If someone tells you that the universe is vast, ask them: How big is it exactly? That’s a question that leaves anyone speechless. You can only begin to grasp the magnitude of the universe when you view the images below.
10 Images That Showcase the Incredible Vastness of the Universe
1. The Sun is So Large It’s Hard to Describe
We all know that the Sun is incredibly large. However, when asked how large, few can articulate it. The images from John Brady’s series, “The Size of Astronomical Objects”, will help you visualize the enormity of the Sun. Truly, before scientists calculated the size of the Sun, our small minds could hardly imagine something so immense. A Boeing 747 flying at full speed would take 42 hours to circle the Earth. At the same speed, it would take about 6 months to orbit the Sun.
2. Is the Moon Really as Far as You Think?
The distance from Earth to the Moon is precisely 384,400 km with a margin of error of 8,030 km. So, is it far or close? That depends on your point of reference. The Moon seems quite close when compared to other cosmic distances. However, it would be an incredibly long drive if you decided to travel there. If you lined up the other seven planets of the Solar System, they would fit comfortably within the distance from Earth to the Moon.
3. From Mars, Earth is Just a Tiny Dot
From the ground, no one calls our planet small. As you rise to orbit, our home begins to appear, still majestic. From the Moon, Earth looks like a small blue marble. From Mars, it appears merely as a dot of light. This photo was taken by NASA’s Curiosity rover when Mars was relatively close to Earth—about 99 million miles away. At different points in orbit, the distance between the two planets can increase up to 5 times.
4. How Does North America Look on the Surface of Jupiter?
Jupiter is enormous. But with this image, John Brady shows you just how massive it really is. A storm on Jupiter’s surface is wider than the entire North American region. In fact, Jupiter is a gigantic gas planet. Its extremely cold temperatures allow hydrogen and helium to remain stable. If it were closer to the Sun, the increased temperature would cause these gases to dissipate.
5. Imagine Swapping the Moon with Saturn
The creator of this image, Ron Miller, replaced the Moon in a photo of “Death Valley” with various planets. In the case of Saturn, it would almost fill the entire sky. It would even block out the Sun for an extended period. The consequences of that would be unimaginable if it were true.
6. A Comet Falling on Los Angeles
This is comet 67P/CG, which the Philae probe landed on in November last year. In space, its diameter of 3.5 miles is insignificant. However, if it were to fall on Los Angeles, it would be an unimaginable event.
7. Pluto is Not at the Edge of the Solar System
Many people assume that the Solar System ends at Pluto’s orbit because maps only depict it up to that point. This is entirely incorrect. Beyond Pluto’s orbit lies the Kuiper Belt. Even further out is the Oort Cloud, a massive cloud of gas, dust, and comets. It is a remnant from the formation of the Solar System. Beyond the Oort Cloud, at a distance that doubles its size, you would finally encounter the closest star to us.
8. The Supergiant Stars
Once you leave the Solar System, you won’t bother measuring the sizes of planets anymore. Now, you can only discuss stars. Where does our Sun stand in comparison to other stars? Once again, size cannot be defined by human imagination.
9. Everything You Can See in the Sky Fits Within This Circle
Stars are already very large; however, galaxies are even larger. This image depicts our galaxy. With the naked eye gazing up at the night sky, you can only see the dots of light within this yellow circle. The farthest stars at the edge of the circle can only be seen from the Southern Hemisphere under the best conditions. For many locations, possibly your city, the circle will be much smaller.
10. Our Galaxy is Just One of 100,000 Dots of Light Here
We must emphasize again that the vastness of the universe is beyond imagination. Our galaxy is just one of billions of galaxies out there. This is merely a map created by scientists of the 100,000 closest galaxies to us. It is known as the Laniakea Supercluster. This supercluster consists of many branches, with our galaxy located on one distant branch. A neighboring supercluster, Perseus, seems to have branches in the opposite direction. The distance between the two superclusters is unimaginably vast.
