How big is that?
October 29th, 2009 | Author: Herb
Through the years I have let a lot of people look through my telescopes. And one of the questions most frequently asked when the target is a planet, like Jupiter, the Sun or the Moon, is “How big is that?”. Now seriously, if I say the diameter is about 800,000 miles, you will pretty much loose most people, I mean what do we have in our daily lives to compare that number too? Well I have found a neat web application that will let you compare the sizes of various objects in our solar system side by side. This is a great example of how the web can be used effectively in education; and a great example, and proof supporting the old saying ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. Check this out:
(Try selecting the Earth on the left and the Sun on the right, then click Compare in the middle. Now that’s an eye opener huh!)
