PLANETS IN THE KITCHEN!

DEAN: WELCOME TO STAR GAZERS!

I'M DEAN REGAS, ASTRONOMER FROM THE
CINCINATTI OBSERVATORY.

JAMES: AND I'M JAMES ALBURY, DIRECTOR OF
THE KIKA SILVA PLA PLANETARIUM IN GAINESVILLE,

FLORIDA.

THIS WEEK, WE'RE GOING
TO HELP YOU PUT THE SOLAR SYSTEM IN PERSPECTIVE.

DEAN: THAT'S RIGHT,
JAMES.

OUR SOLAR SYSTEM IS SO LARGE WITH RESPECT
TO THE SIZE OF THE PLANETS,

THAT MOST PEOPLE, OURSELVES INCLUDED, HAVE
NEVER REALLY HAD A CLEAR CONCEPT

OF THE SCALE OF THE UNIVERSE.

JAMES: TO SAY THAT SPACE IS BIG IS
AN UNDERSTATEMENT.

HOW OFTEN DO WE THINK THAT THOSE BEAUTIFUL
SPARKLING POINTS

OF LIGHT IN THE SKY ARE ACTUALLY SUNS LIKE
OUR SUN, YET THEY'RE SO FAR AWAY

THAT THEY APPEAR AS MERE POINTS OF LIGHT?

DEAN: AND HOW OFTEN DO
WE THINK OF THE DIFFERENCES IN SIZES BETWEEN

THE VARIOUS PLANETS AS THEY
DRIFT ACROSS OUR EVENING AND MORNING SKIES?

JAMES: EVEN WITH ALL
THE EASY ACCESS WE HAVE TO INFORMATION ABOUT

THE UNIVERSE, MANY OF US STILL
DONT REALLY RELATE TO THE SIZE AND DISTANCE

OF THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO THE NIGHT
SKY.

DEAN: SO, WE HAVE A NEAT DEMONSTRATION THAT
CAN HELP, AND

YOU CAN DO IT AT HOME, USING EVERY DAY OBJECTS
YOU CAN FIND IN YOUR KITCHEN.

JAMES: WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?

LET'S SHOW YOU!

DEAN: OK, LET'S FIRST TALK ABOUT JUPITER,
EARTH AND OUR SUN.

JUPITER
IS OUR LARGEST PLANET, BUT WHAT DOES THAT

REALLY MEAN?

WE CAN EASILY LOOK
UP THE FACT THAT WE COD FIT 1300 EARTHS INSIDE

JUPITER, OR IT WOD TAKE 1.3
MILLION EARTHS TO FILL UP OUR SUN.

JAMES: OR TAKE THEIR DISTANCES
FOR EXAMPLE.

IF YOU DROVE IN A CAR FROM THE SUN TO THE
EARTH AT 70 MILES

PER HOUR, IT WOD TAKE YOU ALMOST 150 YEARS
TO MAKE THE TRIP.

FURTHERMORE,
IT WOD TAKE YOU ALMOST 800 YEARS TO DRIVE

FROM THE SUN TO JUPITER AND ALMOST
6000 YEARS TO DRIVE FROM THE SUN TO PLUTO.

DEAN: BUT NUMBERS
ARE EASILY FORGOTTEN, SO IF YOU REALLY WANT

TO RELATE TO THE COSMOS, IT'S BEST
TO THINK OF IT IN EVERY DAY TERMS AND WHAT

COULD BE MORE EVERY DAY THAN YOUR
KITCHEN.

JAMES: SO, THE NEXT TIME YOU PICK UP AN ORANGE,
PRETEND

THAT IT'S THE SUN.

THEN, TAKE A SALT SHAKER AND SPRINKLE SOME
SALT IN YOUR

HAND.

IF YOU CAN PICK UP JUST ONE OF THOSE GRAINS
OF SALT, THAT WILL REPRESENT

THE EARTH.

DEAN: THEN, TO PLACE THEM AT THEIR PROPER
DISTANCES,

PUT THAT BIT OF SALT 30 FEET AWAY FROM THE
ORANGE.

THAT IS THE SIZE AND
SCALE OF THE EARTH AND THE SUN.

DEAN: NOW TAKE A
BLACK BEAN.

THIS LITTLE BLACK BEAN REPRESENTS THE PLANET
JUPITER, CIRCLING 200

FEET AWAY, OR ONE CITY BLOCK AWAY FROM THE
ORANGE.

JAMES:
THE PLANET SATURN, WOULD BE ANOTHER BLACK

BEAN, TWO CITY BLOCKS AWAY (OR 400
FEET FROM THE ORANGE).

DEAN: PLUTO, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE DWARF PLANET,
WOD BE ONE SPECK OF FINELY GROUND PEPPER,

10 CITY BLOCKS FROM THE ORANGE.

JAMES: BUT OUR SUN IS JUST ONE OF BILLIONS
OF STARS IN A

FAMILY WE CALL OUR GALAXY.

ON THIS SAME SCALE, THE SUN'S CLOSEST NEIGHBOR,
ALPHA CENTAURI, IS ANOTHER ORANGE, 1300 MILES

AWAY!

DEAN: AND ALL
THE OTHER STARS ARE FRUITS OF DIFFERENT SIZES

AND ON THE AVERAGE ARE
2000 MILES APART.

SO TO MAKE OUR GALAXY, THE MILKY WAY, WE WILL
NEED

200 TO 400 BILLION ORANGES, GRAPEFRUITS, CANTALOUPES
AND PUMPKINS.

IF YOU COD AMASS THAT MUCH FRUIT, YOU'D THEN
NEED TO DISTRIBUTE IT OVER

A SPACE 20 MILLION MILES IN DIAMETER.AND THAT'S
JUST ONE GALAXY!

JAMES: BUT, TO SHOW THE NUMBER OF STARS IN
ALL THE GALAXIES IN THE VISIBLE

UNIVERSE, IT WOULD TAKE MORE ORANGES, GRAPEFRUITS,
MELONS AND PUMPKINS

THAN HAVE EVER GROWN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF
TIME!

THERE MAY BE TWO
TRILLION GALAXIES IN OUR UNIVERSE, EACH WITH

BILLIONS OF STARS IN THEM.

DEAN: AND REMEMBER, OUR SUN IS JUST ONE OF
THOSE ORANGES, WITH IT'S

8 MAJOR PLANETS AND 5 DWARF PLANETS, ALL MERE
SPECKS OF SALT, PEPPER

AND BLACK BEANS, CIRCLING LESS THAN 15 CITY
BLOCKS AWAY.

JAMES: OR THINK OF IT LIKE THIS THE NEXT TIME
YOU'RE IN YOUR KITCHEN.

IF WE COULD FIT OUR ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM, OUR
SUN AND ALL IT'S PLANETS, INCLUDING

THE DISTANCES BETWEEN THEM, INSIDE A COFFEE
CUP, OUR GALAXY WOULD BE THE SIZE

OF NORTH AMERICA!

DEAN: NOW THAT'S A CUP OF JOE THAT'LL REALLY
WAKE YOU UP IN THE MORNING AS YOU BOTH: KEEP

LOOKING UP!