Every one who ever attended nursery school knows the rhyme, part of which was quoted in the headline. And looking to the night sky, you observe those twinkly stars and wonder if they are really that small or if they just appear so. But what are the facts?
In our voyage, we will consider how long it will take to circumnavigate these heavenly bodies in a bid to predict their sizes with respect to the earth. Let’s go!
If we were flying in a jumbo jet at a speed of 885 kilometres per hour and at a height of 11 kilometres above the respective surfaces of these heavenly bodies, it will take us…..
Earth: 46 hours to theoretically circle the earth, with a diameter of 12, 756 kilometres, and a circumference of 40,144 kilometres
The Sun: 206 days to complete a circumnavigation of the sun – which is also a star – and weighs in at a diameter of 1.39 million kilometres, with a circumference of about 4.37 milliom kilometres
Sirius A: 352 days -nearly a year!- to complete a circle of this star, nicknamed “The Dog Star” with a diameter that’s over 2.38 million kilometres, and a circumference of over 7.48 million kilometres.
Polaris: 21 years to navigate round Polaris, also known as the “North Star” with a diameter of over 52 million kilometres, and a circumference of about 164 million kilometres.
Aldebaran: 25 years to complete a circle of this star with a diameter of over 61 million kilometres, and a circumference that measures over 193 million kilometres.
And what’s more, you can actually fly round these heavenly bodies in your lifetime as it will take you approximately 48 years to complete your voyage. But you haven’t encountered the biggest yet!
VY Canis Majoris: For this star, it will take a staggering 800 years to complete a navigation around its circumference of over 6.2 billion kilometres.
From the foregoing, do you see how those twinkly little stars aren’t as little as you think? They are all larger, much larger even, than our dear, fine earth!