I’ve always wanted to have a real orrery, let alone be able to build one as I think it would be a fascinating excercise to get to grips with how our solar system is linked and how everything relates.  We too often forget the bigger picture out there and get too caught up in our busy lives of yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Meanwhile our insignificance is put into perspective when you realize that Pluto, which is the furthest planet from our sun in our solar system takes 248.09 years to orbit once!

Orrery image courtesy of wikipedia.

The good guys from Gunn Interactive have made an awesome online version with plenty of options to keep you busy for quite a while.   Here it is http://www.gunn.co.nz/AstroTour