VFX Artist Reveals the True Scale of the Universe

Summary

This script explores the cosmic scale of our universe, using a fixed 1:190 million scale to put astronomical objects into perspective. It vividly describes the size of the Earth as a tennis ball, the Moon as a Nerf ball, and the Sun as a 24-foot wide entity, highlighting the vastness of stars like Sirius, Arcturus, and Betelgeuse. The video script also touches on the life cycle of stars, including our Sun's eventual expansion into a red giant, and introduces UY Scuti, potentially the largest star in our galaxy, emphasizing the humbling scale of celestial bodies in comparison to our tiny Earth.

Takeaways

• 🌌 The video discusses the vast scale of the universe, emphasizing the size of stars in comparison to our Sun.
• 📏 It introduces a fixed scale of 1 to 190 million to help visualize the relative sizes of celestial bodies.
• 🏐 At this scale, Earth is the size of a tennis ball, and the Moon is the size of a Nerf ball, with the Moon being seven feet away.
• 🔄 The script highlights the surprising fact that all the planets in our solar system could fit between Earth and the Moon.
• 🌞 Jupiter is shown to be significantly larger than Earth, with the ability to contain 1,300 Earths within its volume.
• ☀️ The Sun is depicted as being much larger than Jupiter, with a diameter that could fit 1.3 million Earths.
• 🌟 Sirius is mentioned as the brightest star in the night sky, being 20 times brighter than the Sun and only 8.5 light-years away.
• 🌀 Arcturus is described as being 26 times larger than the Sun but not twice as heavy, and it's moving in a different direction from other stars.
• 🌃 Rigel is compared to the height of the Freedom Tower in New York City, indicating its massive size.
• 🌕 The Sun's future is discussed, with it expanding to become a red giant 256 times its current size over the next five billion years.
• 💥 Betelgeuse is presented as an enormous star nearing the end of its life, likely to go supernova within a million years.
• 🚀 UY Scuti is mentioned as potentially the largest star in our galaxy, with a size so great that it would dwarf Saturn's orbit if it replaced our Sun.

Q & A

What is the scale used in the video to represent the universe?

The scale used in the video is 1 to 190 million, which shrinks the universe down to a point where the Earth is the size of a tennis ball.

How far apart would the Earth and Moon be if they were scaled down according to the video's scale?

At the given scale, the Moon would be seven feet away from the Earth, which is a significant reduction from the actual distance of 250,000 miles.

What is the fun fact mentioned about the planets in our solar system?

The fun fact is that if you were to line up each planet in the solar system next to each other, they could actually fit between the Earth and the Moon.

How many Earths could fit within the volume of Jupiter according to the video?

According to the video, you could fit 1,300 Earths within the volume of Jupiter.

What is the Sun's size compared to most stars in the universe?

The Sun, being a yellow dwarf, is larger than 80% of the stars in the universe, with most stars being red dwarfs about half the size of our Sun.

What is the significance of Sirius mentioned in the video?

Sirius is significant because it is the brightest star in the night sky, being only eight and a half light-years away and 20 times brighter than our Sun.

Why does the video mention Arcturus?

Arcturus is mentioned because it is 26 times larger than our Sun in diameter but not twice as heavy, and it is hypothesized to have been formed in another galaxy that was absorbed by the Milky Way.

How old is Rigel compared to our Sun?

Rigel is only eight million years old, which is much younger compared to our Sun, which is four-and-a-half billion years old.

What will happen to our Sun in the next five billion years?

Over the next five billion years, our Sun will continue expanding until it's over a mile wide, turning into a red giant 256 times bigger than it is now.

What is the largest star mentioned in the video and how big is it compared to Earth?

The largest star mentioned is UY Scuti, which, if it replaced our Sun, would have its surface reach the orbit of Saturn. At the video's scale, it would be 8 miles wide, which is over three times longer than Central Park.

What is the video's final message about our place in the universe?

The final message of the video is to highlight the vastness of the universe and our smallness in comparison, living on a planet the size of a tennis ball amidst stars the size of cities.

Outlines

00:00

🌌 Exploring the Scale of Our Universe

This paragraph discusses the challenge of comprehending the vastness of the universe through videos that demonstrate the scale of celestial bodies. It introduces a fixed scale model where the Earth is the size of a tennis ball, and the Moon is a Nerf ball, illustrating their actual distance apart. The paragraph continues to compare the sizes of planets and stars, emphasizing how they would fit between the Earth and the Moon. It highlights the relative sizes of Jupiter, the Sun, and other stars like Sirius, Arcturus, and Rigel, using this scale to underscore the enormity of celestial bodies. The paragraph also touches on the life cycles of stars, mentioning that our Sun will expand into a red giant in the future.

05:00

🌠 The Colossal Stars of the Universe

The second paragraph delves into even larger stars, starting with Betelgeuse, which, at the given scale, would stretch over five miles, making it ten times taller than the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It then introduces UY Scuti, potentially the largest star in our galaxy, which would extend to the orbit of Saturn if it replaced our Sun. The paragraph emphasizes the sheer size of these stars, comparing them to cities and highlighting the insignificance of our planet in comparison. It concludes with a call to appreciate the scale of the universe and a mention of the video creator's merchandise, which includes designs related to the cosmic theme of the video.

