Galaxy Trek

media release: Many local cyclists and bike path walkers have enjoyed Planet Trek Dane County, a set of signs depicting the major objects in the solar system, which first appeared as a temporary exhibit in Rennebohm Park in 2008 and is now permanently installed along the Southwest and Military Ridge Bike Trails. 

Anyone with an interest in the night sky will want to visit Rennebohm Park between May 10 and July 6 this year to see Galaxy Trek, an exhibit sponsored by the U.W. Space Place with the support of the Madison Astronomical Society that is a representation to scale of major objects in the Milky Way galaxy, including 

- the black hole in the Galactic Center, 

- the location of the Sun, 

- the Big Dipper, 

- the Orion Spur, 

- the Perseus Arm, 

- the Sagittarius Arm, 

- the Scutum-Centaurus Arm, 

- the Norma Arm, 

- the Three Kiloparsec Arm, and 

- the Outer Arm (outer edge of the galaxy), 

all in reduced but accurate relative distances.  Many of the images on the signs are spectacular, reflecting the new discoveries of recent space exploration, and QR codes on the signs will lead to even more wonders. 

This will be the 6th sign installation along this quarter-mile stretch of straight sidewalk in Rennebohm Park since the solar system in 2008.  The others have depicted the electromagnetic spectrum, the size of particles in an atom, the layers of the earth, and timelines for evolution and anthropology.