The Vastness of Space | Galaxies, Solar Systems, Stars, and Planets

Universe by Hubble Ultra-Deep Field

Big. Such a small word for such a big meaning. But how big, is BIG? Sometimes the universe is so hard to imagine because of its vast size. The universe is home to millions of galaxies, billions of stars and the very solar system in which we live. It is so big that we don't have an Earth measurement of a size that would fit the distances that we need to measure. Instead, we measure distances with light years. Light years are the amount of distance that light can cover in a year. This is huge seeing as light is so fast. But even that can seem small when compared to the Universe, so why don't we take a look at a slightly smaller place in the universe, galaxies. Galaxies are masses of stars, planets, asteroids, comets, dust, and gas. There are three main types of galaxies, spiral, elliptical and irregular. A spiral galaxy is a galaxy that has a spiral shape, where an elliptical galaxy is more like an oval. Irregular galaxies, like the name suggests, are shaped irregularly. The galaxy that our solar system resides in is called the Milky Way. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, and we are only a small part of it. The solar system is just a small part of the galaxy that we are in and yet is it still so big. But we don't need quite a big measurement for our solar system. Instead of light years, we downgrade in size to an Astronomical Unit. This is the distance between Earth and the Sun. There are eight planets currently in our solar system. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus. Then there is the Kuiper Belt which is home to dwarf planets like Pluto. There is also an asteroid belt between Earth and Mars. All of this is revolving around the Sun. The Sun is one of the many stars in our Galaxy. This gassy giant ball is where we come from. After the big bang, the only elements in the universe where helium and hydrogen. During the stars nuclear fusion, other elements were created, allowing us to be made. The Sun is Yellow medium star, though there are many different types. The Sun is actually considered a smaller star and is only one of the millions out there.

S&EP
SP2: Using Models

The universe is really big, but so is our solar system. sometimes it is hard to imagine just how big these distances are. So we used our bodies to see the different proportion. We folded and labeled a strip of paper that is as big as we are tall. Then we made the right proportions for the distances between the planets. This showed us how the distances of the planets in our solar system are so far apart and big.

XCC
XCC: Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

The universe is so large that we need a whole new scale of measurement. Everything is very far apart and separated. The universe is such a vast place that everything has such a big proportion compared to earth. Everything is huge compared to what we have on Earth. Not only is everything so huge and spread apart, yet there is so much of everything. There are millions of stars, planets and galaxies, a very large quantity. Overall, everything is on a much larger scale and much bigger.