This is the first cache in a series that creates a model of the Solar System across the Bay Area and the Central Valley of California.
We have placed the Sun at City Plaza Park in downtown San Jose, and have placed Mercury one mile from that location. All the other planets are placed in orbit at distances from San Jose that match the scale set with the planet Mercury. With this scale, Neptune is just a bit over 77 miles away, as the crow flies.
The cache log sheet contains a pair of numbers - labelled Comet Numbers. You should record these numbers - if you find all eight planets, your Comet Numbers will help you find the bonus Halley’s Comet cache. Note: The sum of the numbers will pinpoint an actual location, but the cache is not located there. An offset will be given on the Halley’s Comet page to take you to the actual cache. (The location determined by the sum of the Comet Numbers is fun to look at with a mapping program, but again, the Halley’s Comet cache is not there.)
The container itself is a round plastic object, about the size of a canister of shoe polish, or a snuff container, or a hockey puck. Bring a pencil to record your find on the log sheet! There isn't room for one in the cache container!
Please consider visiting the other caches in the Northern California Solar System Model. You’ll note that there are now other types of objects listed, as well as planets. These are a wonderful extension of the series that bthomas and shadow101 have built.
You only need to find the eight planets to determine the location of the Halley’s Comet Cache, but finding the other objects as well is lots of fun!