Sunday, August 27, 2006

How Big Is The Earth?

Ever seen scale mockups of the solar system? For instance, there's a town out there (wish I could remember where) that set up a scale solar system that extended out for over 10 miles. The sun would be a beach ball in the center of town and Pluto would be a poppy seed in a farm field, or something like that. (Oh that's right, Pluto's not a planet anymore. What will the astrologers do?) Earlier this summer, on our camping trip on Lake Michigan, some local astronomy buffs did a solar system walk on the beach, with Pluto almost a half-mile from the sun.

Anyway, Mark Horvath posted some graphics showing the earth with respect to the inner planets, then all the planets, then against the sun, and so on. Would you believe that Antares is to our sun, as our sun is to the earth? Amazing! Click below:

Not Quite a Reputable Journal of Opinion: How Big is the Earth?


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1 astute observations :

  1. MAH said...

    Cool! Thanks for the link.

    There is a "model solar system" up in Presque Isle, Maine. I spend a lot of time in Houlton, ME, site of Pluto.

    Seems like a p project fit for Maine, i.e. they've got too much time and a hell of a lot of space.

    http://www.umpi.maine.edu/info/nmms/solar/