Pluto has Landed

Our Place in Space, a 10km sculpture trail designed by artist Oliver Jeffers, Professor Smartt and a creative team led by Nerve Centre, will land back in Northern Ireland, this time at the Ulster Transport Museum.

The North Down coastal path will play host to scale models of our solar system’s Sun and planets, ending at Pluto which will be positioned on the Pickie Breakwater.

Our solar system is closely connected with our maritime heritage. 

Before the days of GPS mariners used the position of stars and planets to help them navigate across the earth’s oceans. 

The four planets used in navigation are Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Planets have a big advantage over stars because they are so bright, and unlike stars, they don't twinkle (the technical term is scintillate)

Interestingly last week astronomers discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, putting the total count at a record-breaking 92.