The Earth - as viewed from Saturn

Discussion in 'Science and Technology' started by MacLeod, Jul 23, 2013.

  1. MacLeod

    MacLeod Admiral Admiral

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    Mar 8, 2001
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    Great Britain
  2. Metryq

    Metryq Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2013
    Naked eye, it is just a point of light. A real indicator of the distance is the span between Earth and Moon. I believe the Moon was almost at its maximum angular distance, as seen by its orbit almost edge-on. That tiny span is around 400,000 km. Even then, the blurring/halation of the points of light gives a false sense of scale.

    (Try planetarium software, such as Celestia. Jump to Saturn, then "look back." Turn on orbits and select Earth. Now think about how long it would take to walk that span between Earth and Moon. We're going to need some serious engines to explore the Solar system, let alone reach another star.)

    In other words, our planet isn't small. The spaces between the planets is very vast.
     
  3. YellowSubmarine

    YellowSubmarine Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2010
    When you think about it, space is so big that VY Canis Majoris looks like a dot to the naked eye. Hell, almost all galaxies do.

    But our planet is tiny too.