Chart 2: Bringing the Solar System Down to Earth
Study Chart 2 (below), which lists the distance of the planets from the sun in millions of miles. Your group will convert these distances to astronomical units (AU). 1 AU is the distance of the earth from the sun. This means that 93 million miles is equivalent to 1 AU. In Chart 2 you will see the number 1 under AU for Earth. To find the astronomical unit for the other eight planets, you should divide each planet's distance from the sun by 93 million. For instance, Venus is 0.7 AU. To arrive at that figure, the distance of Venus from the sun, 67.27 million miles, is divided by 93 million. You will record 0.7 in Chart 2 under AU. Follow this procedure for the remaining planets.
In the last column of Chart 2, you will calculate the relative distance from the sun by assigning a value of 1000mm (1 meter) for the distance of the earth from the sun – l AU. Place 1000 mm in the last column on Chart 2. The distance from Venus to the Sun will be 700mm.
Do this for the remainder of the planets.
| Planet Name | Distance From Sun (in millions of miles) |
AU Equivalent (in astronomical unit) |
Scaled-Down Diameter (in mm) |
| Mercury | 36 | ||
| Venus | 67.27 | 0.7 | 700 |
| Earth | 93 | 1 | 1000 |
| Mars | 141.7 | ||
| Jupiter | 483.9 | ||
| Saturn | 887.1 | ||
| Uranus | 1783.98 | ||
| Neptune | 2795.5 | ||
| Pluto | 3675.3 |
Return to Bringing the Solar System Down to Earth Lesson Plan.
Excerpted from Hands on Science Activities with Real-Life Applications by Pam Walker and Elaine Wood.
