 If you could shrink everything in the galaxy so the Sun is 1 cm in diameter (as it is on the bracelet) . . . 1. Jupiter would have a diameter of 1 mm (.1 cm) and would be 18 feet 4 inches away! 2. Earth would be the size of a speck of dust and would be 5 feet 4 inches away! 3. Alpha Centauri would be 180 miles away! 4. Betelgeuse would be over 12 feet in diameter! 5. Go to BUILD A SOLAR SYSTEM web site and enter 10 mm for the diameter of the Sun to learn about other sizes and distances. If you could shrink everything so that the Earth is ~4 mm in diameter (as it is on the bracelet), enter 450 mm for the Sun's diameter to find out how big and far away things would be. 6. Students often want to whether or not the planets will ever line up. The answer is "no". To see the current position of the planets, go to the SOLAR SYSTEM VIEWER web site. Enter "800-1000" for the "size", and then select "update". 7. For another fun interactive, check out the SOLAR SYSTEM VISUALIZER. |
|
Earth Science Teacher at Helena High School |