Weissenstein Planet Trail

Sun model at the Kurhaus

Chalkboard of the planet Mercury with the sun in the background

The Weissenstein Planet Trail is an educational trail in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland . It leads on the southeastern mountain range of the Jura from the Weissenstein to the Stallflue belonging to the Grenchenberg .

course

The planet path begins at the Kurhaus Weissenstein at the mountain station of the Oberdorf – Weissenstein gondola and leads on the route of the Jurahöhenweg over the Hasenmatt to the Althüsli and to the Grenchenberg. The duration of the hike is around three hours and 30 minutes. The planet path was established in 1978 by the Pro Weissenstein Association . It was financed by membership fees and a contribution each from the canton and city of Solothurn .

The beginning of the planetary path consists of a dominant sun model at the Kurhaus Weissenstein. It is a yellow ball on a pole with inscriptions, which in turn stands on a round board that shows the location of the orbit based on the signs of the zodiac . The individual planets are attached to the locations along the way in round information boards over bricked plinths. Pluto (on the Stallflue) is not yet listed as a dwarf planet in the planet path. The smaller planets Mercury , Venus , Earth and Mars are cast as models in glass and thus integrated into the board. The larger planets Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus and Neptune are fixed in the tables. The information board of Neptune is available twice.

The information boards contain essential information on the properties of the planets such as diameter, rotation speed, axis inclination, mass, temperature during day and night, distance to the sun, orbital period, number of moons.

Scale

The planetary path is laid out on a scale of 1: 1 billion and thus enables a realistic comparison of the sizes and distances in the solar system . One meter of the model therefore corresponds to one million kilometers in the real solar system. The diameter of the artificial sun appears to the observer from the points of the planetary tables to be exactly the same size as the real sun, as it would appear in the sky of the corresponding planet. The model of the sun can be seen from the hiking trail up to and including the Neptune table.

Planets path map. The new gondola lift up to the Weissenstein has been in operation since December 2014.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from December 11, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Information brochure on the planet path from the Fluy post bus company (PDF file; 673 kB)

Coordinates: 47 ° 15 '8.5 "  N , 7 ° 30' 33.4"  E ; CH1903:  605348  /  233496