• ABOUT
  • SPEAKING SCHEDULE
  • PROGRAM TOPICS INDEX
  • DEEPER DIVES 1-20
    • 1. THE AUDACIOUS NELLY BLY
    • 2. GODS AND MONSTERS
    • 3. WILLA CATHER
    • 4. SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
    • 5. TRUMAN CAPOTE
    • 6. RUTH BADER GINSBURG
    • 7. JOHN SINGER SARGENT
    • 8. BIRDS: DINOSAURS AMONG US
    • 9. GRIMM TALES
    • 10. UNDERGROUND RR & WM STILL
    • 11. CLEOPATRA
    • 12. BLACK SCIENTISTS WE SHOULD KNOW
    • 13. AFR. AMER. IN SPACE
    • 14. TONI MORRISON
    • 15. LANGSTON HUGHES
    • 16. MLK: UNKNOWN THINGS
    • 17. HARRIET TUBMAN
    • 18. SOJOURNER TRUTH
    • 19. BAYARD RUSTIN
    • 20. MARY ANNING
  • DEEPER DIVES 21-40
    • 21. FRIDA KAHLO
    • 22. HUMAN JOURNEY: SEX STONE AGE
    • 23. HUMAN JOURNEY: MIGRATION
    • 24. A CHARLES DICKENS CHRISTMAS
    • 25. FIFTEEN HOLIDAY JEWELS
    • 26. SANTA CLAUS: THE BIOGRAPHY
    • 27. FOUNDING WRITERS, PART ONE
    • 28. FOUNDING WRITERS, PART TWO
    • 29. THE REAL THANKSGIVING
    • 30. HAUNTED HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN
    • 31. QUAKES, VOLCANOES, TSUNAMIS
    • 32. AGATHA CHRISTIE
    • 33. CHANGING PERSPECTIVES 5 WOMEN
    • 34. CHANGING PERSPECTIVES 5 Books
    • 35. CHANGING PERSPECTIVES Verne & Wells
    • 36. WOMEN OF THE STARS
    • 37. WINDOWS TO NATURE
    • 38. EARLY MAMMALS
    • 39. 15,000 BCE: THIS IS YOUR LIFE
    • 40. OUR NEANDERTHAL COUSINS
  • DEEPER DIVES 41-50
    • 41. GEORGE ORWELL
    • 42. TARZAN & CARTER: SUPERHEROES
    • 43. CHARLES DARWIN
    • 44. ROSWELL & BEYOND...
    • 45. MARY SHELLEY
    • 46. UNSUNG CIVIL RIGHTS HEROES
    • 47. THE SALEM WITCHES
    • 48. A WORLD OF DINOSAURS
    • 49. T.rex AND ITS FAMILY
    • 50. THE HOLIDAYS UNWRAPPED
  • DEEPER DIVES 51-70
    • 51. SENECA FALLS LEGACY
    • 52. JILL TARTER & THE SEARCH FOR E.T.
    • 53. NIKOLA TESLA: LIGHTNING MAN
    • 54. BANNED IN AMERICA
    • 55. VAN GOGH
    • 56. HEDY LEMAR
    • 57. E. R. BURROUGHS
    • 61 and 62. NEVER TOO EARLY/LATE
    • 63. THE SILK ROAD
    • 64. THE SIXTY-MINUTE UNIVERSE
    • 65. FAILURE? SAYS WHO?
    • 66. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
    • 67. ALLEN GINSBERG
    • 68. QUEEN BOUDICA
    • 69. EINSTEIN
    • 70. JUDY GARLAND
  • DEEPER DIVES 71-80
    • 71. SUMMER OF 1969
    • 72 FREDERICK DOUGLAS
    • 73 THE SONNET
    • 74 JACK LONDON
    • 75 ROBERT FROST
    • 76 THE FOUR BRONTES
    • 77 WE ARE THE MARTIANS
    • 78 FLY ME TO THE MOON
    • 79 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
    • 80 EDGAR ALLAN POE
  • DEEPER DIVES 81-97
    • 81 CHARLES DICKENS
    • 82 SUSAN B ANTHONY
    • 83 MARK TWAIN
    • 84 JACK THE RIPPER
    • 85 WOMEN SCIENTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW
    • 86 IMAGINARY WORLD JULES VERNE
    • 87 KING ARTHUR
    • 88 STOLEN
    • 89 H G WELLS
    • 90. CASANOVA
    • 91. HUMAN ORIGINS
    • 92. SEVEN NOBEL WOMEN
    • 93. WHAT'S THE BUZZ?
    • 94. MONET'S GARDEN
    • 95. O'KEEFE: FLOWERS, SKULLS, DESERT
    • 96. MICHELANGELO: POETRY
    • 97. STONEWALL HERITAGE
    • 98. AMNH: 34M TREASURES
  • ENG. ROMANTICISM
    • INTRO and PEDECESSORS
    • WORDSWORTH
    • COLERIDGE
    • BYRON
    • PERCY SHELLEY
    • KEATS
  • OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
    • SUN
    • MERCURY
    • VENUS
    • EARTH & MOON
    • MARS & MOONS
    • ASTEROID BELT
    • JUPTER & MOONS
    • SATURN & MOONS
    • URANUS & MOONS
    • NEPTUNE & MOONS
    • KUIPER BELT
    • PLANET 9
    • OORT CLOUD
  • WRITING
  • ART
  • RESUME

