The Hayden Sphere at the American Museum of Natural History

The Hayden Sphere is 87 feet across. The iron meteorite that struck the Earth and formed Meteor Crater, near Winslow, AZ was about the same size. Conversely, if the Hayden Sphere were to represent the size of the Sun then the models around it would represent the relative size of the planets. Here Jupiter is 9′ and the rings of Saturn are 17′ in diameter. The planet’s and surrounding structure’s shadows from the late afternoon make an interesting pattern on the sphere’s surface. Around back, this sphere and it’s accompanying walkway looks more like the X-Men set for Charles Xavier’s Cerebro device. In reality, in it is a sort of 3D theater. The audience stands in a ring around the center and looks down on the screen. The movie is a 4 minute show about the Big Bang.