The Planetfield is a unique light model of our solar system. The model is at the correct relative scale, where the Sun, all the planets, and the distances between them are reduced by the same factor. Everything is ten billion times smaller than in reality. Our world then becomes a speck, a small sphere with a 1.3 mm diameter, fifteen meters away from the Sun. The Sun, for its part, is 14 cm in diameter and can contain more than a million of these tiny specks. In this way, you can walk on your own space journey through the solar system and gain a sense of scale in our nearby universe.
If we stand and look at the Sun’s size from, for example, Jupiter, it appears exactly as large as it would if you were really out at Jupiter. And since the planets also emit light, moving through the model in the dark becomes almost like travelling outward through the solar system.
Pilot project
For now, "The Planetfield" is a pilot project in which only the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon have been installed. The complete solar-system model will be mounted in the autumn of 2026.
The model is meant to be experienced in the dark (which is most of the time during winter in Norway). By scanning the QR codes on each pillar as you travel through the model, you can read about the Sun and the different planets.
Backstory
Popular astronomy books quantify many distances and sizes in the universe. These numbers are necessarily large—so large that we have no everyday experience with them. Reading such descriptions in astronomy books therefore does not give us much sense of perspective on the universe. We need models to illustrate the size of the universe, and "The Planetfield" helps us do that.
The first version of this model was exhibited at Ekebergsletta in 1999, during the event En slette med planeter (in English: A plain with planets), which drew around 5,000 people over the course of one evening. The event, organised privately, became the forerunner to the Astrofestival at Blindern (2001–2011), where "The Planetfield" was the main attraction. Since then, a number of temporary versions of the model have been built. The Planetfield is the first permanent version.
Partners
The Planetfield concept was created and developed by Professor Michael Baziljevich at the Department of Physics. The following departments and organisations are part of the project group working on developing the model and arranging it on the university grounds:
- Bent Aaby, senior architect: Consulting. Section for Early Phase, Art, and Cultural Heritage, UiO.
- Elijah Jeremiah Aller, senior engineer: Glass work – solar sphere. Glassblowing workshop, UiO.
- Arvid Andreassen, department engineer: Component production and design consulting. ILAB, UiO.
- Lisa Angelica N. Barahona, architect: Installation consulting, Lala Tøyen AS.
- Michael Baziljevich, Professor: Initiative, concept, installation, and testing. Department of Physics, UiO.
- Martina D’Angelo: Website. Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, UiO.
- Anders Flattun, senior engineer: Electrical infrastructure. Section for Technology, Quality, and Environment, UiO.
- Paul Martin Lello: Consulting. Section head, Property Department, UiO.
- Pernille Ekanger Heilmann, architect: Installation consulting, Lala Tøyen AS.
- Frode Meek, senior engineer: Coordination and consulting. Property Department, UiO.
- William Nævdal Sigurdsson, senior engineer: Electronics consulting, ELAB, UiO.
- Ana Isabel Silva Martins: Website. Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, UiO.
- Martin Wynn: Consulting. Parks Section, UiO.