Scale for the solar system?
Question:
Answer:
The scale would need to be really small. I did an example of sizes and distance at 1/10^10, or 1/ ten billionth scale. The Sun at this scale is about 5 and a half inches in diameter.
1/10,000,000,000 scale (1/ten billionth scale)
Object - diameter - Perihelion distance from Sun
Sun - 139.2mm ,would be
Mercury - 0.244mm - 4,600.17mm
Venus - 0.605mm - 10,847.6mm
Earth - 0.637mm - 14,709.8mm
Mars - 0.340mm - 20,664.45mm
Jupiter - 7.149mm - 74,052.00mm
Saturn - 6.027mm - 134,946.738mm
Uranus - 2.556mm - 273,555.5mm
Neptune - 2.476mm - 445,963.15mm
Pluto - 0.119mm - 443,682.46mm (Yes, Pluto is closer than Neptune during both planets Perihelion.)
Alpha Centauri - 4,150,000,000mm away (Closest Star Sytem)
it depends on how big you're gonna make the sun and the other objects in the solar system and maintain the proportions.
HEY LISTEN, THE PLANETS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO JOVIAN EN TERRESTIAL PLANETS,
JOVIAN PLANETS(JUPITER,URANUS,NEPTUNE...
TERRESTIAL PLANETS (MERCURY,VENUS,EARTH,MARS)
TH TERRESTIAL PLANETS HAVE LESS DISTANCES BETWEEN THEM WHERE AS THE JOVIAN PLANETS ARE FAR MORE FARTHER THAN EACH OTHER ....SO , IT CANNOT BE SCALED IN A SINGLE SCALE.IT HAS TO BE 1 FOR TERRESTIAL PLANETS AND 1 FOR JOVIAN PLANETS......
I have recently been reading a book called a short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson. It's title is slightly misleading as it focuses mainly on the creation of the universe, from the big bang through to the developement of our species (I think, I've only just started it). In one of the first few chapters it states that it is practically impossible to replicate a true scale of our solar system. Even if the earth were represented with a pea some of the other planets would still be some kilometers away!! I am sorry I can not be more specific but I don't have the book with me. If you are currently teaching or learning about our solar system I cannot reccomend this book highly enough. It is one of those books your partner/friends/family will quickly get fed up with you reading as every page has a truly amazing fact which you can't help but share with whoever is in the room without first making sure you have there undevide attention! It explains everything in simple to understand terms. I've just looked on Amozon and found it for £6.59, it's worth every penny I assure you!!!
I am afraid that the scale would have to be huge to fit onto the schoolyard, this is because the usual illustrations in text books are completely wrong!
You cannot fit them into a normal schoolyard on a scale where the planets are anything but dots.
Anyway, if you have a football field 100metres long:
Sun = 21mm diameter sphere
Jupiter = 2.3mm @ 11.8 metres
Uranus = .79mm @ 45.7metres
Pluto = .05mm @ 91 metres
Speed of light 5mm per second
51/2 hours from sun to pluto
As you can see, it would still really be meaningless. To have the Earth at anything grater than a full stop, you need kilometres between the planets
Solar System, the system consisting of the Sun; the nine planets and their satellites; the asteroids, comets, and meteoroids; and interplanetary dust and gas. The dimensions of this system are specified in terms of the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun, called the astronomical unit (AU). One AU is 150 million km (about 93 million mi). The most distant known planet, Pluto, has an orbit at 39.44 AU from the Sun. The boundary between the solar system and interstellar space—called the heliopause—is estimated to occur near 100 AU. The comets, however, achieve the greatest distance from the Sun; they have highly eccentric orbits ranging out to 50,000 AU or more. The solar system was the only planetary system known to exist until 1999. In the 1980s a number of relatively nearby stars were found to be encircled by swarms of orbiting material of indeterminate size (see Vega) or to be accompanied by objects suspected to be brown dwarfs. In 1999, four years after the first confirmed detection of an extrasolar planet, two teams of astronomers detected the first extrasolar multiple-planet system, comprising at least three gas-giant planets around the Sun-like star Upsilon Andromidae, some 44 light years from Earth. It is believed that planetary systems of some sort are numerous throughout the universe.
It could be as big as the playground, or as big as 10 ft across. It's up to you.
Good question! NASA has a good answer, too! They have a web page that is exactly what you are looking for in at least 2 different versions: the 30 meter to Pluto model, and the 100 meter to Saturn model. They both appear dead easy to modify to suit.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/edu...
HTH
Charles
You would first have to know the diminsions of the playground and then go from there.
Simple really depends how big the playground is
about the size of the playground.
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