Editing 2761: 1-to-1 Scale
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
+ | {{incomplete|Created by a DISPLAY THAT SUPPORTS THE PLANETS WITH NO CROPPING - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | + | This comic supposedly shows what each planet would look like at 1:1 scale, which would mean at real size. However, because a minuscule portion of each planet is visible on the page at that scale, it becomes comically useless at distinguishing the size or relative size of each planet, as the rest of each circular planet extends far beyond the edges of the image. | |
− | + | To understand the diagram, imagine that all eight planets have been drawn close to each other with just a tiny spot of the sky visible between them. The planets have been drawn so it is possible in this small 1:1 image to see all eight planets' edges. Space is the black polygon in the center, with Earth the top white segment. The reason why each planet's circular border appears straight is because it's such a small area of each planet: you're only seeing a couple of square inches of the surface of each of the planets, and even though they are all round, the curvature would be invisible on this scale. The four gas giants are completely smooth, whereas the four rocky planets display features, most notably on Earth where grass and an ant are visible. | |
− | + | That it cannot have been an image of the real planets aligning is clear, as Mercury can be shown to be in front of Jupiter (implying that the latter is in the part of its orbit on the far side of the Sun from the viewer), yet Jupiter obscures Earth (which necessitates that it be in the arc of orbit ''nearest'' any given observer). In the title text it is made clear that this is just a small part of a larger drawing, so this is not an image taken from far away – they are only placed this way for scale. | |
− | The | + | The title text remarks that it is hard to find a display that supports a version of the image without cropping. This is because a true 1:1 scale image showing all of the planets would be at least as big as the largest one, Jupiter - far larger than any monitor or display currently available[https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1164/how-big-is-the-solar-system/]. Furthermore, the amount of video memory that a graphics card would need to have in order to output to such a display, even as a 1-bit-per-pixel-image (i.e., all pixels are either black or white), is well beyond the capabilities of any graphic card that exists today.{{cn}} |
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
+ | {{incomplete transcript|The main panel itself is missing explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
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:[A frame with a central area of black 'space', bounded at various intersecting angles by eight 'straight lines' representing planetary surfaces, originating from various out-of-frame angles of 'down' and the white of some bodies obscuring some part of the others.] | :[A frame with a central area of black 'space', bounded at various intersecting angles by eight 'straight lines' representing planetary surfaces, originating from various out-of-frame angles of 'down' and the white of some bodies obscuring some part of the others.] | ||
:[There are labels indicating which line represents each planet.] | :[There are labels indicating which line represents each planet.] | ||
:[The four gas-giants' lines are simply drawn, near straight and featureless.] | :[The four gas-giants' lines are simply drawn, near straight and featureless.] | ||
:[The lines for the rocky inner-planets have variations to them, stereotypical of some part of their surface.] | :[The lines for the rocky inner-planets have variations to them, stereotypical of some part of their surface.] | ||
− | :[The "Earth" line ('down' being out the top of the frame) has a profile indicating various small-scale vegetation and also features the white | + | :[The "Earth" line ('down' being out the top of the frame) has a profile indicating various small-scale vegetation and also features the white sillouette of an ant that may be of a realistic size for your display.] |
:[Caption below the panel:] | :[Caption below the panel:] | ||
:The solar system's planets at 1:1 scale | :The solar system's planets at 1:1 scale |