This new Agnes Scott initiative is very cool.  So cool, it got some love on the New York Times’ Tierney Lab blog!

The Metro Atlanta Solar System is centered at the Bradley Observatory, where the Sun is represented by a circular granite plaza about 30 feet wide. From there it’s almost half a mile to the 3-inch model of Earth (at the Decatur Public Library), nearly 12 miles to Uranus (at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) and more than 18 miles to Neptune (at Sweetwater Creek State Park in Lithia Springs, Ga.)

According to the project’s website, at each of the designated planet locations, pseudo-space travelers will find two large-format panels, which show the location of each planet and a scaled image of that location’s planet.

Here’s the full list of locations for those uneasy with wandering aimlessly in space.

• Sun –  Bradley Observatory
• Mercury – Alston Campus Center, Agnes Scott College
• Venus – Decatur High School
• Mars – Columbia Theological Seminary
• Jupiter – Emory University-Physics Building
• Saturn –  Georgia Tech-Physics Building
• Uranus – Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
• Neptune – Sweetwater Creek State Park

Thanks to Emily for forwarding the NY Times link!

Carl sends along a note about a rather interesting discussion being led by Agnes Scott Music Prof. Tracey Laird about “Songs From Space” (aka Intergalactic Themes in American Music) at the Bradley Observatory this Friday, September 19th at 8pm.

If you can’t make it, but are interested in checking out the observatory, the College also runs an “Open House” series throughout the school year.

Click the continuation to view the poster for this Friday’s event… Read the rest of this entry »