our cosmic address each of us has an address. ours is: the denver museum of nature and science 2001...

OUR COSMIC OUR COSMIC ADDRESSADDRESS

Each of us has an address. Ours is:

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science2001 Colorado Blvd.

Denver, Colorado 80205-5798

But what is our cosmic address?


So Where Do We Live? On the Planet Earth!


The Earth is the third planet from a star we call our sun, or Sol. The sun, its planets, their moons, and other bodies constitute our solar system.


The nine planets of the solar system in order from the sun. The relative sizes are accurate, but relative distances from the sun are not.

Sun

MercuryMercury Venu

s

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto


The Earth is one Astronomical Unit or 1 AU from the Sun.

One AU equals about 93,000,000 miles, or 150,000,000 kilometers.

1 AUSUNEARTH


Distances of the Planets from the Sun

Mercury .0387 AU / 35,419,000 miles

Venus .7233 AU / 67,242,000 miles

Earth 1.0 AU / 93,000,000 miles

Mars 1.524 AU / 141,600,000 miles

Jupiter 5.203 AU / 483,800,000 miles

Saturn 9.539 AU / 890,000,000 miles

Uranus 19.9 AU / 1,783,169,440 miles

Neptune 30.06 AU / 2,790,000,000 miles

Pluto 39.53 AU / 3,647,200,000 miles


Our solar system extends to where the solar wind ceases to be of any significant influence.

This boundary is called the Heliopause.

HeliopauseVoyager 1

Voyager 2


But where in the universe is the solar

system?

OUR COSMIC OUR COSMIC ADDRESSADDRESSIt’s in the Milky Way Galaxy.


This is a Hubble Space Telescope view of a spiral galaxy similar to the Milky Way.

The Milky Way Galaxy is

about 586,000,000,0

00,000,000 (586

quadrillion) miles, or

6,300,000,000,000 (6.3

trillion) AU, or 97,800 light

years in diameter.


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NCG 6369, “The Little Ghost,” is a dying star NCG 6369, “The Little Ghost,” is a dying star that is between 2000 to 5000 light years from that is between 2000 to 5000 light years from Earth.Earth.

As we go further out from the Sun, the distances get so vast that we

must use a larger unit of

measurement -- light years.


Light travels at 186,291 miles per second!

It takes light 8½ minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth. That’s a distance of 1 AU or

93,000,000 miles.12 light year long jet

emanating from a newborn star

A light year is the distance light travels in one year. In

one year, light travels 64,000 AU, or

6,000,000,000,000 (6 trillion) miles.


•Our galaxy (the Milky Way) is about 100,000 light years in diameter.

•The nearest star is 4.3 light years away.

•The distance to the most distant object seen in the universe is about 14 billion light years (14 x 109 light years).

•Looking at light that reaches us from many light years away is also looking back in time because that light left its source long ago.


Where in the Universe is the Milky Way Galaxy?

Faraway Galaxies, Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image: NASA


Our Galaxy is located in a small cluster of some 40 galaxies, including

the Andromeda galaxy and the

Magellanic clouds, called the Local

Group.

The Local Group is located in the Local

Super Cluster.


The Local Group is part of the Local

Super Cluster, which is moving towards

an unseen and undetected mass, called the Great Attractor, at the

approximate speed of 1,342,224 miles

per hour.A view towards the Great Attractor


So, our cosmic address is:


THE DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE2001 Colorado Blvd.

Denver, Colorado 80205-5798United States of America

Planet EarthSolar System

Solar NeighborhoodMilky Way Galaxy

Local GroupLocal Super Cluster

Near the Great AttractorUniverse

Outer Galactic BeingLocal Super ClusterUniverse

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our cosmic address each of us has an address. ours is: the denver museum of nature and science 2001...

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