MELBOURNE SOLAR SYSTEM

The Sun cast in Bronze with the information plaques mounted on a bluestone plinth.
The Sun cast in Bronze silhouetted by the artist - The Sun is 139cm in diameter
Surface detail of the silicon bronze Sun.
Mercury - Machined stainless steel on a bluestone plinth.
The Earth and The Moon - the is the furthest distance man has ever travelled.
A bronze Jupiter with the cloud scapes engraved into the surface.
A bronze Saturn with its rings
A Bronze Uranus mounted on a bluestone plinth
Proxima Centauri - to get to this you would have to go north of the Sun right around the actual Earth.
Proxima Centauri surface detail
The Melbourne Solar System Sculpture Map

Overview:

Created at a scale of 1:1 billion, and spanning 5.9 kilometres from St. Kilda to Port Melbourne, is Christopher Lansell’s Solar System Sculpture, designed in collaboration with artist Cameron Robbins.

“Absolutely amazing, for 50 years I have always wanted to understand how big the Universe is. It’s one thing to calculate or memorize that the Earth is 150 million kilometres from the Sun, but it’s quite another to walk and feel that distance in three-dimensional space. Just to get this glimpse of my place in the grand scheme of things has been one the most awe-inspiring realisations in my whole life. What an astonishing and magnificent Universe we live in.”   Dr Simon Keily

The Stars

The Sun is made from one continuous silicon bronze casting detailed with magnetic field indentations to represent sunspots. Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the Sun; also a singular silicon bronze casting, is textured to portray the dynamic process present in the surface of star.

The Planets and Moon

The larger planets are cast in silicon bronze too, allowing for the addition of fine surface details such as Jupiter’s cloudscapes and Saturn’s rings. The smaller planets and moons are carved from high-grade stainless steel. Each planet is mounted on its own bluestone plinth, with corresponding stainless steel information plaques.

At the 1:1 billion scale, one centimetre represents ten thousand kilometres. Thus, the Earth has a diameter of 1.28 centimetres and is situated 150 metres from the Sun which itself measures 139 centimetres across.

The Sun is located at St. Kilda Marina, with Pluto 5.9km away in Port Melbourne. To reach Proxima Centauri, you would have to travel north, once around the world, and back to St. Kilda. Theoretically, Chris’ Melbourne Solar System Sculpture is as big as our Planet Earth.

This sculpture was funded by Tony and Maureen Wheeler, the co-founders of Lonely Planet and the City of Port Phillip Council.

Customized scale models of the Solar System are available, if you are interested please get in touch.

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