The Scale of Our Area In Space
For countless reasons, it would be impossible for an aircraft to leave the Earth and go on a long flight through space, but sometimes we need to use our imagination.
Now it’s time to use your imagination.
While our solar system may seem vast to us, it is actually quite small compared to our galaxy, the Milky Way, and minuscule when we think of the entire universe.
To help make the distances within the solar system more understandable, I will use the speed of a Boeing 737 aircraft, which is approximately 800 kilometres or 498 miles per hour.
The Moon is slightly younger than Earth and is our closest celestial body; it has been Earth’s companion for over 4.5 billion years.
Considering the size of our solar system, the Moon is just a step away at 384,000 kilometres, or 238,000 miles.
That short flight for our fictional journey on board a Boeing 737 would take 20 days.
It has been over 50 years since humans went to the Moon and walked on its surface. When next will we…
