• ABOUT
  • SPEAKING SCHEDULE
  • PROGRAM TOPICS INDEX
  • DEEPER DIVES
    • 25. FIFTEEN HOLIDAY JEWELS
    • 26. SANTA CLAUS: THE BIOGRAPHY
    • 28. FOUNDING WRITERS, PART TWO
    • 30. HAUNTED HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN
    • 32. AGATHA CHRISTIE
    • 33. FIVE WOMEN
    • 50. THE HOLIDAYS UNWRAPPED
    • 54. BANNED IN AMERICA
    • 55. VAN GOGH
    • 57. E. R. BURROUGHS
    • 63. THE SILK ROAD
    • 66. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
    • 71. SUMMER OF 1969
    • 76 THE FOUR BRONTES
    • 78 FLY ME TO THE MOON
    • 79 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
    • 82 SUSAN B ANTHONY
    • 86 IMAGINARY WORLD JULES VERNE
    • 94. MONET'S GARDEN
  • ROSWELL & BEYOND
  • AMNH: BRIEF HISTORY
  • OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
    • SUN
    • EARTH & MOON
    • MARS & MOONS
    • ASTEROID BELT
    • JUPTER & MOONS
    • SATURN & MOONS
    • URANUS & MOONS
    • NEPTUNE & MOONS
    • PLANET 9
    • KUIPER BELT
    • OORT CLOUD
  • WRITING
  • ART

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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