Keywords

💡Scale of the Universe

The scale of the universe refers to the vastness and relative sizes of celestial bodies in comparison to one another. In the video, this concept is used to illustrate just how small we are in the grand scheme of things. The video uses a fixed scale model to help viewers comprehend the size of various stars and celestial bodies, such as comparing the Earth to a tennis ball and the Moon to a Nerf ball, to give a sense of the immense scale of the universe.

💡Sun

The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system and plays a crucial role in the video's scale comparison. It is described as being larger than 80% of the stars in the universe, and at the video's scale, it would be 24 feet wide. The Sun's size and its role in our solar system are central to understanding our place in the cosmos.

💡Red Dwarf

A red dwarf is a type of star that is smaller and cooler than our Sun. The video mentions that most stars in the universe are red dwarfs, which are about half the size of our Sun. This term is important as it helps to contrast the size of our Sun with the majority of stars in the universe.

💡Sirius

Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, is the brightest star in Earth's night sky. The video uses Sirius as an example to discuss the brightness and proximity of stars, noting that it is 20 times brighter than our Sun and only eight and a half light-years away. This keyword helps to contextualize the relative brightness and distance of stars in the universe.

💡Arcturus

Arcturus is a red giant star that is 26 times larger than our Sun. In the video, it is used to demonstrate the vast size of some stars, with Arcturus being 610 feet wide at the video's scale. This keyword is significant as it provides an example of a star that is exceptionally large, even compared to other giants like Sirius.

💡Rigel

Rigel is a blue supergiant star, one of the most luminous stars in the night sky. The video mentions Rigel to emphasize the sheer size of some stars, stating that at the given scale, it would be taller than New York City's Freedom Tower. This keyword is used to further illustrate the enormity of celestial bodies in the universe.

💡Supernova

A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion that occurs at the end of a massive star's life cycle. The video discusses the potential for stars like Betelgeuse to go supernova, which would be an incredibly bright and long-lasting event. This keyword is integral to understanding the life cycle and death of massive stars.

💡Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star that is expected to go supernova in the future. In the video, Betelgeuse is used to illustrate the extreme size of some stars, with a diameter so large that it would stretch over five miles at the video's scale. This keyword helps to convey the sheer scale of the universe's largest stars.

💡UY Scuti

UY Scuti is a red supergiant star and is considered one of the largest known stars in the universe. The video uses UY Scuti to emphasize the concept of scale, stating that if it replaced our Sun, its surface would reach the orbit of Saturn. This keyword is crucial for understanding the upper limits of stellar size and the vastness of the universe.

💡Red Giant

A red giant is a late-stage star that has expanded significantly in size. The video discusses the future of our Sun, which will become a red giant in about five billion years, expanding to over a mile wide at the given scale. This keyword is important for understanding the life cycle of stars like our Sun and the changes they undergo.

💡Mercury, Venus, Mars

Mercury, Venus, and Mars are the three innermost planets of our solar system. The video uses these planets to illustrate the relative sizes within our solar system, noting that they could fit between the Earth and the Moon at the given scale. This keyword set helps to provide a sense of scale and distance within our own solar system.

Highlights

Videos demonstrating the scale of our universe often lose context of scale by visually representing stars as the same size.

A locked scale model is introduced to maintain consistency in size representation, shrinking the universe to a comprehensible scale.

At a 1 to 190 million scale, Earth is the size of a tennis ball, and the Moon is a Nerf ball, illustrating their actual distance apart.

The entire solar system could fit between the Earth and the Moon, emphasizing the vastness of space.

Jupiter's size is highlighted, showing it could contain 1,300 Earths within its volume.

The Sun is larger than 80% of stars in the universe, classified as a yellow dwarf.

Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is 20 times brighter than the Sun and only 8.5 light-years away.

Arcturus, 26 times larger than the Sun, is presented as a massive star with a unique trajectory.

Rigel, a young star at only 8 million years old, is compared to the height of the Freedom Tower.

The Sun's future is discussed, predicting it will expand into a red giant 256 times its current size.

Betelgeuse, a star nearing the end of its life, is compared to the size of five Burj Khalifa towers.

U Scorpii, potentially the largest star in our galaxy, is introduced with its immense size relative to Saturn's orbit.

The video emphasizes the feeling of insignificance when comparing our lives to the scale of celestial bodies.

An astronomer's article is referenced for further reading on the cosmic coincidence of the solar system's scale.

The video concludes with a call to support the creators for more educational content.

Merchandise store link and special offers are promoted for viewer engagement.

