Comments on: Voyage to the solar system http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:27:43 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Gary Ansorge http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/comment-page-1/#comment-24886 Gary Ansorge Fri, 08 Dec 2006 18:22:05 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/#comment-24886 When discussing how really hugh the solar system is, I like to think in terms of how long it took humanity, from the discovery of agriculture, which allowed us to grow our popluation from the dynamic balance in effect for a hundred thoudand years of about 20 million to our present population of 6.5 billion(an increase of about 333 times) in 10,000 years. Compare that to the length of time it would take to fill the solar system, which has at least 3000 planet earths worth of resources available in the form of moons, asteroids and comets(dosn't account for large planatary bodies) if our growth rates were comparable to previous rates of 3.5 % per year. My calculator doesn't have that many digits, but it could take 30,000,000 years to fill it up. That's a BIG place to play around in. I wonder how different our descendants could be, with that much time to grow??? GAry 7 When discussing how really hugh the solar system is, I like to think in terms of how long it took humanity, from the discovery of agriculture, which allowed us to grow our popluation from the dynamic balance in effect for a hundred thoudand years of about 20 million to our present population of 6.5 billion(an increase of about 333 times) in 10,000 years. Compare that to the length of time it would take to fill the solar system, which has at least 3000 planet earths worth of resources available in the form of moons, asteroids and comets(dosn’t account for large planatary bodies) if our growth rates were comparable to previous rates of 3.5 % per year. My calculator doesn’t have that many digits, but it could take 30,000,000 years to fill it up. That’s a BIG place to play around in. I wonder how different our descendants could be, with that much time to grow???

GAry 7

]]> By: David http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/comment-page-1/#comment-24885 David Fri, 08 Dec 2006 03:02:44 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/#comment-24885 Wait, there are nine planets now? When did that change? Wait, there are nine planets now? When did that change?

]]> By: James http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/comment-page-1/#comment-24884 James Thu, 07 Dec 2006 15:47:25 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/#comment-24884 Keppel Croft Gardens in Ontario has a great hand-made solar system model (http://www.steveirvine.com/solar.html). It's about 400m long, based around a 12.2cm Sun. As an extra bonus, they've teamed up with a garden on Vancouver Island to include Proxima Centauri to scale distance (3,125km). They also have an analemmatic sundial and a henge they've built in the same field. All the details are at http://www.steveirvine.com/henge.html Keppel Croft Gardens in Ontario has a great hand-made solar system model (http://www.steveirvine.com/solar.html). It’s about 400m long, based around a 12.2cm Sun.

As an extra bonus, they’ve teamed up with a garden on Vancouver Island to include Proxima Centauri to scale distance (3,125km).

They also have an analemmatic sundial and a henge they’ve built in the same field. All the details are at http://www.steveirvine.com/henge.html

]]> By: hale_bopp http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/comment-page-1/#comment-24883 hale_bopp Thu, 07 Dec 2006 07:05:27 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/#comment-24883 I am a runner and had an idea I would love to find a couple of clubs to do sometime. Get together a running club and an astronomy club and host a 5k (or 10K) planet run. You could make a scale model of the solar system and run from the Sun to Neptune/Pluto (depending on your opinion of the IAU :) What do you think? Rob I am a runner and had an idea I would love to find a couple of clubs to do sometime. Get together a running club and an astronomy club and host a 5k (or 10K) planet run. You could make a scale model of the solar system and run from the Sun to Neptune/Pluto (depending on your opinion of the IAU :)

What do you think?

Rob

]]> By: Drew http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/comment-page-1/#comment-24882 Drew Thu, 07 Dec 2006 03:19:15 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/#comment-24882 Ithaca has a really nice one. Ithaca has a really nice one.

]]> By: Darmok http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/comment-page-1/#comment-24881 Darmok Wed, 06 Dec 2006 21:46:57 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/#comment-24881 I would love to see a solar system scale model in my community, but it would be quite difficult I think to persuade them to fund such a project. I would love to see a solar system scale model in my community, but it would be quite difficult I think to persuade them to fund such a project.

]]> By: Jack Hagerty http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/comment-page-1/#comment-24880 Jack Hagerty Wed, 06 Dec 2006 18:55:06 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2006/12/05/voyage-to-the-solar-system/#comment-24880 Irishman Says: "I tried to set up a SS walk once. Difficult to size planets making photos from web sources, and trying to find a linear stretch long enough near my location." Exactly. Here in Livermore, we are lucky enough to have a semi-rural city park with a mostly linear walkway over 3 miles (5 Km) long. I've been working with the parks district to put a 1:billion scale SS along it. That's a nice round number and it's pretty straightforward with that size pathway. The project is doubly significant since the local astronomy club holds public star parties in this park. The sun is a sphere about 4 feet (1,2 meters) diameter at one end of the path and the planets' orbits are marked where they cross. A post with an info plaque and a scale model of the planet is placed on its orbit. The Earth is only 1/2 inch (1 cm) diameter on that scale. Pluto (yes, we'd keep it, along with Eris and any other large KBO's as they are discovered) is only 0.8 inches (2mm)! - Jack PS - I had no idea there were so many "SS walks" around. I thought I was so original [sigh]. Irishman Says: “I tried to set up a SS walk once. Difficult to size planets making photos from web sources, and trying to find a linear stretch long enough near my location.”

Exactly. Here in Livermore, we are lucky enough to have a semi-rural city park with a mostly linear walkway over 3 miles (5 Km) long. I’ve been working with the parks district to put a 1:billion scale SS along it. That’s a nice round number and it’s pretty straightforward with that size pathway. The project is doubly significant since the local astronomy club holds public star parties in this park.

The sun is a sphere about 4 feet (1,2 meters) diameter at one end of the path and the planets’ orbits are marked where they cross. A post with an info plaque and a scale model of the planet is placed on its orbit. The Earth is only 1/2 inch (1 cm) diameter on that scale. Pluto (yes, we’d keep it, along with Eris and any other large KBO’s as they are discovered) is only 0.8 inches (2mm)!

- Jack

PS – I had no idea there were so many “SS walks” around. I thought I was so original [sigh].

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