Pedalling through space by candlelight
Posted on 5 January 2011
As part of the BBC’s Stargazing Live, the scale model of the Solar System model along more than six miles of the York-Selby cycle path will be the focus of the candle-lit event.
This novel guided tour will be both fun and help people to understand the sheer scale of space
Dr Peter Thompson
Starting from the model of the Sun near Bishopthorpe, University of York scientist Dr Peter Thompson and technician Dave Coulthard will lead the guided tour of the models of the celestial bodies as far as Saturn. The tour will take about an hour and all the models will be candlelit for the occasion.
Dr Thompson said: “The BBC Stargazing Live event is raising awareness of what we can see in the night sky and this novel guided tour will be both fun and help people to understand the sheer scale of space.”
The event on Thursday 6 January is open to all and starts at 6pm from the Sun. Directions are available at www.solar.york.ac.uk.
The cycle track was established, by the charity Sustrans, on the former route of the East Coast main line between 1985 and 1987. The 575,872,239 to 1 scale model of the Solar System was added in 1999.
Notes to editors:
- More about the BBC’s Stargazing Live at www.bbc.co.uk/tv/features/stargazing/
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