Planetary Walk

  Last night, I came across the center of the universe!  It was the beginning of a walk through downtown Anchorage called the Light Speed Planet Walk and it was created by the local rotary club.

The walk was set up so that the scale of the distance between each planet mimics how long a ray of sun might take to get to a certain place based on a leisurely pace.  Due to the way its set up, many visitors only get as far as the Earth or possibly Mars between

The distance between the Sun at 5th and G and the Earth at 5th and K takes about 8 minutes which is the same time as it takes a ray of light to travel from the sun to the earth.  Isn't that cool?

The walk is designed so that the first few planets are only a block or two apart but as the planets get further from the sun, the distance gets bigger.  For instance, the sun is at 5th and G, mercury at 5th and H, Venus is at 5th and I,  Earth is located at 5th and K, and Mars is at 5th and Elderberry Park.  So this part is a short skip, hop, and jump through downtown.  

Once you get past Mars, the distances between planets increase and it takes longer to get to your next planet.

Jupiter is found at  Westchester Lagoon which is a nice 45 minute walk from the starting point.  From there, Saturn is out at Lyn Ary Park which is about 1 hour and 20  min from the sun or a nice 35 min walk past Jupiter.

Point Woronzof Park is designated as Uranus and is another 1 hour and 20 min past Saturn.  That puts it about a 2 hour and 40 min walk from the starting point.  Neptune is further out along the coastal trail or another 1 hour and 35 minutes past Uranus.

By this point, you've been walking for four hours and 15 minutes.  Finally there is Pluto.  Yes I know it has been declassified as a planet but this walking trail was made before the change in its status.  The location is Kincaid Chalet or a nice 5 hour and 30 minute stroll from its starting point.

If you'd like to check out a map of the walk to see where it goes, click here to see how it follows the line of the coast.