Download Size and Scale of the Universe

Just how big is
big?
To answer the question, 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.
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.
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.
Earth is next. It is 93,000,000
miles from the Sun.
On our scale, the
Earth is 93 inches
(7’ 9”) (about 2 1/3
yards) away from the
Sun.
Mars is next on our journey. It
is 141,000,000 miles from the
Sun.
On our scale,
Mars is 141 inches
(11’ 9”) (about 4
yards) away from
the Sun.
The asteroids average about
293,000,000 miles from the
Sun.
On our scale, the
asteroids would
be 293 inches
(24’ 5”) (about
8 yards)
from the Sun.
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”) (about
13 yards) away from
the Sun.
Saturn follows Jupiter. It
is 886,000,000 miles from
the Sun.
On our scale,
Saturn is 886 inches
(73’ 10”) (about
25 yards) from the
Sun.
Uranus is next at 1,800,000,000
miles away from the Sun.
On our scale,
Uranus is 1,800
inches (150’) (about
50 yards) from the
Sun.
Neptune is last planet. It is
2,800,000,000 miles away from
the Sun.
It is 2,800 inches
(233’ 4”)
(about 78 yards)
away from the Sun.
The dwarf planet Pluto is
4,60,000,000 miles away from
the Sun.
On this scale, Pluto is
4,600 inches (383’ 4”)
(about 128 yards) from
the Sun.
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.
To Scale – The Solar System.
What if the Planets were the
same distance as the Moon?.
The nearest star to the Earth,
Alpha Centauri, is 4.3 light years
(26,000,000,000,000 miles) from
the Sun.
Alpha Centauri
What is a light year?
A light year is the distance light
travels in a year.
Alpha Centauri
What is a light year?
The speed of light = 186,000
miles per second.
Alpha Centauri
What is a light year?
A light year is how far light travels in
a year.
Light travels 6,000,000,000,000
(trillion miles) in a year.
Alpha Centauri
On our scale, Alpha Centauri
would be 26,000,000 inches
(410 miles) away from the Sun.
Alpha Centauri
410 miles from
Brigham City
would be near the
Four Corners
area.
We now need a new scale. Let the
Solar System be the size of an Oreo
cookie.
On this scale, the Milky Way Galaxy
would be the size of North America.
The Andromeda Galaxy
(2,200,000 light years away)
would be 55,000 miles away from
the Milky Way.
For light to travel from one end of
the universe to the other would take
93,000,000,000 years.
On the Oreo scale, this would equal
about 1,020,000,000,000,000 miles
(or a diameter of about 168 light
years!).
The universe is getting larger.
What is Between the Stars?
Where is the Center of the
Universe?
How Big is 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.