Ever longed to travel the solar system? Well, until humans start traveling to space on a regular basis, there’s a model in Sweden that will give you a sense of the sheer scale of our celestial neighborhood. Sweden boasts one of the most ambitious and fascinating models of the solar system ever created — the Sweden Solar System.
Spanning hundreds of kilometers, this scale model of our planetary system is the largest in the world, with the celestial bodies placed in relation to the Globe Arena in Stockholm, which represents the Sun. Built at a scale of 1:20 million, it offers an extraordinary sense of cosmic proportion, allowing visitors to imagine the vast distances of space while traveling through Sweden’s cities and countryside.
Globe Arena, Stockholm
The journey begins in Stockholm, where the Globe Arena, the largest spherical building in the world, represents the Sun. Standing beneath its enormous structure, visitors can appreciate the sheer scale of the project before setting out to locate planets and celestial objects scattered across the country. Mercury is nearby, outside the Stockholm Town Museum, and Venus, once housed in the old Observatory Museum, has now found a new home in the House of Science at the AlbaNova University Centre. The Earth and Moon reside at the National Museum of Natural History, while Mars is within the shopping mall at Mörby Centrum.
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Sweden solar system by Skrytis licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
As visitors venture farther from Stockholm, the distance between planets increases in keeping with the model’s scale. Jupiter, the gas giant, appears as a floral arrangement outside Stockholm Arlanda Airport, a fitting gateway for travelers moving between Earth and the stars.
Saturn is still awaiting placement in Uppsala, while Uranus will soon have a new home near Gävle. Neptune, a glittering blue sphere best seen after dark, resides in Söderhamn, nearly 300 kilometers from the Sun’s stand-in. Even Pluto, long reclassified as a dwarf planet, is represented way out in the village of Delsbo.
But the Sweden Solar System does not stop with the traditional planets. Several significant bodies from the outer reaches of the solar system have their place in this grand model. The trans-Neptunian object Sedna lies an incredible 912 kilometers away at the Technical House in Luleå. Other distant celestial objects include Ixion in Härnösand and Eris in Umeå.
Even a representation of Comet Swift-Tuttle has been placed far to the south in Karlshamn. The model culminates at the Termination Shock in Kiruna, where a plaque marks the point in space where the solar wind slows as it meets the interstellar medium.
Visitors experience this grand solar system not in a single location but as an odyssey across Sweden. Each stop offers a chance to learn not only about the planets themselves but also the mythological and astronomical history behind their names.
From bustling Stockholm to remote northern landscapes, the Sweden Solar System turns a country into a cosmic map, providing an immersive way to interact with the scale of space. Whether one visits a handful of planets or embarks on a quest to find them all, the model offers a sense of wonder, a reminder of our place in the universe, and a rare chance to travel across a country while keeping one foot in the cosmos.
Have you ever visited the Sweden Solar System? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Featured Image: Sweden Solar System – Sedna by Dag Lindgren licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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