For all our might and abilities, humans are really puny creatures. The Universe we exist in is just too vast and beyond our intuitive contemplation. As we start the new year with wishes and resolutions, here is a size comparison of our Earth to everything else in the Universe. It should help us remember just how insignificant we truly are, contrary to what we feel like.
Here is Earth compared to Jupiter, the largest planet of our solar system.
The largest storm on Jupiter — the Great Red Spot — is as big as Earth. Jupiter is so big in fact that it can easily hold ~1300 Earths inside it.
Now here’s Earth and Jupiter compared to our Sun.
Our Sun frequently emits material out of it in the form of energetic flares. Some of these solar flares are larger than both Earth and Jupiter.
Now isn’t the Sun monstrous?
And the Sun is not even among the largest stars of the galaxy. Here is a comparison of the Sun with two larger stars belonging to the category of red giants – Arcturus and Antares.
Antares is so huge that if the Sun were to be replaced by it, it would engulf Mars. But there are stars in the Universe that are even bigger than Antares!
Here is a comparison of the Sun with one of the largest known stars in the galaxy, VY Canis Majoris.
The Sun is not even visible at this scale. So much for us thinking it is special. It doesn’t help further that the Sun is just one of the 200 billion+ stars in our Milky Way galaxy.
At the scale of a galaxy, each star is but a mere little dot. Around these hundreds of billions of little dots lie probably just as many planetary systems like our own.
And yet, our galaxy is just one of the billions and billions of galaxies in the observable Universe, as revealed to us by space telescopes like NASA Hubble.
Mind=blown?
Wait till you see how our Milky Way compares to one of the largest known galaxies, IC 1101.
Our galaxy is dwarfed by the colossal size of IC 1101. Such supermassive galaxies, for the lack of a better word, typically host supermassive black holes at their centers. Here is one of the largest known black holes compared to our solar system.
If the magnificence of the Universe doesn’t intimidate you, terrify you and leave you in awe, I don’t know what will.
Start the new year by realizing how insignificant we are!
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I have always read on and off, in a vague fashion, about the significance of the universe, or ‘our’ universe. I don’t even know whether to say ‘the’ or ‘our’, after reading this article. It’s like it just makes me feel curious and visualize whatever is possibly out there. If it is even ours, or part of a bigger , inexpressible concept.
We encounter ‘problems’ daily…but after reading this article, it makes me wonder why I even expend so much energy worrying about the little things, when I am so bloody insignificant anyways, that I might as well live my life in the best and craziest possible ways. Do something really worthwhile instead.
Everyday at least one human is wiped off this planet Earth, and apart from the near and dear ones, it probably does not even matter a bit to the universe around.
This article, is described just nicely with good illustrations.
It makes me visualize much more to the ‘limits’ of my imagination.
Thank you for the read. Happy 2020.
Great post 🙂
Glad you found the article moving!