You Can Fit Every Planet in the Solar System Between Earth and the Moon

What? According to this article on a site called io9, you can fit all of the planets in the Solar System in the space between Earth and its Moon. I thought to myself "....No way. Jupiter alone will cover that distance..." Upon reading the calculations it seems to be correct.

Planet Average Diameter (km)
Mercury 4,879
Venus 12,104
Mars 6,771
Jupiter 139,822
Saturn 116,464
Uranus 50,724
Neptune 49,244
Total 380,008
The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,400 km. And check it out, that leaves us with 4,392 km to spare.

It's important to note that Earth itself isn't included in this calculation, so you can fit all of the planets in the Solar system between the Earth and the Moon, except for Earth itself. Wow, this really changes my perspective if correct.

io9.com...

Fascinating discovery.... That add's support the theory that all the rocky planets formed when the ancestor star to our Sun went supernova. They all formed from a tiny spark of intense radiation that caused intense fusion and neutron bombardment to get the heavy elements.

If you factor in the fact that Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants, they could easy absorb the radius of the Earth.

Yep! That's right, they will all fit (as long as Saturn leaves it's rings out of it).

I know it's hard to believe at first. Many people's first reactions will be "No way!"

But yes, it's true. At 1/4 of a million miles, or 250,000 miles, our moon is quite far. With a diameter of about 88,000 miles, Jupiter fits in just fine, with plenty of room to spare.

So here's something to think about: if you have an old car that is still going, and you hit 250,000 miles on it, not only have you gone as far as the moon, but now you can think: Hey! We've traveled across all the other planets in the solar system!

Poor ol' Pluto will get an inferiority complex getting left out of these parties.

Why would you want to do that?

a reply to: stormcell

Fascinating discovery.... That add's support the theory that all the rocky planets formed when the ancestor star to our Sun went supernova. They all formed from a tiny spark of intense radiation that caused intense fusion and neutron bombardment to get the heavy elements.

I've read about planets being around after a super nova, what would suggest they formed after the event, or they would have been destroyed.

But you say that this happened to Mercury, Venus,Earth and Mars as well ?

originally posted by: Phage
Why would you want to do that?

I ask that myself when I view your avatar but looking at mine? I'd say the same.

Why wouldn't you? Dry sense of humor aside...

Just because?

a reply to: TiedDestructor

Why wouldn't you? Dry sense of humor aside...

Well, because while it might look really cool. The whole gravity thing would be problematic.

a reply to: lostbook

This io9 just showed up on my facebook news feed... is this how you found them?

a reply to: lostbook

With 4392 km to spare, I wonder how many small moons can be placed into there too. Great thread, my perspective of the solar system is changed by it.

a reply to: Imagewerx
Poor ol' Pluto would fit too

Planet Average Diameter (km)
Mercury 4,879
Venus 12,104
Mars 6,771
Jupiter 139,822
Saturn 116,464
Uranus 50,724
Neptune 49,244

Pluto 2,368
Total 382,376
The average distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,400 km. And check it out, that leaves us with 2,024 km to spare.

originally posted by: Phage
Why would you want to do that?

To create a cosmic Newton's Cradle, obviously!

originally posted by: Sinter Klaas
a reply to: stormcell

Fascinating discovery.... That add's support the theory that all the rocky planets formed when the ancestor star to our Sun went supernova. They all formed from a tiny spark of intense radiation that caused intense fusion and neutron bombardment to get the heavy elements.

I've read about planets being around after a super nova, what would suggest they formed after the event, or they would have been destroyed.

But you say that this happened to Mercury, Venus,Earth and Mars as well ?

Heavy elements beyond iron can only be formed during an actual supernova. Trying to perform fusion with iron atoms absorbs energy. Compute simulations show that the actual shockwaves form at one point, bounce round to the opposite side, and then the whole star explodes. At that point point there are so many neutrons that all the atoms increase in atomic number due to neutron absorption. There's no other time. Then after the explosion, all those ionized atoms (in plasma form) will condense back into gas atoms, then liquid and then solidify. But that only happens in two places (maybe due to magnetic interactions):

farm3.staticflickr.com...

So our planets would have formed like droplets of water.

And if you added all the mass of those planets and all the dust plus every comet in the solar system it only comes to 2 % of the suns mass .

We are just a speck of dust in the big scheme off things falling into the sun all going to hell very fast

doom doom doom doom

I actually think the solar system is alot bigger than they are charting.

a reply to: stormcell

So our planets would have formed like droplets of water.

Long after, and as the result of many super novas.

Not as the direct result of a single one because after a super nova there is no longer a star. A star and its planets form at more or less the same time.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: stormcell

So our planets would have formed like droplets of water.

Long after, and as the result of many super novas.

Not as the direct result of a single one because after a super nova there is no longer a star. A star and its planets form at more or less the same time.

Is it number 3 or was it number 7 phage the suns that have blown up with the amount of heavy elements that are in our planet i cannot remember

originally posted by: Aleister
a reply to: lostbook

With 4392 km to spare, I wonder how many small moons can be placed into there too. Great thread, my perspective of the solar system is changed by it.

Thanks!

originally posted by: combatmaster
a reply to: lostbook

This io9 just showed up on my facebook news feed... is this how you found them?

No, on Yahoo.