Extraterrestrial Geography
This "Extraterrestrial Geography" section does not represent an exercise in precision. The point of the table below is to convey a general sense of how long it would take to travel from Earth to various points inside and outside the Solar System at a given rate of speed. When the rate of speed and distance are known, the travel time can be computed by using the following formula: t = d / r, where t is time, d is distance, and r is rate of speed.
HOW LONG TO GET THERE?
| ENGLISH DISTANCES (MILES) |
| Heavenly Body |
Approximate Opposition Distance from Earth (Miles) |
Spacecraft Speed (Miles Per Hour) |
Approximate Travel Time (Hours) |
Equivalent Travel Days (24 hours per day) |
Equivalent Travel Years (365 days per year) |
| Sun Star |
92,957,130 |
40,000 |
2,324 |
97 |
0.3 |
| Mercury |
56,979,738 |
40,000 |
1,424 |
59 |
0.2 |
| Venus |
25,749,622 |
40,000 |
644 |
27 |
0.1 |
| Moon |
234,878 |
40,000 |
6 |
0 |
0.0 |
| Mars |
48,709,288 |
40,000 |
1,218 |
51 |
0.1 |
| Ceres Dwarf Planet |
172,100,838 |
40,000 |
4,303 |
179 |
0.5 |
| Jupiter |
390,693,351 |
40,000 |
9,767 |
407 |
1.1 |
| Saturn |
793,751,988 |
40,000 |
19,844 |
827 |
2.3 |
| Uranus |
1,690,123,429 |
40,000 |
42,253 |
1,761 |
4.8 |
| Neptune |
2,701,293,198 |
40,000 |
67,532 |
2,814 |
7.7 |
| Pluto Dwarf Planet |
3,573,219,896 |
40,000 |
89,330 |
3,722 |
10.2 |
| Proxima Centauri Star |
23,462,830,924,333 |
40,000 |
586,570,773 |
24,440,449 |
66,960.1 |
| Andromeda Galaxy |
11,731,415,462,166,600,000 |
40,000 |
293,285,386,554,165 |
12,220,224,439,757 |
33,480,066,958.2 |
| METRIC DISTANCES (KILOMETERS) |
| Heavenly Body |
Approximate Opposition Distance from Earth (Kilometers) |
Spacecraft Speed (Kilometers Per Hour) |
Approximate Travel Time (Hours) |
Equivalent Travel Days (24 hours per day) |
Equivalent Travel Years (365 days per year) |
| Sun Star |
149,600,000 |
64,373.89 |
2,324 |
97 |
0.3 |
| Mercury |
91,700,000 |
64,373.89 |
1,424 |
59 |
0.2 |
| Venus |
41,440,000 |
64,373.89 |
644 |
27 |
0.1 |
| Moon |
378,000 |
64,373.89 |
6 |
0 |
0.0 |
| Mars |
78,390,000 |
64,373.89 |
1,218 |
51 |
0.1 |
| Ceres Dwarf Planet |
276,969,451 |
64,373.89 |
4,303 |
179 |
0.5 |
| Jupiter |
628,760,000 |
64,373.89 |
9,767 |
407 |
1.1 |
| Saturn |
1,277,420,000 |
64,373.89 |
19,844 |
827 |
2.3 |
| Uranus |
2,719,990,000 |
64,373.89 |
42,253 |
1,761 |
4.8 |
| Neptune |
4,347,310,000 |
64,373.89 |
67,532 |
2,814 |
7.7 |
| Pluto Dwarf Planet |
5,750,540,000 |
64,373.89 |
89,330 |
3,722 |
10.2 |
| Proxima Centauri Star |
37,759,766,173,359 |
64,373.89 |
586,569,600 |
24,440,400 |
66,960.0 |
| Andromeda Galaxy |
18,879,883,086,679,400,000 |
64,373.89 |
293,284,800,000,000 |
12,220,200,000,000 |
33,480,000,000.0 |
Primary Data Source for Opposition Distances:
NASA's Planetary Fact Sheets
For distances on Earth, see:
FactMonster's Distance Calculator
NOTE: While discussing time, speed, and distance, from a broader perspective, it is worthy to note that the great Albert Einstein established nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, which equates to light traveling a distance of 299,792.458 kilometers per second or 186,281.70255 miles per second (or an equivalent of an astronomical 1,079,252,848.8 kilometers per hour and 670,614,129.18 miles per hour).
|
Returning to terrestrial planet Earth, how long does it take to travel around spherical Earth? In the case of the International Space Station, it takes 1.4 hours or roughly 90 minutes for it to make a complete circle around Earth. The travel time it takes for the International Space Station to circle Earth is computed, first, by determining the Earth's circumference: c = pi * (2 x radius), where c is circumference, pi is 3.14159265, and radius is 6378.1 kilometers (or 3,963.2 miles). After inserting the values for the variables, the value of c becomes 40,075 kilometers or 24,901 miles when traveling along Earth's equator as illustrated below.
Returning to the time formula (t = d / r), if the International Space Station is traveling around Earth at a speed of 28,000 kilometers per hour (or about 17,400 miles per hour) with Earth's circumference of 40,075 kilometers (or 24,901 miles), then it would take 1.4 hours for the International Space Station to travel a complete circle around Earth because t = 40,075 kilometers / 28,000 kilometers per hour. Of course, the International Space Station is flying some 410 kilometers (or roughly 255 miles) above Earth, which makes the International Space Station's circumference slightly larger than Earth's circumference.
A commercial airplane typically travels at an average speed of 500 miles per hour (or 805 kilometers per hour). So, at a constant speed of 500 miles per hour (or 805 kilometers per hour), it would take a commercial airplane about 50 hours (or a little over 2 days) of non-stop flying to travel a complete circle around Earth. A military aircraft flying at 3,000 kilometers per hour (or 1,864 miles per hour) could complete the trip around Earth in a little over 8 hours. It probably comes as little surprise to know that many intercontinental ballistic missiles can travel to—and hit—their targets in about 30 minutes. Imagine or try wrapping your mind around that: Earth has existed for over 4 billion years, and it potentially could be destroyed by humans in the span of 1 hour. For the missiles to start flying, it only takes a passionate dispute or a gross miscalculation to develop between, say, one hot-headed, unstable world leader and another adversial egotistical world leader. It would be lights out and end of story for life on majestic planet Earth once the nuclear missiles start flying—albeit life is resilient and possesses an uncanny capacity to regenerate over long stretches of time even if those resultant life forms do not include humans. It is shocking, crazy, stupid, and mind boggling to cite a few adjectives to describe the scenario. Humans, in general, and the nuclear powers, in particular, have amassed—and continue to amass—a lot of weaponry and firepower, but to what end? Death and human extinction?
Watch (Nuclear Weapons: A Visual Timeline)
Watch (History of War - Fahrenheit)
Watch (Our Story in 2 Minutes)
Watch (15 Billion Years in 3 Minutes - Earth - A Brief History Trailer)
Watch (Stevie Wonder, Race Babbling)
Watch (You Just Can't Go Around Killing—[and Hating]—People)
As noted in the above Terminator 2 video clip, not only is it wrong to go around killing people but also it equally is wrong to go around hating people. For humanity's sake, do the RESPONSIBLE thing.
Scroll up