Perspectives in Space
Size Matters (TWH #70)
This is an archives article that got no views when it was initially posted. It’s one of my favorites, so I thought I’d run it again. Enjoy!
One definition I found of “perspective” is: a true understanding of the relative importance of things; a sense of proportion. Today we’re going to look at the relative SIZE of things.
Our star, the Sun, is a pretty average middle-of-the-road star. But check it out next to the size of the planets in our solar system.
The bumps on a basketball are called pebbles. Pebbles are around 2.5 millimeters. If we imagine the Sun as a basketball, Earth would be about 2.22 millimeters in diameter… darn close to a pebble, in my book.
You have now received the gift of perspective. Every time you see a basketball, you can be reminded that, if it is the Sun, Earth is the size of one of the pebbles. Cool, eh?
Now, let’s take it to another level and compare our Sun to other stars in the Milky Way. Here’s a nice visual, courtesy of NASA
Wow, right? But it’s still kinda hard to picture, sooooo… imagine the Sun as a basketball again. Betelgeuse is about 1200 times larger. Let’s picture it as about the diameter of one side of the Pentagon Building. Check this out:
There’s Betelgeuse beside the Pentagon. The Sun would fit in the front seat of one of those tiny little cars you see in the parking lot. AND, as we’ve said, Earth would be a pebble on that basketball. Feel insignificant yet?
Bigger, Yet!
The largest known star in the Milky Way, in terms of diameter, is UY Scuti. It’s a red supergiant about 1700 times the size of the Sun. If the sun was only one millimeter wide (basically a speck), UY Scuti would be about 5 and a half feet wide. Here’s a comparison to imagine. If UY Scuti was as wide as a couch, the Sun would be a speck of pepper on that couch.
Now THAT perspective is worth a HMM!
Here are a few more Hmm Nuggets:
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It is still hard to visualize.