Question
Suppose you wish to construct a scale model of the Solar System. The distance between Earth and the Sun (one Astronomical Unit 1 AU) is
Suppose you wish to construct a scale model of the Solar System. The distance between Earth and the Sun (one "Astronomical Unit" 1 AU) is 1.5 108 km, and you represent it by 25 m, about the size of a tennis court. (a) What is the scaled distance of Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun (9.5 AU)? (Hint: Use ratios here and elsewhere when possible!) (b) Earth is about 12,800 km in diameter. How large is Earth on your scale? Compare its size with that of a common object. (c) The Sun's diameter is about 1.4 106 km. How large is it relative to Earth? (d) The brightest star besides the Sun (and one of the nearest), Sirius, is 8.7 light years away (i.e., 8.3 1013 km). How far is this in your scale model? (e) Compare your answer in part (d) with the true diameter of Earth, 12,800 km. Comment on whether this gives you some idea of the enormous distances of even the nearest stars.
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