circles but in reality planet orbits are ellipses. The colored planets are locations on or near the orbit where the dome is visible. In some locations only part of the dome is visible or leaves hide all or part of the view from May to October. The size of the dome from each site is what the Sun would look like from that planet so the Earth sites should reveal a Sun sized dome.

DO NOT LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN, EVEN FOR A SECOND, PERMANENT EYE

DAMAGE CAN RESULT. The planet view sites are numbered in a counterclockwise direction, which is how they move when viewed from above the North Pole. Of course they move clockwise when viewed from the south. Which is correct? They both are, as there is no up or down in outer space. Outer planet view sites are difficult to come by so any dome view beyond Earth is noted even if not on or near a planet orbit. Some prominent locations on an orbit but without a view are also noted. See theplanetstoday.com to find out where the planets are now relative to each other on their orbits.

All sites out to Uranus are at 43 degrees north latitude and 71 degrees west longitude plus the four numbers in the spreadsheets. These four numbers are DECIMAL parts of a degree: tenths, hundredths, etc. - NOT minutes and seconds of a degree as seen on maps (there are 60 minutes in one degree and 60 seconds in one minute of degree). The 10,000 kilometers from equator to pole are divided by 90 degrees to give 111 km per degree or 111 meters per thousandth of degree (third digit). Thus moving one number in the last column (fourth digit) is 11.1 m (36 feet) of latitude and 8.1m (27ft) of longitude (the closer to the pole, the less the distance around 360 degrees of latitude). This is about the accuracy of the free ap Avenza Maps I used to collect the data.

When driving or walking to see view sites, please focus on getting there safely and not being distracted looking for the dome while moving. Please respect private property while viewing.

Finding outer planet views of the dome is challenging. Computer mapping utilizing elevation data can predict where the dome can be seen from anywhere in the state. These maps can give you suggestions where to look but they do not take into account trees or buildings so disappointment is common. I welcome new views of the dome on an orbit for the inner planets and new dome views at any location beyond Mars. I reward new outer planet views which satisfy the criteria below. Finding a new location to see the dome from Jupiter or Saturn gets a free WANDER T shirt and Uranus and Neptune sites (binoculars might be helpful) get a free planet model (see MERCH). The criteria to get merch (while supplies last) for new outer planet sites is as follows:

• Within 10% of the planet orbit compared to orbit distance to dome

• No closer than 5% of orbit circumference to any site already on map

• Full view of dome that is not seasonally blocked by leaves

• Safe, accessible location not on private property