1. Distances in Space

2. Astronomical Unit (AU)
The average distance between the sun and the earth.

3. 1 AU is equal to 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers
An AU is a standard of distance used within the solar system

4. Example: Jupiter 5.2 AU
Light travels 1 AU in eight minutes.
Sound travels 1 AU in 14 years

5. The Planets of Our Solar System
The Inner Planets
Sizes to Scale
Mercury Venus Earth and Moon Mars

6. The Planets of Our Solar System
The Outer Planets
Jupiter
Saturn
Earth Included for Scale.
Uranus
Pluto
Neptune

7. SIZES AND DISTANCES IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Diameters of Solar System Members:
Sun = 1,392,000 km
Mercury = 4,878 km
Venus = 12,104 km
Earth = 12,756 km
Mars = 6,794 km
Jupiter = 142,984 km
Saturn = 120,536 km
Uranus = 51,118 km
Neptune = 49,530 km
Pluto = 2,304 km
Mean Distance from Sun
57,900,000 km = AU
108,200,000 km = AU
149,600,000 km = AU
227,900,000 km = AU
778,300,000 km = AU
1,427,000,000 km = AU
2,871,000,000 km = AU
4,497,000,000 km = AU
5,914,000,000 km = AU
Earth’s Moon = 3,476 km Mean Distance from Earth = 384,400 km

8. Fun Facts About the Planets
18 Mercury’s would fit inside the Earth.
Venus is always cloudy.
Earth is the only planet we know with life.
Mars is red because it is covered with rust.
A storm (hurricane) on Jupiter can swallow 2 Earths.
Each season on Saturn is more than seven years long.
By the time you get to Uranus, you are only halfway to Pluto.
Neptune is the windiest planet, with winds blowing
over 1,000 miles-per-hour.
Pluto is a ball of ice and rock and is a dwarf planet.

9. Light Year (LY) The distance a ray of light travels in one year
The speed of the ray of light would be equal to:
7.2 AU per hour or
300,000 km/sec or
186,000 miles/sec.

10. Milky Way Galaxy is approx. 100,000 LY across in distance
A Light Year is a standard unit of measurement for interstellar distances beyond the solar system.
Milky Way Galaxy is approx. 100,000 LY across in distance

12. Nearest star to the sun is Proxima or Alpha Centauri C approx 4.22 LY

13. Proxima (or Alpha Centauri C) is a red dwarf
Alpha Centauri A is a yellow star
Alpha Centuari B is an orange star

15. Parsec One parsec is equal to 3.26 light years
A parsec is a unit of measurement used for distances between very far structures in the universe.
Example:
distances between galaxies

16. Andromeda and Milky Way
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is slightly less than 800 kpc or
800,000 parsecs away from Earth.