Size of the universe - starting at home.
First, we remind ourselves that distance = speed × time.
For example, if we drive at 100 km/hour, it will take ten hours to to get to a city 1000 km away.
The circumference of the Earth is 40,000 km - if we were to try to drive around the Earth at 100 km/hour, it would take - time=distance/speed -- time=40,000/100 = 400 hours of driving.
At a steady 12 hours of driving per day that is 33 days and 4 hours or a round month if you push it a little.
Conversely, at a steady 1000 km/hour, a passenger jet can fly around the Earth in 40 hours, or just under 2 days - call it 2 days with layovers and runway holds.
We zoom out through our solar system and galactic neighbourhood to try to get some appreciation for scale.
We fail.
Last updated 01/08
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