Question: Solar system model calculator: Here are some solar system model calculators: Table 1. Sun and Planet Size Part of the Solar System Actual Diameter (km)

Solar system model calculator:

Here are some solar system model calculators:

Table 1. Sun and Planet Size

Part of the Solar System Actual Diameter (km) Scaled Diameter (mm)
Sun 1.392 million km 139.2 mm
Mercury 142,984 km 13.07 mm
Venus 4878 km 5.8 mm
Earth 12756 km 1.3 mm
Mars 12000 km 1.2 mm
Jupiter 6792 km 0.6 mm
Saturn 120,536 km 12.1 mm
Uranus 51,118 km 5.1 mm
Neptune 49,523 km 5.0 mm

Actual planet sizes:

  • Mercury: ~4,880 kilometers (3,032 miles)
  • Venus: ~12,104 kilometers (7,521 miles)
  • Earth: ~12,742 kilometers (7,918 miles)
  • Mars: ~6,779 kilometers (4,212 miles)
  • Jupiter: ~139,820 kilometers (86,881 miles)
  • Saturn: ~116,460 kilometers (72,366 miles)
  • Uranus: ~50,724 kilometers (31,518 miles)
  • Neptune: ~49,244 kilometers (30,598 miles)

Keith's Think Zone: It calculates the scaled planet diameters and planet-sun distances.

Dunlap Institute: Visualizes the solar system at various scales.

Desmos: A free online graphing calculator that graphs a scale model of the solar system.

To scale a solar system model, you can:

Choose the size of the Earth in your model.

Multiply the size of Earth by the multiplier value on the chart for each planet.

Calculate the scaling factor by dividing the distance from the Sun to Pluto in AU by the scale distance from the Sun to Pluto.

Multiply the scaling factor by the actual distance from the Sun to each of the planets in AU.

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