Every planet in our solar system can fit BETWEEN Earth and the moon - but they would create a 'super-planet' if they realigned, claims expert
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How many planets can you fit between Earth and the moon? If your answer was anything less than 'all of them' then we're afraid you're incorrect.
In an amazing mosaic image it's shown how you can fit all other worlds in the solar system between us and our natural satellite, with room to spare.
Of course, such a scenario will never actually happen - but it's surprising to see just how much space there is from here to the moon.
This image posted to Reddit shows that all the planets of the solar system could fit between us and the moon. There would even be room to spare to fit a dwarf planet like Pluto. The amazing image highlights just how far the moon is from Earth - at an average distance of 238,555 miles (384,400km)
The graphic was posted to Reddit by user CapnTrip.
In the image it's shown how Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune would all fit in the gap.
The result is a fairly snug fit with about 4,990 miles (8,030km) to spare, using the average Earth-moon distance of 238,555 miles (384,400km).
In reality the distance between Earth and the moon varies from 225,622 miles (363,104km) to 252,088 miles (405,696km) - the lower limit of which would not leave room for Neptune.
Planet | Average Diameter (km) |
---|---|
Mercury | 4,879 |
Venus | 12,104 |
Mars | 6,771 |
Jupiter | 139,822 |
Saturn | 116,464 |
Uranus | 50,724 |
Neptune | 49,244 |
Total | 380,008 |
*Average distance from Earth to the moon is 384,400km |
However, Fraser Cain from Universe Today did the maths and found the numbers were a little off, with the actual distance left when using the average Earth-moon distance would be about 2,729 miles (4,392km).
This, he says, would be enough to also fit Pluto in the line-up and another dwarf planet except Eris, which is too large.
But, in this hypothetical solar system where all the planets have been lined up as shown in the image, what would become of each world?
'This wonderful line-up would soon degenerate into a single super-planet,' Professor Michael Smith from the School of Physical Sciences at the University of Kent told MailOnline.
'First, the rocky planets [Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars] would be cannibalised by Jupiter.'
'Then the gas giants [Saturn, Uranus and Neptune] will fall into the murky depths of Jupiter where they create gigantic oscillations, forcing massive shells of material to be ejected.
'As Saturn then gets swallowed, a massive core would then form, creating a new planet with possibly a quarter of the total mass being ejected.
'The enormous energy released would light up the galaxy, and all within one glorious week.
'But thereafter we would be forgotten except for our feeble attempts to communicate with other civilisations that may or may not exist, and possibly don't care whether we do.'
Last year astronomical artist Ron Miller created eye-opening illustrations imagining what the night sky would look like if the moon was replaced by the other planets in the solar system. Here we see how big Jupiter would look in the sky if it were in the position of the moon
This incredible image was taken by Nasa's Juno spacecraft on its way to Jupiter in August 2011. It shows how big the gap is between Earth (the white dot on the left) and the moon (the dot on the right). Here they are 250,000 miles (402,000km) apart. It was taken from a distance of six million miles (9.7 million km)
Dr John Bridges from the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Leicester told MailOnline that, while the scenario might seem absurd, it is 'not 100 per cent crazy.'
He says that in other planetary systems some exoplanets may have migrated into the inner regions and, while likely not as extreme as the scenario envisages by Professor Smith, they could have formed giant planets known as Hot Jupiters.
'So although that never happened in our solar system, something like that has happened [elsewhere],' he explains.
'Collisions between planetary embryos will certainly have occurred during the formation of exoplanetary systems - as happened in our own.
'However, it would not have occurred not in the extreme way shown in the [mosaic image].'
This artist's illustration shows what a Hot Jupiter might look like around another star. These super planets, dozens of which have already been found, can be bigger than Jupiter but orbit closer than Mercury does our own sun, making them exceedingly hot and fascinating to study
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