A scale model of the solar system was created with the Earth being approximately 1 inch in diameter. The sun is 100 times the diameter of the Earth, represented by an inflatable pumpkin. The planets were placed according to their relative distances from the sun, with Mercury being about 2 steps away, Venus about 3/4 of the distance between the Earth and the sun, and so on. As the presenter traveled through the solar system, they noted that the distances between the outer planets are much greater than those between the inner planets. The presenter also pointed out that if the model were to be entirely accurate, the planets would have to be shrunk down by a factor of 100, making them nearly invisible, or the distances between them would have to be expanded by a factor of 100, requiring a much larger space than a football field. The presentation concluded by highlighting the vast emptiness of space in the solar system and encouraging the audience to consider what makes them significant if it's not their size.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Earth is about an inch across in the model of the solar system.
2. The entire human population would fit in the state of Rhode Island on this scale.
3. A single human being is the size of a virus on this scale.
4. The sun is a hundred times the diameter of the Earth and a million times the volume.
5. Mercury is about half the size of the Earth and is two steps away from the model of the sun.
6. Venus is about the same size as the Earth and is three-quarters of the distance between the Earth and the sun.
7. Mars is about half the size of the Earth and is the next major planet that humans will set foot on.
8. The distance between the Earth and the moon is the furthest that human beings have ever traveled.
9. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and is five times the distance from the sun as the Earth.
10. The distance between the inner planets is relatively small compared to the distance between the outer planets.
11. Light travels at the pace of a snail on this scale, taking hours to reach the outer planets.
12. Uranus is about four times the diameter of the sun and is a long distance from Saturn.
13. Neptune is the eighth and outermost planet in the solar system.
14. Pluto is technically a dwarf planet and was first seen up close by the New Horizons mission in 2015.
15. If the model of the solar system were truly to scale, the planets would have to be shrunk down by a factor of 100 or spread out over a much larger distance.
16. On this scale, Pluto would be about the size of a speck of sand.
17. The sun would have to be shrunk down by a factor of 100 to fit the scale model.
18. If the planets were kept at their current size, the distances between them would have to be expanded by a factor of 100 to fit the scale model.
19. The actual distance between the sun and Pluto would be about seven miles.