I think it must be a uniquely human experience to contemplate and be awed by the vastness of the range of sizes of things in our universe. The two excellent resources mentioned in this post provide an opportunity to get a sense for this range. As I view them, I alternate between feeling very, very small when zoomed out to the scale of galaxies and feeling very, very large when zoomed in to the scale of atoms.

Powers of Ten is a classic film. As stated on the opening screen, “It is a film about the relative size of things in the universe and the effect of adding another zero.” The film begins by focusing on the scene of a picnic in Chicago, showing the size of a 1-meter by 1-meter square. Then every ten seconds, the view zooms out to show an area that is ten times larger than before. After zooming out past the Virgo cluster of galaxies, you are returned to the scene of the picnic where now you zoom in every ten seconds to see an area that is 10 times smaller than before until finally reaching the nucleus of a carbon atom.

The Scale of the Universe 2 is an interactive interface that allows you to explore the sizes of things on your own. You can zoom in and out to see things of different sizes, and if you click on an object a little information box pops up. How do Pluto and the United states compare in size? What is Gomez’s Hamburger, and how big is it? What is thinner – a piece of paper or a human hair? If you read the information boxes, you’ll find that the authors have a sense of humor –for an example check out the water molecule. There is truly a wealth of interesting information and comparisons to be discovered here. Enjoy!