Wikiseum

The Moon seems close and the stars all seem equally far away. In reality, distances in space are almost impossible to grasp. This journey begins at our own planet and shows how researchers learn to look ever further. Note: pictures are rarely to scale.

8 stops · about 13 minutes · explore freely

  1. Stop 1 of 8Our starting pointEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun and the only place we know to have life. Everything we know about space we have seen from here, or with instruments we sent away from here.
  2. Stop 2 of 8One light-second awayMoonThe Moon is on average about 384,000 kilometres away: light takes a little over a second to get there. All the other planets of the solar system would fit in between.
  3. Stop 3 of 8Eight light-minutesSunThe Sun is about 150 million kilometres from Earth: its light travels for more than eight minutes. It holds more than 99 percent of all the mass in the solar system.
  4. Stop 4 of 8The red neighbourMarsMars is about half the size of Earth. Its dust contains iron oxide, which colours the planet red, and its thin atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide. Compare: what would you need to live there?
  5. Stop 5 of 8A giant of gasJupiterJupiter is the largest planet: more than thirteen hundred Earths would fit inside it. It has no solid surface, and the Great Red Spot is a storm larger than Earth.
  6. Stop 6 of 8Leftovers from the startAsteroid beltIn the asteroid belt, countless rocks circle the Sun. They are so far apart that space probes fly through without a collision, and they tell how the planets formed.
  7. Stop 7 of 8Our eyes far awaySpace probeSpace probes travel without a crew to planets, moons and comets. Voyager 1, launched in 1977, is the most distant object people have ever made and left the Sun’s sphere of influence in 2012.
  8. Stop 8 of 8Planets around other starsExoplanetIn 1995 a planet was discovered around a Sun-like star for the first time. By now we know of thousands; we do not see most of them, but recognise them by their star’s light dimming briefly or wobbling.