Our Solar System

Suggested Media

Solar System Web Videos

ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=HdPzOWlLrbE
THE FORMATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (high school): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1QTc5YeO6wTHE FORMATION OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM (middle school): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxKCDjnWabk
THE SUN 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=2HoTK_Gqi2Q
MERCURY 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=0KBjnNuhRHs
VENUS 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=BvXa1n9fjow
EARTH 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-nHYPq8ASf0&t=91sTHE MOON 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=6AviDjR9mmo
MARS 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=D8pnmwOXhoYNASA ROVERS ON MARS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO5CTBBgtXsOVERVIEW OF SPACECRAFT SENT TO MARS (16 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqf01ahsqY8
ASTEROID BELT (play at ¾ speed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=DrbCAoiyUNwWATER ON CERES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=kZyrMxoY914LUCY MISSION TO THE TROJAN ASTEROIDS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=YSXIOxFhLiM
JUPITER 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=PtkqwslbLY8CITIZEN SCIENTISTS AND THE JUNO MISSION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=iYymOxCuBawTHE ICE SPIRES OF CALISTO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=XuBPbGWWKyQLIFE ON EUROPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=DZC-HfvMZnM&t=113s
SATURN 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=epZdZaEQhS0&t=6sTOUCHDOWN ON TITAN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=msiLWxDayuATHE OCEAN OF ENCELADUS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=PQSagzssvUQSTANDING ON SATURN’S RINGS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfbdrYev-v8FLYING INTO SATURN’S RINGS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SgtXNftOEM
URANUS 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=m4NXbFOiOGkSOME VERONA RUPES FUN (MIRANDA): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=GL5EzdyA6b0
NEPTUNE 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=NStn7zZKXfEA QUICK LOOK AT TRITON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=cR9uphgMZ8U&t=53s
OVERVIEW OF KUIPER BELT (14 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0B_4QVEIvUKUIPER BELT 101: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQai-ec3J0KUIPER BELT “SECRETS” and PLANET 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V75-oH8zx8NEW HORIZONS MISSION (19 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqmIo-tUd48NEW HORIZONZ FLYOVER OF PLUTO (2 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1fPhhTT2OoDWARF PLANETS (grade school; play at ¾ speed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evIsmxM5c7o
THE OORT CLOUD CRASH COURSE (11 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJscxTyI__sOORT CLOUD (4 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIjnI5BOHxESEDNA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t058TdfH-4wSEDNA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzjkFz4b7Ho

Earth As A Peppercorn...

  • For many years, museums around the world--such as the American Museum of Natural History in New York--have given a simulated tour of the Solar System, often called “Earth as a Peppercorn” or “The Thousand Yard Solar System.” Whatever name is used, the experience attempts to give visitors not only a sense of the size of objects in our System but the vast distances as well.
  • This section of my website is meant to be a handy reference--a summary of facts regarding the Sun and each of the major planets and their moons, as well as important dwarf planets, the Asteroid Belt, the Kuiper Belt, the Oort Cloud, and the mysterious Planet Nine. The following websites provided the information.

  • Space: https://www.space.com
  • The Planets: https://theplanets.org
  • Space Facts: https://space-facts.com
  • NASA: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov
  • Universe Today: https://www.universetoday.com
  • Astronomy Trek: https://www.astronomytrek.com/
  • The purpose of these pages is to provide a resource for docents and educators--not only those involved with the “Earth as a Peppercorn” tour, but those who include planetariums or Space Halls in their repertoire. The pages in the drop down menu are meant to be "soup starters." Further research is always encouraged.
THE THOUSAND YARD MODEL:
  • THE SUN: a ball, diameter 8.00 inches
  • MERCURY: a pinhead, diameter 0.03 inch
  • VENUS: a peppercorn, diameter 0.08 inch
  • EARTH: a second peppercorn
  • MARS: a second pinhead
  • JUPITER: a chestnut or a pecan, diameter 0.90 inch
  • SATURN: a hazelnut or an acorn, diameter 0.70 inch
  • URANUS: a peanut or coffee bean, diameter 0.30 inch
  • NEPTUNE: a second peanut or coffee bean

0 paces: Sun10 paces (each pace measuring about 8 to 10 inches): MercuryAnother 9 paces: VenusAnother 7 paces: EarthAnother 14 paces: MarsAnother 95 paces: JupiterAnother 112 paces: SaturnAnother 249 paces: UranusAnother 281 paces: NeptuneAnother 242 paces: Pluto and Kuiper Belt ObjectsAnother 500 to 1500 paces: Oort Cloud Objects.
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