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How small is the Earth


Saint in Paradise
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Yes. Although I haven't researched it myself, apparently the 2007 minimum might be the extent of the shrinkage for a few years. The 2008 shrinkage was quite a bit less.

 

I won't turn this round to be a reference of you talking about yer wotsit.

 

arctilc1or8.jpg

 

Apparently though as some lands melt, other new lands will be formed, somehow :smt108

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Guest Dark Sotonic Mills
Think you got your marketing muddled up there.

 

Everyone knows it's a bottle of Cresta

 

It's Frothy Man

 

You're right of course dubious old chap...

 

crestafp5.jpg

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I won't turn this round to be a reference of you talking about yer wotsit.

 

arctilc1or8.jpg

 

Apparently though as some lands melt, other new lands will be formed, somehow :smt108

 

Doh..! This won't be because of new land being created, as you're thinking, but the existing lands having the sea encroaching, and forming new islands, for example. The Isle Of Thanet springs to mind. If you want an example of a properly new land mass being formed, then type Surtsey into Google. 45 years old next month, so it's a very young piece of land.

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Doh..! This won't be because of new land being created, as you're thinking, but the existing lands having the sea encroaching, and forming new islands, for example. The Isle Of Thanet springs to mind. If you want an example of a properly new land mass being formed, then type Surtsey into Google. 45 years old next month, so it's a very young piece of land.

 

Mmm, made by a volcano

 

surtseyikonos2001163lrgba7.jpg

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Mmm, made by a volcano

 

 

Yep, and almost right on the mid-Atlantic ridge, where the sea floor is spreading at a couple of millimetres per year, and the reason for the existence of the Atlantic Ocean.

 

If you have Google Earth, take a look at the Hawaii chain of islands, and then pull back. You should notice a line of Seamounts [to the south-east] rising from the ocean floor. These are where the Pacific plate is fairly thin, and as it passes over the mantle, there is a local area where the magma bursts through. Seamounts are fairly common, and are so named because they don't break the surface to become an island.

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Guest Dark Sotonic Mills
Are there rings around Uranus?

 

Sorry, someone had to do it.

 

Actually there are. Very astute of you to know.

 

uranus-full-size.jpg

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Doh..! This won't be because of new land being created, as you're thinking, but the existing lands having the sea encroaching, and forming new islands, for example. The Isle Of Thanet springs to mind. If you want an example of a properly new land mass being formed, then type Surtsey into Google. 45 years old next month, so it's a very young piece of land.

 

Mmm, made by a volcano

 

surtseyikonos2001163lrgba7.jpg

 

Went there on holiday, it was crap.

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If I was Antares I would be lol'ing at Earth big time.

 

 

Antares is a class M supergiant star, with a diameter of approximately 700 times that of the sun; if it were placed in the center of our solar system, its outer surface would lie between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Blimey.

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antaresqi7.jpg

 

Antares is at the upper left, the blue one is Rho Ophiuchi, down in the red is Sigma Scorpii.

 

antares2medcp2800cf4.jpg

 

This picture shows an area around Antares. Antares is the brightest star in Scorpius. Given star's red-yellow color, and the fact that Mars is a similar color, Antares was given a name that means "The Rival of Mars." Antares is surrounded by a rare yellowish nebula. NGC6144 is the small globular cluster above center, while M4 is the large globular cluster on the lower right.

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Sorry Seatbelt, VV Cephei kicks Antares a$s, you have failed whilst I celebrate my last minute win, and look, no Pluto :D

 

planetstarsizes01um9.jpg

 

VV Cephei is an eclipsing binary star system located in the constellation Cepheus, approximately 3,000 light years from Earth. A red supergiant fills the system's Roche lobe when closest to its companion blue star, the latter appearing to be on the main sequence. Matter flows from the red supergiant onto the blue companion.

 

VV Cephei A, the supergiant, is one of the largest stars known, and believed the third largest star in this galaxy (after the hypergiant WOH G64). It is of spectral type M2 and is approximately 1,600–1,900 times the Sun's diameter. If placed in our solar system, the binary system would extend past the orbit of Jupiter and approach that of Saturn. VV Cephei is 275,000-575,000 times more luminous than the Sun. As is true for many red supergiants, a stellar wind flows off the system at a velocity of approximately 25 kilometers per second. VV Cephei A's mass estimated from its orbital motion is about 100 solar masses, but its luminosity suggests a mass 25-40 solar masses. Consequently, the actual mass is unknown.

 

Yes, VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) is the biggest.

 

800pxsunandvycanismajorgy0.png

 

List of the largest stars

 

Star name Solar radii (Sun = 1)

