With the recent addition of a plaque for Pluto, the Arizona Scale Model Solar System is now complete! On May 23, the Pluto plaque was installed near University Boulevard and Euclid Avenue in Tucson. Even at a 1:5,000,000,000 scale, the distances associated with the Solar System are so vast that Pluto was planted slightly off campus, just beyond the west Main Gate.

Dr. Zarah Brown, LPL Postdoctoral Research Associate, is the project lead of the Scale Model Solar System. “I'm thrilled that Pluto is installed and the Arizona Scale Model Solar System is complete,” Dr. Brown says. “I hope that people enjoying the bustling commercial corridor of University Blvd. will see Pluto and be inspired to explore the rest of the Solar System model. I want everyone to experience the wonder of our vast universe and appreciate how tiny and precious our planet is. As a proud Wildcat, I also hope more visitors will learn about the significant contributions the University of Arizona has made in exploring our Solar System.”

The Arizona Scale Model Solar System was inaugurated on September 8, 2023, brought to you by the University of Arizona, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and the Arizona Space Grant Consortium. The model consists of 11 plaques representing the Sun, the eight planets, the asteroid belt, and Pluto, placed along the University Mall (and just beyond). The plaques are placed at scaled distances representing each object’s distance from the Sun.