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The Scale of the Universe (Space)This is an easy-to-understand scale of the Universe.
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In one second, a beam of light can travel SEVEN TIMES around the Earth.
This table shows a number of distances to various objects expressed in terms of how long a beam of light takes to travel that distance.
Astronomical Distance | to Travel This Distance | |
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From Earth to the Moon our natural satellite |
1.25 seconds | |
We have now left the Earth-Moon system where humans have walked |
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From Earth to the Sun the centre of our Solar System |
8.3 minutes | |
From the Sun to Jupiter the largest planet |
41 minutes | |
From the Sun to Saturn the furthest naked eye planet |
85 minutes | |
From the Sun to Neptune the furthest of the Sun's major planets |
4.2 hours | |
From the Sun to Voyager I the furthest probe sent by humans |
21.4 hours | |
We have now left the Solar System, the realm of the Sun, where humans have sent probes |
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From the Sun to Alpha Centauri the nearest star to us |
4.3 years | |
From the Sun to Sirius the brightest star in our sky |
8.6 years | |
From the Sun to 61 Cygni the first star to have its distance measured |
11.4 years | |
From the Sun to Pollux one of the twin stars in Gemini |
33.7 years | |
From the Sun to Castor one of the twin stars in Gemini |
51.6 years | |
From the Sun to Aldebaran the brightest star in Taurus |
65.2 years | |
From the Sun to Regulus the brightest star in Leo |
77.6 years | |
Distance where the Sun would no longer be visible to naked eye |
c 110 years | |
From the Sun to Spica the brightest star in Virgo |
263 years | |
From the Sun to Acrux the brightest star in the Southern Cross |
321 years | |
From the Sun to the Pleiades the Seven Sisters star cluster in Taurus |
c 385 years | |
From the Sun to Polaris the north pole star |
432 years | |
From the Sun to Antares the brightest star in Scorpius |
604 years | |
From the Sun to Betelgeux the red star in Orion |
640 years | |
From the Sun to Rigel the blue star in Orion |
777 years | |
From the Sun to the Orion Nebula the brightest of the nebulae |
1,300 years | |
From the Sun to Deneb the brightest star in Cygnus, the Swan |
2,600 years | |
From the Sun to the Crab Nebula remnant of an exploded star in Taurus |
6,300 years | |
From the Sun to the Double Cluster a star cluster in Perseus |
7,200 years | |
From the Sun to Omega Centauri the brightest globular star cluster |
16,300 years | |
From the Sun to M13 the globular star cluster in Hercules |
21,000 years | |
From the Sun to the Galactic centre the centre of our Galaxy |
27,700 years | |
Galactic diameter the diameter of our Galaxy |
81,500 years | |
We have now left our Galaxy, our stellar city |
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From the Sun to the Large Magellanic Cloud the nearest visible external galaxy |
160,000 years | |
To the Andromeda Galaxy the nearest large galaxy |
2,540,000 years | |
We have now left the region visible with the naked eye |
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To UGC 8091 the farthest of the Local Group of galaxies |
7,900,000 years | |
To M81 spiral galaxy in Ursa Major |
12,000,000 years | |
To M104 the Sombrero Galaxy |
30,000,000 years | |
To M87 a spherical galaxy in Virgo |
55,000,000 years | |
Extinction of the dinosaurs |
65,000,000 years | |
To Perseus Group a group of 500 galaxies in Perseus |
190,000,000 years | |
To Coma Group a group of 1000 galaxies in Coma Berenices |
225,000,000 years | |
To Hercules Group a group of galaxies in Hercules |
350,000,000 years | |
To Boötes Group a group of 150 galaxies in Boötes |
1,240,000,000 years | |
To 3C273 the first quasar discovered |
2,000,000,000 years | |
To Q0134+329 typical quasar |
4,500,000,000 years | |
Formation of the Earth and Sun |
4,700,000,000 years | |
To Galaxy 970228 typical Gamma Ray Burster discovered in 1997 |
6,000,000,000 years | |
To GRB 090429B furthest Gamma Ray Burster discovered in 2011 |
13,000,000,000 years | |
To remotest quasars discovered in 2011 |
29,000,000,000 years | |
To remotest protogalaxy discovered in 2011 |
32,000,000,000 years | |
Edge of Universe limit of observable Universe |
47,000,000,000 years |
Time scales longer than the age of the Universe are possible because of the expansion of the Universe.
The scale of the Universe and our place in it are well summarised in Monty Python's Galaxy Song.
© 1997, 2013 KryssTal
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