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.
Source – MESSENGER Mission Website
On our scale, Mercury would be 36” (3 feet) from the Sun.
The next planet, Venus, is 67,000,000 miles away from the Sun.
Source – JPL Photo Journal Website
On our scale, Venus is 67
inches (5’ 7”) from the Sun.
Earth is next. It is 93,000,000 miles from
the Sun.
Source – MESSENGER Mission Website
On our scale, the Earth is 93 inches (7’ 9”) away from
the Sun.
Mars is next on our journey. It is 141,000,000
miles from the Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
On our scale, Mars is 141
inches (11’ 9”) away from the
Sun.
How long would it take to call Mars?
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
The asteroids average about 293,000,000 miles
from the Sun.
Source – Astronomy Picture of the Day, April 13, 1998
On our scale, the asteroids would be (24’ 5”) from the
Sun.
Jupiter is the first of the outer gas giants. It is 484,000,000
miles from the Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
On our scale, Jupiter would be 484
inches (40’ 4”) away from
the Sun.
Saturn follows Jupiter. It is 886,000,000 miles from
the Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
On our scale, Saturn is 886 inches (73’
10”) from the Sun.
Uranus is next at 1,800,000,000 miles away
from the Sun.
Source – Hubble Space Telescope Website
On our scale, Uranus is
1,800 inches (150’) from
the Sun.
Neptune is last planet. It is 2,800,000,000 miles
away from the Sun.
Source – JPL Photojournal Website
Neptune is last planet. It is 2,800 inches
(233’ 4”) away from the Sun.
The dwarf planet Pluto is 4,600,000,000 miles away from the Sun.
Source – JPL Photojournal Website
On this scale, Pluto is 4,600 inches (383’ 4”)
from the Sun.
The farthest dwarf planet, Eris, can be as far as
12,700,000,000 miles from the Sun.
Source – Astronomy Picture of the Day, June 19, 2007
On our scale, Eris would be
12,700” (1,058’ - .2 of a mile) from
the Sun.
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
On this scale, the Milky Way Galaxy would be the size of North America.
Sourc
e –
Port
rait
of
the U
niv
ers
e
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
– Univ
erse
Today W
ebsite
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.
