I'm very interested in organizing difficult to conceptualize information into more digestible formats. I get a lot of satisfaction when I can help someone realize something new about a complex subject, or gain perspective about something that's too massive to easily visualize.
One of those things, believe it or not, is our solar system. Most everyone has seen little models of the solar system, usually set up as a mobile and made from painted styrofoam spheres. Or maybe you've seen pictures with all the planets in the correct order, but very few people have ever seen a model of the solar system to scale. The reason for this is the immense size of the distances in between.To this end, I decided to construct an accurate scale model, and it takes nearly two miles to do it!
If the sun is 27 inches across, then Pluto is 1.8 miles away and is the size of the smallest candy sprinkle you can find!
Earth is a little smaller than a pea and is 240 feet away! The distances in between objects in space are really quite amazing!While we walked we discussed some of the lesser known facts about some of the objects in our solar system. For instance, did you know that the sun rises and sets twice each day on Venus? Did you know that Mars is actually red because it's rusty? Did you know that scientists believe that one of Jupiter's moons might have twice as much liquid water as Earth under it's surface? Did you know that there are three dwarf planets in our solar system? And one of them is closer than you think! (If you like raw data, feel free to peek my compilation of facts about the solar system here.)
I've done the walk twice now, once with friends in Bellingham in May (which was a cold walk down the South Bay Trail), and a second time with my family in July (which was a cold walk down the beach at Fort Flagler). It was really interesting for me and I think the other people involved as well. Learning is fun!If you're interested in doing one, I'm available to lead solar system walks at birthday parties, bar mitzva's and funerals.
Super Special Web-Only Bonus: Here's a compilation done by NASA of some of the moons of the solar system with the Earth for comparison. Pluto is roughly the same size as Europa (in case you were wondering.)
I'm always amazed by the sheer volume of the sun. Totally mind blowing. More than a little frightening that it is a mere 240 feet away (at scale)!!!
ReplyDeleteI think it is in our best interest to get some legislation going that sets limits on the sun's activities. I think the sun is just too important to leave it unregulated.
Good idea, Adrian!
ReplyDeleteI have read that our sun is expected to burn out in about 5 billion years - a very sobering thought! If we can enact a policy now that requires the sun to be turned off at night when we aren't using it, I believe we could extend it's life to 10 billion years or longer!