Transcript Size and Scale lecture - Mr. Hill's Science Website

Just how
big is big?
To do this, we
need to make a
model.
Start with the
Solar System.
We’ll let one inch
equal 1,000,000
miles.
Using this scale, our
Sun would be about
.9” in diameter.
Source – Solar Dynamic Observatory
The nearest planet,
Mercury, is 36,000,000
miles away from the Sun.
On our scale,
Mercury would
be 36” (3 feet)
from the Sun.
Source – MESSENGER Mission Website
The next planet, Venus,
is 67,000,000 miles away
from the Sun.
On our scale,
Venus is 67
inches (5’ 7”)
from the Sun.
Source – JPL Photo Journal Website
Earth is next. It is
93,000,000 miles from
the Sun.
On our scale, the
Earth is 93 inches
(7’ 9”) away from
the Sun.
Source – MESSENGER Mission Website
Mars is next on our
journey. It is 141,000,000
miles from the Sun.
On our scale,
Mars is 141
inches (11’ 9”)
away from the
Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
How long would
it take to call
Mars?
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
The asteroids average
about 293,000,000 miles
from the Sun.
On our scale, the asteroids
would be (24’ 5”) from the Sun.
Source – Astronomy Picture
of the Day, April 13, 1998
Jupiter is the first of the outer
gas giants. It is 484,000,000
miles from the Sun.
On our scale,
Jupiter would be
484 inches
(40’ 4”) away from
the Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
Saturn follows Jupiter. It
is 886,000,000 miles from
the Sun.
On our scale,
Saturn is 886
inches (73’
10”) from the
Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
Uranus is next at
1,800,000,000 miles away
from the Sun.
On our scale,
Uranus is
1,800 inches
(150’) from the
Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
Neptune is last planet. It is
2,800,000,000 miles away
from the Sun.
Neptune is last
planet. It is
2,800 inches
(233’ 4”) away
from the Sun.
Source – JPL Photojournal Website
The dwarf planet Pluto is
4,600,000,000 miles
away from the Sun.
On this scale, Pluto is
4,600 inches (383’ 4”)
from the Sun.
Source – JPL Photojournal Website
The farthest dwarf planet, Eris,
can be as far as
12,700,000,000 miles from the
Sun.
On our scale,
Eris would be
12,700” (1,058’
- .2 of a mile)
from the Sun.
Source – Astronomy Picture of the
Day, June 19, 2007
Stuff to Blow
Your Kid's
Mind: Scale
The nearest star to the
Earth, Alpha Centauri is
4.3 light years
(26,000,000,000,000
miles) from the Sun.
Source – Science on a Sphere, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
On our scale, Alpha
Centauri would be
26,000,000 inches (410
miles) away from the Sun.
Source – Science on a Sphere, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
410 miles
from Brigham
City would be
near the Four
Corners area.
Source – Geology.com
We now need a new scale. Let the
Solar System be the size of an Oreo
cookie.
Source – Portrait of the Universe
Source – Portrait of the Universe
On this scale, the Milky Way Galaxy
would be the size of North America.
The black hole at the center of the
Milky Way would be in the middle of
Kansas.
Source – Portrait of the
Universe
On this scale, the Andromeda
Galaxy (2,200,000 light years
away) would be 55,000 miles
away from the Milky Way.
Source – Universe Today Website
What is
Between the
Stars?
Galaxy Crash
The Fate of the Milky
Way, Andromeda, and
Triangulum Galaxies
Ask an
Astronomer –
Spiral Galaxies
For light to travel from
one end of the universe
to the other would take
28,000,000,000 years.
On the Oreo scale, this
would equal about
1,020,000,000,000,000
miles (or a diameter of
about 168 light years!).
Where is the
Center of the
Universe?
The universe is getting
larger.
100 Greatest Discoveries The Expanding Universe
Sizing Up the
Universe
So, to answer our
original question, space
is huge!
Here are things in the
universe from small to
large!
Earth
Sun
Solar System
Milky Way (a galaxy)
A Cluster of Galaxies
Universe (everything!)
And that’s
the scale of
the universe.