Jeff Patterson conquers the solar system

My friend and blogger Jeff Patterson recently visited the Maine Solar System Model and did a photo-essay about it.

Patterson writes:

For years I had wanted to go see the Maine Solar System Model.

Built with diligent skill on a tight budget by the Northern Maine Museum of Science, the whole thing runs for 40 miles along US Route 1 between Houlton and the University of Maine at Presque Isle where the Museum is located.

The model is roughly 8 hours away from me by car, placing it squarely in the category of things-not-worth-driving-to-see- unless-I'm-in-the-area. But this year my lady Jennifer and I took a road trip to Nova Scotia and knew we would have to see the model on the way back. We had taken our telescope up to Cape Breton in hopes of doing some stargazing in that dark northern territory, but a relentless veil of cloud cover dashed those hopes. We needed some consolation to fill the void, as it were.

Check out the entire photo essay.