Groosloode's Den

Fun Fact

In terms of outer space, we generally think that the distance between Earth and our moon is quite small. Amazingly, it turns out that you could fit the other planets in our solar system within the average distance between the Earth and moon. The average distance is 384,400 km or 238,555 miles, and the diameter of the seven remaining planets added together would leave 8,030 km or 4,990 miles to spare. This makes it a (relatively) tight fit, and is a remarkable statistic when you consider how large some of the other planets in the solar system are. It also makes you think about the distance between Earth and the other planets in our solar system, and just how vast space is. This statistic also makes you realize what an incredible job we have done in exploring our solar system, but equally how much more there is to discover.

The Universe

The size of the universe is truly mind-boggling and difficult to comprehend. Astronomer Carl Sagan is famous for claiming that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the world’s deserts and beaches, but this is, of course, difficult to prove. Many people do not take this as a fact, and instead just see it as a good way of describing how astonishingly big the cosmos is. Scientists went about conducting a study at the Australian National University to see if Sagan’s claims are in fact true, and after some mammoth and mind-melting calculations were made, they discovered that this was in fact the case. This is certainly something to think about next time you are relaxing on a beach somewhere, as it really puts into perspective just how vast and unexplored the entire universe is.