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Calculate the scaled planet diameters and planet-sun distances for a solar system model. Enter scale or diameter or distance, select to show table and/or map below, select options, then press Calculate.
- Solar System Model Links
Imagine building an outdoor solar system scale model...
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Change Notice (July 2016): Added options for all individual...
- Solar System Model Links
1 pixel = 1,000 km. This 2D visual model illustrates the scale of the sun and planets in our solar system, and their current distance from each other.
Have you ever wondered about the sizes of planets in the solar system or the distances between them? In this project, you will create your own scale model of the solar system by learning how to calculate scale distances, the relative sizes of planets, or both.
VOS O offers a simple solution to scale our solar system. From a reference (diameter, distance, or scale), VOS O lists the diameters and distances scaled for all planets, the eccentricity of their orbit, and their respective positions around the sun at a given date (heliocentric longitude).
Actual Size of Sun: 1,391,000 km (864,000 mi) AU (“Astronomical Unit”) is the average distance between the Sun and Earth: 150 million km (93 million mi) A little more than 100 Sun diameters will span the distance of one AU.
PDF. To make it fit on a single 8.5x11" sheet of paper (diagonally), you may use the. distance scale 1 cm : 1 astronomical unit (note the mention of lower-case) or 149,597,870.7 km. Provide a simple ruler, a pencil, and an example, and have students make their own to take home.
See how the sizes of planets and the distances between them compare. And find out why it's so hard to create a scale model of the solar system that accurately represents both size and distance on a single screen or the page of a book.