How big is the universe? (time scale)
1. Using the information below, you are to make a time scale for the universe.
2. Suspend the string from the ceiling in your classroom. Use a scale of 3 million light-years. Mark the
scale on the string or clothesline.
3. Give each student a card. Have them record the name of the object that is their destination and
the time distance to travel there. Use paper clips to attach the cards to the string at the appropriate
distances on your scale. (get images of your object and add artwork to each card).
100 000 kilometres away in space the Earth is a ball 17 mm across. It is clearly visible
against the inky black of space. We are now in deep space.
1 million kilometres from Earth we can see the Moon and Earth together.
Ten million kilometres away, the Earth and Moon are two small balls in space.
One hundred million kilometres away, we can see Earth and Mars as small dots.
One thousand million kilometres away, we can see all the planets of the inner solar
system as specks of light.
Ten thousand million kilometres away, we can see most of our solar system.
One hundred thousand million kilometres away, our solar system is 10 mm across.
One million million kilometres away we are in interstellar (between stars) space. Our
Sun looks like any other star in the sky.
Ten million million kilometres away from Earth, and we are one light-year away. This
means that it takes light and radio signals from Earth one year to reach us.
Ten light-years away, we can see the Sun and the closest stars.
One hundred thousand light-years away, and we can see all of the Milky Way Galaxy.
One million light-years away, we are in intergalactic (between galaxies) space. The Milky
Way and other close galaxies are visible.
Ten million light-years away, we can see most of the local group of galaxies.
One hundred light-years away, we can see up to fifty stars surrounding our Sun. These
are called our local stars because they are the closest to our star (the Sun).
One thousand light-years away, we can see the edges of our galaxy, the Milky Way. A
galaxy is a group of billions of stars.
One hundred thousand light-years away, and we can see all of the Milky Way Galaxy.).
One million light-years away, we are in intergalactic (between galaxies) space. The Milky
Way and other close galaxies are visible.
Ten million light-years away, we can see most of the local group of galaxies.
One hundred million light-years away, we see clusters of galaxies.
One thousand million light-years away, we see many more clusters of galaxies. Clusters of
galaxies are not random, but form patterns like soap bubbles.
Ten thousand million light-years away, we are still not at the edge of the known universe.
The oldest known light has been travelling for fourteen thousand million years. This is
the age of the universe, and the distance to the edge of the universe.