...and boy are my legs tired! [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

In other words, I just got done completing the solar system walk, as laid out in this page. I've been wanting to try it out for a while, and since the page came up again in another topic, and I had some free time, I said "what-the-heck". [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] It sure was an enlightening experience.

I used the metric model as outlined in the page, and I went an extra step for accuracy. I measured out the average length of my stride and used it to calculate out the exact number of paces I'd need. I didn't bother with actually placing down "planets" though. I just tried to use my imagination, or the occasional pebble in the road, as my planets.

I went to the river park near my home and started up one side. When I finished, I crossed the river and came back down the other. It was quite a pleasant, but very long, walk. I used the bridge nearest me for the start and I ended up walking most of the length of the park! My observations:

I was surprised how compact the first 4 orbits are compared to the rest. They didn't really strike me being very far, although thinking about the small size of the planets compared to their orbits was a bit boggling. The big jump to Jupiter was a bit of a shock, but since I could still make out where the Sun would be it still didn't bother me too much.

But the big jumps beyond that were just staggering. It was 180 further paces to Saturn and about 400 paces between each of the outer 3 planets. It became impossible to see the start at around Saturn, mostly due to terrain, but even then, trying to make out a bowling-ball sized object from that distance blew my mind.

Check out the photo:


http://www.occn.zaq.ne.jp/cuaea503/images/DCP_2541.JPG

I know it's a bit difficult to see the scale in the photo, but starting from this bridge, Jupiter was at about even with the first big building on the left. Saturn was about where the 3rd building is, Uranus was on the other side of the trestle bridge in the distance, and Pluto was about even with that tall 40 story building on the right! When you realize that, at this scale, the Sun is about the size of your head, and Pluto is smaller than a pinhead, the distance is just unimaginable. Or conversely, try to spot a person's head in a window of that building. That would be the Sun if you were standing on Pluto. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

And the most unbelievable thing of all is knowing that this is just the radius of the orbits. In actuality, you have to imagine this as a circle around the starting point, or even a sphere many times larger than this if you include minor planetoids. And beyond that, the next star would be about as far from me as Hawaii!

I'm just going to conclude with the idea that Man was not made to comprehend distances like this. From now on, whenever I look out towards that last tower, I'll be thinking of little Pluto, a speck of sand in the middle of nothing.

_________________
<font size="-1">PLEASE NOTE: Some quantum physics theories suggest that when the consumer is not directly observing this product, it may cease to exist or will exist only in a vague and undetermined state.</font>

<font size="-1">(fixed the photo link)</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: David Hall on 2002-07-15 03:49 ]</font>