Transcript Our Space Time Coordinates

Our Space Time Coordinates:
Time, Distances, and Sizes
http://cecs.wright.edu/~tkprasad
• Universe
• Milky Way Galaxy
• Solar System (including the star Sun, the
planet Earth, the moon Moon(!), etc)
• Planet Earth
• Seven Continents and Four Oceans
• North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia,
Australia, Antartica
• Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic
• Countries, States, Cities
• United States of America, Ohio, Dayton
•
Russ Engineering Center, Wright State University, 3640, Col. Glenn Highway
Measuring Distances
• Average Distance between Sun and Earth
= 93 million miles
(1 Astronomical Unit)
(Speed of light = 186000 miles per second)
(1 light second = 186000 miles )
= 500 light second
= 8.33 light minutes
Visualizing Distances
• If 1 inch is the distance
between sun and earth,
• then 1 mile is equivalent to
1 light year.
• 1 parsec = 3.26 light years
Solar System scaled to Football field
Body
Diameter
Semi-major axis
Sun
0.85 in (21.5 mm)
zero
Mercury
0.003 in (0.08 mm)
1.0 yard (0.9 m)
Venus
0.007 in (0.19 mm)
1.9 yard (1.7 m)
Earth
0.008 in (0.20 mm)
2.5 yard (2.3 m)
Mars
0.004 in (0.10 mm)
3.8 yard (3.5 m)
Ceres
0.001 in (0.02 mm)
7.0 yard (6.4 m)
Jupiter
0.085 in (2.16 mm)
13.1 yard (12.0 m)
Saturn
0.071 in (1.8 mm)
24.2 yard (22.1 m)
Uranus
0.029 in (0.73 mm)
48.6 yard (44.4 m)
Neptune
0.028 in (0.7 mm)
76.1 yard (69.6 m)
Pluto
0.002 in (0.05 mm)
100.0 yard (91.4 m)
Eris
0.002 in (0.05 mm)
171.4 yard (156.7 m)
α Centauri A
0.94 in (23.9 mm)
396 mile (637 km)
Distances to nearby objects
Heavenly Body
Average Distance from Earth
Moon
1.3 light seconds
Sun
8.3 light minutes
Mars
12 light minutes
(0.5 – 2.5 AU)
Jupiter
42 light minutes
Saturn
1.2 light hours
Pluto
4 light hours
Comets – outer reaches of
solar system
Light months
Distances to Stars
Stars
Distinction
Distance from Earth
(light years)
Proxima Centauri
Nearest Star
4.2 light years
Sirius
Brightest Star
(in night sky)
8.6 light years
Pole star
North star,
Cepheid Variable
300 light years
Rigel/Betelgeuse
Blue/Red giant in Orion
800/600 light years
Deneb
Blue giant in Cygnus
1500 light years
Andromeda Galaxy
Nearest galaxy
2 million light years
*HST Image*
Most distant galaxy
13 billion light years
Age vs Distance
Universe Distances
• http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scie
nceopticsu/powersof10/index.html
• http://cass.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/scale.html
• http://cass.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/Intro.html
Universe Timeline
• http://www.pbs.org/deepspace/timeline/index.html
• http://www.historyoftheuniverse.com/tl1.html
Sizes of planets and stars
• Planets, Stars, Nebulae, Galaxies - Universe Size
Comparison [HD High Definition]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcZkAZebK1
U&NR=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNb3H9kICbA