Universe Size Comparison Explained! (2019)
42🌎 Get Our Merch designed with ❤ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNYaxPiba3oxmeL_3jKxnYA/store
💫Get 10% off Under Lucky Stars and enjoy our star maps completely custom-made 💫 https://www.underluckystars.com/INSANECURIOSITY
From the size of planets to stars, to that of black holes, and the very limits of our universe itself! Join me as I reveal you a comparison of the universe.
18. Ceres
So we're going to do this list a little bit differently than our others. We're going to start off with an object, and then the next entry on the list is one that is either somewhat bigger, or very much bigger. This will help you get a scale for things.
For example, Ceres. Ceres is a massive object that lies within the asteroid belt that stands between Mars and Jupiter. This belt is known as a "barrier" of sorts to the back half of our solar system, and Ceres is the biggest thing in there. In terms of size, it's about 950 kilometers long, which is big compared to the various objects in that belt, but not compared to other things in our solar system. Such as...
17. The Moon
For the record, I'm talking about our moon, the one that hangs up in the sky and looks down on us at night (most of the time anyway...). Compared to Ceres, the Moon is a little less than 4 times its size. Coming in at around 3500 kilometers in the length.
The moon is obviously very important to us here on Earth, not only is it a beacon in the sky, it is also a big "controller" of things on Earth. Especially the tides. The moon is perfectly placed to help move the waters without causing major issues. If you recall the movie Bruce Almighty, Bruce moved the moon to impress his girl, and as a result, the Earth suffered because of its gravity.
Still, even with the moon being as big as it is, it's not the biggest moon out there by a long shot.
16. Mercury
That's right, we're not doing another moon just yet (though we will...), but instead, let's talk about the planets in our solar system. The first planet, and the smallest planet of our planetary line is Mercury. Mercury is special for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it is a planet that is the closest to our sun. Which actually makes it one of the most inhabitable planets out there due to its extreme heat thanks to the proximity to the sun.
Coming in at 4900 kilometers long, it's bigger than the moon and many other things in the solar system, but it's small compared to all the other planets (except Pluto which may or may not be a planet...I'll let you decide). Fun fact, Mercury as a planet is actually shrinking. It's not at a large rate, but it's enough to make it count over the next few million years.
15. Mars
Ah, Mars, the Red Planet, and for humanity, our next best hope in terms of finding another place to live (I prefer the moon, but that's just me). It's "next" to Earth, but unlike certain other planets down the line, the size of it isn't what you might think. You'd believe that it would be a bigger planet than most but it's actually on the shorter side with a length of only 6800 kilometers.
One of the reasons that we have hope for Mars in terms of colonization is that the planet has the potential for water, as water has been found on the planet via frozen ice caps. But when we'll reach there is still unknown.
14. Earth
Hello sun, the Earth says hello! Our home planet is a true mystery of the universe, as currently it's the only place in the known universe that has life on it in any fashion. As for the planet itself, it's not only a place of land and water, but also size. The Earth is 13000 kilometers long, just about twice the size of Mars, and trust me when I say that we use that space to the best of our abilities...most of the time.
What's odd about the Earth's composition though is that it's over 70% water. Which means that the land on the planet is very much in the minority. Yet that doesn't stop us from expanding or building things to help us reach the far corners of our world.
13. Kepler 22B
Going outside our solar system for a sec, let's look at a planet that is bigger than Earth but is also far away. Found 600 light years from Earth, Kepler-22b is within the Habitable Zone of its star. As well as being twice the size of Earth at 30000 kilometers, the yearly rotation is somewhat similar to our own at about 292 days. So because of this, many consider it a possible planet we can colonize down the line once we advance our space travel methods.
Now, temperature wise, the planet actually isn't too bad. The best readings state that at its worst it may only get down to 11 degrees Fahrenheit, and at its best, it'll be around 71 degrees Fahrenheit. Which means the planet doesn't get immensely hot, but also not