Key points
The Sun is about 100 times wider than the Earth and the Earth could fit into the Sun over one million times.
It would take 500 years for the fastest person on Earth to run the distance from the Earth to the Sun.
It is difficult to imagine the difference in size between the Sun and Earth, or the distance between them. This activity will help you to visualise it.
Watch how to make a scale model of the Sun and Earth
Narrator: We're going to find out how to make a scale model of the Earth and Sun.
And you'll only need three things:
A football (the FA standard size of 22 centimetres if you can), some sticky tack, and a ruler.
Pluck off a tiny bit of sticky tack and roll it into a ball that is 2 millimetres across.
Once you've got those two objects together, you're done. That's how big the Sun is compared to the Earth.
Did you know that 1.3 million Earths could fit inside one Sun?
You can scale the distance to the Sun too. Take the ball of tack you're using to model the Earth and move it 23 metres away, which is the approximate size of a cricket pitch—so just take 23 big strides.
Now you can see the scale of the Earth to the Sun, and how far away the Earth is in the Solar System.
If you were to run to the Sun
at the speed of the world's fastest sprinter,
it would take you 500 years,
which isn't a bad time to run 4 million marathons
if you think about it.
Have a go
Image caption, Click to see a step-by-step slideshow
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If you create this model, the Earth and Sun should be about 23 metres apart.
If you wanted to walk to the edge of the solar system (where the planet Neptune would be) you would have to walk thirty times further than you have done. That is nearly half a mile away!
Imagine trying to throw a pebble to hit your bit of sticky tack half a mile away, it would be very difficult indeed!
Rocket scientists face a similar challenge when they send spacecraft to explore these distant planets. Their calculations and models need to be very precise to achieve these ambitious goals.
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