One of the best parts of traveling is discovering interesting things right in one’s own neighborhood.  While living in eastern Iowa I encountered this sign in Mount Vernon, a small college town fifteen miles away from both Iowa City and Cedar Rapids.  It is the home of Cornell College, one of the most well respected liberal arts schools in the state.  Intrigued by the sign, I took a picture and assumed that it had something to do with a meteor that may have landed nearby.  My guess was that because college towns are quirky this was simply someone’s idea of a fun joke.

Eventually I learned what was really going on.  It turns out that a local amateur astronomer convinced the local community to create a scale model of the solar system.  The sun is located at school, with the various planets scattered on buildings and road signs throughout town.  The asteroid belt is marked by the sign above.  Apparently Pluto is five miles out in the country.  Even though it has been demoted, Pluto’s orbit is marked a by wreath in honor of its former planetary status.

It turns out college towns are quirky, but what a wonderful way to be quirky.  Thanks to the Mt. Vernon Solar Tourist Society for such an entertaining project.