Transcripts

have you seen those videos that show the

scale of our universe they're pretty

neat because they demonstrate just how

much larger other stars in our galaxy

are then our own Sun however my problem

with these videos is that we quickly

lose context of scale because as each

new star is introduced they appear

visually the same as the one before it

so we're just kind of left thinking yeah

I guess we're pretty tiny in the scale

of the universe but I want to know just

how tiny we are so instead of using a

scale that changes in this video it's

gonna be locked and just like you can

have miniature scaled models our scale

is 1 to 190 million that shrinks the

universe down to a point where the earth

is the size of a tennis ball and that

makes the moon the size of a Nerf ball

now ask yourself this question how far

away would they be from each other

elbows bent just a little bit here right

here I'll tightly lock it because it

took the astronauts three days

that'll do they're here actually our

little moon would be all the way over

here seven feet away the real moon sits

250,000 miles from the earth at its

furthest point in orbit and here's a fun

fact if you were to line up each planet

in the solar system right next to each

other they could actually fit between

the earth in the moon next earth we

would put Mercury Venus and Mars and

then expand outwards to Jupiter followed

by Saturn and then Uranus and Neptune

and you can even throw a little Pluto in

here for good measure this is just crazy

that they actually fit there and if you

want to read more about this crazy

cosmic coincidence I've linked a really

interesting article by astronomer Hill

plait as you can see even at the scale

Jupiter is pretty big you could fit

1,300 Earth's within the volume of

Jupiter but that is nothing compared to

the Sun and for that we have to go

outside now at this scale the Sun would

be half a mile away so for simplicity

sake I'm just gonna put the Sun right

here Oh God so bright okay let's not

actually simulate the brightness - let's

bring that down okay that's better at

this scale the Sun would be 24 feet wide

which is over half the width of this

whole street in fact it's so big the Sun

could fit 1.3 million

Earth's inside of it that's pretty crazy

now our Sun is actually larger than most

stars as a yellow dwarf it's bigger than

80% of the stars in the entire universe

most stars are red dwarfs and they're

about half the size of our Sun but even

if the Sun is above average size it's

certainly not the biggest let's look at

Sirius

no not Sirius Black that's serious it is

the brightest star in the night sky

because it is only eight and a half

light-years away combined with the fact

that it is 20 times brighter than our

Sun you can even see Sirius in most

light polluted cities now a quick side

note about these comparisons I'm simply

focusing on the diameters of each of

these stars and that doesn't necessarily

correlate to how much mass the star has

or how bright they appear because some

of these stars have ballooned to such a

huge volume that they appear absolutely

massive like Arcturus Arcturus is 26

times larger than our Sun yet it isn't

even twice as heavy at our tennis ball

scale it is 610 feet wide which is about

the length of two football fields what

is interesting about Arcturus is that it

is flying in a different direction from

all the other stars in our galaxy and

therefore it is hypothesized that it was

actually formed in another galaxy that

at some point in the last several

billion years was eaten up by our own

Milky Way zooming out we get Rigel which

would be so large it'd be taller than

New York City's Freedom Tower at 1872

feet tall that's pretty big but even

though it's so large it's actually a

tiny little baby star and I actually

mean that literally it's only eight

million years old compared to our Sun

which is four-and-a-half billion years

old that is the difference between a 100

year old person in a two month old baby

except this baby is destined to explode

in a supernova

not all stars go supernova though our

own Sun for instance is going to

continue expanding until it's over a

mile wide at our scale over the course

of the next five billion years it will

turn into a red giant 256 times bigger

than it is right now hey hey

no need to worry though because only in

about 1 billion years are we gonna lose

all of our oceans thanks to the fact

that they're going to boil away but

here's a star that even puts that to

shame

[Music]

this star boasts a waistline that is

over a billion miles wide your mama

ain't got nothing on this with earth as

a tennis ball Betelgeuse which stretch

over five miles end-to-end it would be

ten times taller than the tallest

building in the world the Burj Khalifa

in Dubai

it is however considered to be really

close to the end of its life and is very

likely to go supernova within a million

years and when it does the explosion

will be so bright it'll outshine the

full moon and may last as long as a

month but Betelgeuse is not the largest

star that we found that honor lies with

us scooti what kind of a name is UI

scooty astronomers think this might even

be the largest star in our galaxy and

it's certainly the largest one we've

ever found

if it were to replace our Sun the

surface would reach the orbit of Saturn

it would dwarf Manhattan at a staggering

8 miles wide eight miles Central Park is

only two and a half miles long so this

is over three times longer than that to

put that into perspective that is higher

than the cruising out suit of all

airlines these stars are the size of

cities and here we are living on a

tennis ball do you feel small yet I do

[Music]

thank you so much for watching this

video this is a project I've been

wanting to work on for quite some time

so I really hope that you've walked away

with a better appreciation for the scale

of our universe now time for a word from

our sponsors us that's right we've been

working on some really cool designs such

as this one that you can find in our

merchandise store link in the

description we also have shirts like

this it glows in the dark

that's pretty crazy and for the first

time in years we've brought back the

original snapback hat so if you missed

out on that the first time we've got you

covered and lastly we've got this crazy

god of jenk shirt Dobby rendered in the

flesh for the first time only a few days

left for this one though so act fast and

with your support we're able to make

videos like this one so I really want to

make more so I hope you keep supporting

us thank you so much and I'll see you in

the next one