What is the speed of a man standing on earth, with respect to a static point in the universe?

Answer 1

Currently, physics acknowledges no such thing as a static point in the universe. All speed is relative to some arbitrary reference frame. Arbitrarily choose any reference frame that you wish to call "static" and then you can calculate a relative speed.

Answer 2

You'll have to excuse my friend above. That's his way of saying, "I don't know."

The Earth rotates at about 1015 miles per hour at the equator.

The Earth moves through space in it's orbit around the Sun at about 18.5 miles per second.

The Earth should travel with the Solar System around the Milky way at about 99.2 miles per second, BUT, dark matter accounts for a higher observed speed of 136.4 miles per second.

Whew, I have a headache now. Can you do the math if all the factors above were such that you were traveling at a maximum? Minimum?

Oh, oh. I almost forgot that thing my friend above said about a static point in the universe. He's right. We don't have a static reference yet. Every observation and measurement is made with us and the rest of the universe in a sort of "flux", mostly moving away from each other at an ever accelerating speed. But, I guess we can use the center of the Milky Way galaxy as a point of reference for now, even if it's not static.

Answer 3

There is no physical way to determine a static point in the universe if we are to believe on the general theory of relativity. So, in order to measure movement you need to establish a frame of reference. (Incidentally a grosso modo that is 'why' it is called the theory of relativity, because one thing can only be analyzed relative to another). If you were to do that then it is only a matter of vectoring a few things to obtain the relative speed of a particle in space.
Starting from Earth, you are spinning (rotation) at about 400 meters per second in the Equator, the higher or lower your latitude the smaller that speed gets until you get to the poles in which it becomes 0. From there Earth is orbiting the sun at about 30 kilometers per second. The sun is orbiting the galactic center at 220 km/s and our galaxy is moving at about 600 km/s. That is as far as it is reliable to make measurements. So pick your spot and star adding (but it is a lot of tricky math)

Answer 4

The best 'static point in the universe' to use is the cosmic microwave background radiation (..CMBR..) which is the remnant temperature from the Big Bang and fills the universe. Right now you and I are moving at some 1,328,000 km/hour with respect to the CMBR. Incidentally we're rushing along at that speed in the direction of the constellation known as Crater.

Answer 5

If you are doing special relativity, there is no 'static point' from which to judge speed.

But, in the context of an expanding universe, there is a preferred frame that moves with the universal expansion. This frame is fairly well described by the microwave background radiation. We can actually measure our speed in this frame by looking at how the background varies with direction. The end result is that we are moving at about 1% of the speed of light in that special frame.

Answer 6

i say a little more than 1020 miles per hour. earth moves 1degre /4minutes. and i degree equals roughly 69 miles. the speed the earth would move .do the math you have a general idea of the speed. static point none. i would even take it further to say the speed of the earth fluctuates due to the suns energy but the time of a full rotation is pretty close to constant. hence the feeling of fast or slow days.

Answer 7

Earth rotation speed at equator = 460 meters per second
Earth orbit speed around sun = 30 kilometers per second (kps)
Solar system speed around galaxy = 220 kps
Galaxy speed toward Great Attractor = 1000 kps

Earth average (annual) speed with respect to the cosmic microwave background radiation (CBR) = 390 kps

Answer 8

Apart from the issue of a static point, the answer is actually complex because:

- the man is moving because of the earth's revolution on itself,
- the earth itself is moving around the sun,
- the solar system to which the earth belongs is moving through space,
- the galaxy the solar system belongs to is also moving through space
and chances are, the galaxy group our galaxy belongs to is also moving.

As you can see, not an easy answer.

Hope this helps,

Serge

Answer 9

Earth moves around the sun at about 15 miles a second. The sun moves around the center of our galaxy at about 980 miles a second. The galaxy moves around the 'local group' at about 16,000 miles a second; but over all, we move just shy at a million miles per hour, in relation to a stationery spot in the universe.

Answer 10

Just remember that your'e standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at 900 miles an hour.
It's orbiting at 19 miles a second, so its reckoned
The sun that's the source of all our power.
The sun, you and me and all we can see
Is travelling a million miles a day
In the outer galactic arm at 40,000 miles an hour
of the galaxy we call the milky way

Monty Python - the meaning of life (The Galaxy Song)