On the first day of class, you were invited to imagine a scale model of the solar system where we divided all the real w
Posted: Mon May 23, 2022 11:10 am
On the first day of class, you were invited to imagine a scale model of the solar system where we divided all the real world distances by approximately 8.7x10. That scaling shrinks the Sun to about 0.16 m or 16cm across, more or less the size of a large grapefruit, and it shrinks the Earth-Sun distance to approximately 17 m. What would the angular diameter of that 16cm grapefruit be as seen from 17 m away? How does this compare with the actual Sun's angular diameter (about half a degree) as seen from Earth? Hint: you can do this by actually plugging the numbers into the formula, but you might also be able to find a shortcut. If you use a shortcut, briefly explain your reasoning. (1pt)