i heard it was like a ring in the desert
2006-10-17 12:16:43 · 8 answers · asked by connie 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
the ratio of the earth's size to the universes size is
1 to infinity
which is kind of hard to compare to anything
2006-10-17 12:19:25 · answer #1 · answered by The Amazing Humdinger 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The Universe might be infinite, but we're not certain. But let us concern ourselves only with the observable universe, which is all that matters to us for any practical purpose.
Since the universe is approximately 13.7 billion years old so we can see 13.7 billion light years in all directions. So the observable universe is a sphere with a radius of 13.7 billion light years centered on the Earth, which is approximately a sphere with an average radius of 6,372.797 km.
Then we just do some math. Multiply 13.7 billion light years by the number of kilometers in each one (9,460,528,404,879) and we can divide the radius of the observable universe in km by the radius of the Earth in km and get the ratio between them. We do so and find that the observable universe is 1.9298727 x 10^19 times bigger than the Earth.
I don't know about you, but that number is so large it means nothing to me. So let's use a comparison. If the Earth were the size of a marble (1.25 cm in diameter) then the observable universe would be 25.5 light years in diameter. That is about as far away as the bright star Vega (25.3 light years away)
In short, my collegues are correct: the universe is very, very big compared to the Earth.
2006-10-17 20:41:08 · answer #2 · answered by Jacob1207 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Lemme get this straight....the diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy is 100,000 light years, exceeds ordinary human comprehension...right? a time interval vastly greater than all of human history.
Another thousand times farther takes us to distant cluster of galaxies, but even then, that would be less than one ten-thousandths of a percent of the observable Universe. We are mere specks in an abyss of time and space.
The hundred billion galaxies of our visible universe, each with a hundred billion stars, makes us but a grain of sand on the Sahara, grown out of that original "pure vacuum" of nothingness.
2006-10-18 01:43:32 · answer #3 · answered by Its not me Its u 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's about like the size of an electron compared with the Milky Way.
2006-10-17 19:21:51 · answer #4 · answered by Helmut 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Earth is nothing compare to the universe
2006-10-17 19:34:07 · answer #5 · answered by 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
I have a link right here that will tell you the size of Earth, in realation to the largest known star, and other cosmic entities.
http://www.rense.com/general72/size.htm
2006-10-17 20:12:59 · answer #6 · answered by raiden4292 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
less than a grain of sand and a million earths compared it is astronomical.
2006-10-18 11:31:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like a grain of sand to the solar system bud. very very small
2006-10-17 19:19:27 · answer #8 · answered by rjl2382 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