The planets of our solar system viewed in the Moon's orbit

Oh, I interpreted this headline slightly differently--I was expecting to see a set of epicycle-orbit-diagrams given the Moon as the center of the Solar system.

dddddannyyyyy• 14 years ago

For diagrams with Earth as the center, see: http://www.dynamicdiagrams.com/work/orrery/

Launch the Flash simulation, click on Tychonian, and trace a planet. Venus is unexpected.

leeoniya• 14 years ago

also of interest

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Star-size...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Planet-st...

Steuard• 14 years ago

This is neat to see, though I'll admit I was hoping to see broader views of what the sky would look like if, say, Jupiter or Saturn were that close to us.

If you're interested in a direct size comparison like this, I've recently made a poster for our campus planetarium that shows all the planets at once. It's CC licensed, so you're welcome to print your own copy:

http://www.slimy.com/~steuard/teaching/solarsystem/

kitsune_• 14 years ago

I've recently bought my first telescope, a 6" reflector. I'm glad I bought it instead of a new iPad or Retina MacBook.

I fear that with the current urbanization trends, in the near future most people will never live to see a dark night sky.

Considering that astronomy played a huge role in early human history and civilization, I think we're losing a huge part of the human experience.

ChuckMcM• 14 years ago

Wayne Rosing has [1] a company that put telescopes out into places with good viewing conditions, a camera sensor, and an internet connection. Scheduling time on his 'mini' telescopes was pretty easy at one time.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Cumbres_Observatory_Global_...

The planets of our solar system viewed in the Moon's orbit

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