seedsower2
Clever and very beautiful at the same time.
Hoy que es viernes! ;) por @lacolectiva #neomexicanismos #mezcal https://www.instagram.com/p/BybINLzB2T8/?igshid=1wdagzg242xl9
How Big is Our Galaxy, the Milky Way?
When we talk about the enormity of the cosmos, it’s easy to toss out big numbers – but far harder to wrap our minds around just how large, how far and how numerous celestial bodies like exoplanets – planets beyond our solar system – really are.
So. How big is our Milky Way Galaxy?
We use light-time to measure the vast distances of space.
It’s the distance that light travels in a specific period of time. Also: LIGHT IS FAST, nothing travels faster than light.
How far can light travel in one second? 186,000 miles. It might look even faster in metric: 300,000 kilometers in one second. See? FAST.
How far can light travel in one minute? 11,160,000 miles. We’re moving now! Light could go around the Earth a bit more than 448 times in one minute.
Speaking of Earth, how long does it take light from the Sun to reach our planet? 8.3 minutes. (It takes 43.2 minutes for sunlight to reach Jupiter, about 484 million miles away.) Light is fast, but the distances are VAST.
In an hour, light can travel 671 million miles. We’re still light-years from the nearest exoplanet, by the way. Proxima Centauri b is 4.2 light-years away. So… how far is a light-year? 5.8 TRILLION MILES.
A trip at light speed to the very edge of our solar system – the farthest reaches of the Oort Cloud, a collection of dormant comets way, WAY out there – would take about 1.87 years.
Our galaxy contains 100 to 400 billion stars and is about 100,000 light-years across!
One of the most distant exoplanets known to us in the Milky Way is Kepler-443b. Traveling at light speed, it would take 3,000 years to get there. Or 28 billion years, going 60 mph. So, you know, far.
SPACE IS BIG.
Read more here: go.nasa.gov/2FTyhgH
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.
Airbus team tests Orion’s Solar Wings at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The four solar wings are the last major components to arrive from Europe for Orion’s European Service Module. The European Service module provides Orion with electricity, propulsion, thermal control, air and water while in space.
Nude scenes can be very liberating. I feel very human. This is me, with all my little imperfections.
The cast of Agent Carter strike a pose in these new promotional photos for the series upcoming second season, which will debut on January 19th with two episodes, The Lady in the Lake and A View in the Dark.
LORD have mercy…