The Solar System in 30 Megapixels

Awesome post OP, makes one feel very insignificant, can't help but reflect on the pettiness of our infighting

How many different life forms must be out there when this comparison is made

reply to post by Ir0nM0nkey


Are you kidding? No, you aren't. You're hilarious.

Anyway, thanks. I saved the picture to my computer. Nice artwork here.

About the rendering:

Are shadows really cast into space like that by the Sun?

Wow, Beautiful!
Thank you Chadwickus!

I just sent it to all the people from the observatory..
they will love this!

Thanks again bro,
very cool!

Anyone photoshop savvy enough to scale this down so it can be used for a desktop background?

reply to post by Chadwickus


i've watched it three times (between chores) without posting anything.

Thought i would say thanks to Chad for sharing and S&F.

-et

You know, for all the terrible and unspeakable things we as humans have committed, this video makes me proud of being a member of the species.

Seeing the accompanying video, images and models of our solar system really represents how far we have come as a species, and how trivial most of our jobs and hobbies are when compared to those in the scientific and exploratory fields.

stars and flags are a rarity for me, but you got both. Thanks for the inspiring image and video.

This is great! I wish that My computer would zoom in so that I could see what is written next to each name. Although I suspect that it is in french. This is a great tool for me to teach my son about the solar system. Star and Flag!

wow how magnificent how I long to see all that with my own eyes to build sand castles on mars to go ice skating on europa to see and hear the rings of saturn. but with all that beauty and magnificence all around us. why are we stuck on this little blue green rock we call earth ?
or should I say prison planet terra
so unfair

Very very cool indeed. I'll have to have a better look when I'm back home. This piece of junk they call a computer here at work really isn't doing it justice and I think the network admins might notice if I try to download a 18mb image

reply to post by ZikhaN


Pretty much, yes.

This is why we get eclipses.

reply to post by gaurdian2012



Now now, let's be fair to our great Mother Earth. There are many amazing places on this Earth that look almost alien in themselves (search around the threads and there are some pretty crazy pictures). We as humans need to learn to take care of this planet first so we don't make the mistake of polluting another great place in the Universe.

I suggest watching BBC/Discovery channel's "Planet Earth" (if you haven't already). Opened my eyes to a whole new level of appreciation for our dear blue/green planet


EDIT: actually i'll be nice...here's the link

The Most Alien Places on Earth

Enjoy!!


[edit on 12-8-2010 by AllinTheMind89]

reply to post by Phage


I wonder how this 18mb file will look like printed.....might be worth trying to blow it up...think Im going to do it today as my sons is starting to get into a little bit of astronomy...

Amazing picture, i wonder how long it took to create.

You could make an amazing set of wallpapers out of this.

Thanks for sharing.

Originally posted by Chadwickus
Here's the video, I recommend watching it on Youtube direct in HD and Full screen:

The graphics was fantastic though the constant motion was overdone. When they paused to show a planet, they should have paused to show the planet, not keep twisting and turning the image just for the sake of moving it.

But I have a question, why was Pluto drawn like a moon orbiting....nothing? It looks like both Pluto and Charon are orbiting an imaginary empty point in space that is revolving around the sun like the planets do, why is that? It made no sense to me.

reply to post by Chadwickus


Well yeah I get that. I mean if a body is straight behind another body, then obviously the body pointing towards the sun will cast a shadow on the body behind it. But will a body facing the sun really cast a shadow THAT far out into space like depicted in this rendering?

Wonderful Graphic, Thanks for sharing.
also this video takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang.

Google Video Link

Discover the Universe

[edit on 12-8-2010 by Prof. Twister]

Superb image!! S&F!

Gonna save this image. This might be a nice thing to have as a wallpaper around the room. =)

reply to post by SeventhSeal


haha before i scrolled down enough to see the luck dragon, thats what i pictured.
one of the best movies ever made.

Originally posted by Arbitrageur

But I have a question, why was Pluto drawn like a moon orbiting....nothing? It looks like both Pluto and Charon are orbiting an imaginary empty point in space that is revolving around the sun like the planets do, why is that? It made no sense to me.

As I mentioned before in this thread, Charon, Pluto's largest moon, is so close in mass to Pluto itself that they two of them orbit around a common point that exists above the surface of Pluto.

If you had two planets of equal mass orbiting each other, they would rotate around a common point that was exactly halfway between the centers of the two planets. Now if you start increasing the mass of one of those planets, the point they rotate around moves closer to the center of the more massive planet. Eventually, that point moves so close to the center that it's below the surface of the more massive planet. Like with the earth and the moon. They actually rotate around a point that's 3,000 miles from the center of the Earth (or about 5,000 miles below the surface of the earth).