Sweden Solar System — The Sun (Avicii Arena)
The Sweden Solar System is the world’s largest permanent scale model of the Solar System, stretching from Stockholm northward along the Baltic Sea coast for nearly 950 kilometres. The Sun is represented by Avicii Arena (formerly Globen), the largest hemispherical building in the world, located in Johanneshov, Stockholm. Created in 1998 by professors Nils Brenning and Gösta Gahm at a scale of 1:20,000,000 — where one metre equals 20,000 km — the installation allows visitors to grasp the true proportions of planetary distances by travelling between installations.
At a glance
- Type
- Permanent outdoor scale model of the Solar System; public art and science installation
- Period
- Founded 1998; continuously expanded with additional planetary nodes
- Style
- Conceptual public art; science communication installation
- Location
- Johanneshov (Sun/Avicii Arena), Stockholm, Sweden; planetary nodes along Swedish Baltic coast northward to Kiruna
- Coordinates (Sun)
- 59.2938° N, 18.0832° E (Avicii Arena, Stockholm)
Overview
The Sweden Solar System uses existing buildings and purpose-built sculptures to represent the Sun, eight planets, the dwarf planet Pluto, and several other Solar System objects at a consistent scale of 1:20,000,000. At this ratio, the 110-metre diameter of Avicii Arena corresponds to the actual diameter of the Sun (1.4 million km), and the inner planets can be found within Stockholm itself. The outer planets require travel along the Swedish Baltic coast: Saturn is in Skellefteå, Uranus in Söderhamn, Neptune in Söderhamn, and the termination shock is marked near Luleå and Kiruna in the far north.
History
The project was conceived by Nils Brenning, professor at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), and Gösta Gahm, professor at Stockholm University, as a public science communication initiative in 1998. The Sun node was anchored to Globen (now Avicii Arena) because its 110-metre spherical form happens to be one of the largest sphere-shaped buildings on Earth, making it the ideal stand-in for the Sun at the chosen scale. The project has expanded over the decades with new nodes added by municipalities along the Baltic coast that wished to participate in the installation, extending its reach to beyond 950 kilometres.
What you see
At the Stockholm Sun node, visitors encounter Avicii Arena itself — a gleaming white sphere rising from the Johanneshov suburb — together with an information plaque contextualising its role in the scale model. The closest planetary nodes, representing Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, are within Stockholm city limits and reachable by public transport in under an hour from the Sun. Each planetary node consists of a sphere or sculptural element scaled precisely to the planet’s diameter, accompanied by informational panels giving orbital data and comparisons to everyday objects.
Cultural significance
The Sweden Solar System is recognised as the world’s largest permanent scale model of any kind, combining public art, science education, and tourism across an entire national geography. It has inspired similar installations in other countries and is frequently cited by science communicators as an exemplary tool for making abstract astronomical distances viscerally comprehensible. The use of Avicii Arena — already an iconic Stockholm landmark — as the Sun gives the installation immediate recognisability and civic anchor.
Practical information
The Sun node (Avicii Arena) is freely viewable from the exterior at any time. Avicii Arena also hosts concerts and sporting events; check its official website for event schedules and arena tours. The planetary nodes throughout Sweden are open-air and publicly accessible without charge. A dedicated map and guide to all nodes is available via the Sweden Solar System official resources — check online for the current node locations and travel suggestions.
Getting there
Avicii Arena is located in Johanneshov, Stockholm, easily reached by the Globen T-bana (metro) station on the green line 17/18/19. It is approximately 10 minutes by metro from Stockholm Central Station. For the outlying planetary nodes, travel is by train, bus, or car northward along the Swedish Baltic coast; the Swedish rail operator SJ serves cities including Gävle, Sundsvall, Härnösand, Skellefteå, and Umeå where various nodes are located.