A new project has been installed along Erie Trail in the Town of North Judson.
According to the Starke County Community Foundation, Our Solar System in Scale (OSSIS) was the name of the project that came from Martin Lucas, a lifelong resident of North Judson. Lucas found himself reflecting on the possibility of showcasing the vastness of space in a perceptible way.
Lucas said he had the idea while walking on the trail and noticed it was straight and open enough to demonstrate a model of the sun’s solar system using signs for each planet and depicting both the size and distances of the solar system to scale.
The OSSIS installation depicts the planets of the Earth’s solar system in a scale of 1:355 million over 10 miles of the Erie Trail segment of the American Discovery Trail in western Starke County.
The beginning of the project begins at Main Street in North Judson just east of the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum. The project was funded by the Starke County Community Foundation through the Lilly Endowment Inc. GIFT Phase VII Implementation Grant.
Additional installations are planned to be made next year.
Photos provided