VY Canis Majoris 1800-2100

WOH G64 2000

VV Cephei A 1600-1900

V354 Cephei 1520

RW Cephei 1260-1610

KW Sagitarii 1460

KY Cygni 1420/1440

Mu Cephei (Herschel's "Garnet Star") 1420

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) 950-1000

V509 Cassiopeiae 910

V838 Monocerotis 800

V382 Carinae 747

Antares (Alpha Scorpii) 700

S Pegasi 580

S Doradus 550

T Cepheii 540

S Orionis 530

W Hydrae 520

119 Tauri 510

R Cassiopeiae 500

Delta Canis Majoris (Wezen) 482

Chi Cygni 470

Alpha Herculis (Ras Algethi) 460

Rho Cassiopeiae 450

Mira A (Omicron Ceti) 400

Eta Carinae 400

R Doradus 370

HR Carinae 350

R Leonis 350

The Pistol Star 340

La Superba (Y Canum Venaticorum) 300

Deneb (Alpha Cygni) 220

LBV 1806-20 200

Epsilon Aurigae A 175

Zeta Aurigae 160

Epsilon Pegasi (Enif) 150

Gamma Crucis (Gacrux) 113

Beta Cygni A1 109

Gamma Andromedae 83

Alpha Leporis (Arneb) 77

Rigel (Beta Orionis) 70

Epsilon Carinae 70

R Coronae Borealis 65

Canopus (Alpha Carinae) 65

Delta Orionis (Mintaka) 60

Zeta Orionis (Alnitak) 60

Alpha Persei (Mirfak) 60

Zeta Geminorum (Mekbuda) 60

Eta Aquilae 60

Gamma Draconis (Eltanin) 50

Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) 43

Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) 41

Edited by Master Bates
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Since I was born and my Daddy had a telescope, remarkable things they are, actually can see the craters on the Moon, see Venus!!!!!! Space is the one place i'd love to visit.

 

I too have a telescope and I too have seen the craters on the moon and the rings of Saturn.

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Sorry Seatbelt, VV Cephei kicks Antares a$s, you have failed whilst I celebrate my last minute win, and look, no Pluto :D

 

planetstarsizes01um9.jpg

 

VV Cephei is an eclipsing binary star system located in the constellation Cepheus, approximately 3,000 light years from Earth. A red supergiant fills the system's Roche lobe when closest to its companion blue star, the latter appearing to be on the main sequence. Matter flows from the red supergiant onto the blue companion.

 

VV Cephei A, the supergiant, is one of the largest stars known, and believed the third largest star in this galaxy (after the hypergiant WOH G64). It is of spectral type M2 and is approximately 1,600–1,900 times the Sun's diameter. If placed in our solar system, the binary system would extend past the orbit of Jupiter and approach that of Saturn. VV Cephei is 275,000-575,000 times more luminous than the Sun. As is true for many red supergiants, a stellar wind flows off the system at a velocity of approximately 25 kilometers per second. VV Cephei A's mass estimated from its orbital motion is about 100 solar masses, but its luminosity suggests a mass 25-40 solar masses. Consequently, the actual mass is unknown.

 

Yes, VY Canis Majoris (VY CMa) is the biggest.

 

800pxsunandvycanismajorgy0.png

 

List of the largest stars

 

Star name Solar radii (Sun = 1)

VY Canis Majoris 1800-2100

WOH G64 2000

VV Cephei A 1600-1900

V354 Cephei 1520

RW Cephei 1260-1610

KW Sagitarii 1460

KY Cygni 1420/1440

Mu Cephei (Herschel's "Garnet Star") 1420

Betelgeuse (Alpha Orionis) 950-1000

V509 Cassiopeiae 910

V838 Monocerotis 800

V382 Carinae 747

Antares (Alpha Scorpii) 700

S Pegasi 580

S Doradus 550

T Cepheii 540

S Orionis 530

W Hydrae 520

119 Tauri 510

R Cassiopeiae 500

Delta Canis Majoris (Wezen) 482

Chi Cygni 470

Alpha Herculis (Ras Algethi) 460

Rho Cassiopeiae 450

Mira A (Omicron Ceti) 400

Eta Carinae 400

R Doradus 370

HR Carinae 350

R Leonis 350

The Pistol Star 340

La Superba (Y Canum Venaticorum) 300

Deneb (Alpha Cygni) 220

LBV 1806-20 200

Epsilon Aurigae A 175

Zeta Aurigae 160

Epsilon Pegasi (Enif) 150

Gamma Crucis (Gacrux) 113

Beta Cygni A1 109

Gamma Andromedae 83

Alpha Leporis (Arneb) 77

Rigel (Beta Orionis) 70

Epsilon Carinae 70

R Coronae Borealis 65

Canopus (Alpha Carinae) 65

Delta Orionis (Mintaka) 60

Zeta Orionis (Alnitak) 60

Alpha Persei (Mirfak) 60

Zeta Geminorum (Mekbuda) 60

Eta Aquilae 60

Gamma Draconis (Eltanin) 50

Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) 43

Beta Ursae Minoris (Kochab) 41

 

Excellent post Master Bates and all others who have contributed (not forgetting the thread starter Seatbelt) I've always been interested in space and I've learnt a lot from this thread alone.

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Excellent post Master Bates and all others who have contributed (not forgetting the thread starter Seatbelt) I've always been interested in space and I've learnt a lot from this thread alone.

 

Me too. It's really difficult to appreciate the sheer scale of it all. If Earth was a grain of sand and the largest star was like a space hopper how far apart would they be? 1000 metres, 100km, more? I have no idea.

Edited by TopGun
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Me too. It's really difficult to appreciate the sheer scale of it all. If Earth was a grain of sand and the largest star was like a space hopper how far apart would they be? 1000 metres, 100km, more? I have no idea.

 

Distance is measured in light years and the distance between earth and VY Canis Majoris (the largest star) is about 5,000 light years. A light year is about 6 trillion miles.

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I too have a telescope and I too have seen the craters on the moon and the rings of Saturn.

 

When Venus is visible next, have a look through the 'scope at it and you should notice that it has phases, just like the Moon. If the scope is any good, you should be able to see 1 of Mars' polar caps.

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On a completely different but related in as much as its-to-do-with-physics-and-that's-what-makes-stars-work point......

 

Consider a scale model of an atom constructed on a football pitch:

 

If the nucleus is a football in the middle of the centre circle, the electrons would be peas orbiting outside the edge of the pitch.

 

It really is remarkable we don't fall through the floor considering that most of matter is nothing.

 

Physics, astronomy and various other sciences are truly mind boggling, awe-inspiring and wonderful. It's a crying shame that our children aren't taught them properly.

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