As we discussed, the radius of the Earth is approximately 6370 km. The Sun, on the other hand, is approximately 700,000 km in radius and located, on average, one astronomical unit (1 au=1.5x108 km) from the Earth. Imagine that you stand near Mansueto Library, at the corner of 57th and Ellis. You hold a standard desk globe, which has a diameter of 12 inches, and you want to build a model of the Sun, Earth, and their separation that keeps all sizes and lengths in proportion to one another. a) How big would the Sun be in this scale model? Give your answer in feet and meters. b) The nearest star to the Solar System outside of the Sun is Proxima Centauri, which is approximately 4.2 light years away (a light year is the distance light travels in one year, or approximately 9.5x1012 km). Given the scale model outlined above, how far would a model Proxima Centauri be placed from you? Give your answer in miles and km.

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Thinking about the Scale of the Solar System 
As we discussed, the radius of the Earth is approximately 6370 km. The
Sun, on the other hand, is approximately 700,000 km in radius and located, on average,
one astronomical unit (1 au=1.5x108 km) from the Earth.
Imagine that you stand near Mansueto Library, at the corner of 57th and Ellis.
You hold a standard desk globe, which has a diameter of 12 inches, and you want to
build a model of the Sun, Earth, and their separation that keeps all sizes and lengths in
proportion to one another.
a) How big would the Sun be in this scale model? Give your answer in feet and
meters.

b) The nearest star to the Solar System outside of the Sun is Proxima Centauri,
which is approximately 4.2 light years away (a light year is the distance light travels in
one year, or approximately 9.5x1012 km). Given the scale model outlined above, how
far would a model Proxima Centauri be placed from you? Give your answer in miles
and km. 

Expert Solution
Step 1

Given: 

Radius of Earth = 6370 km

Radius of Sun  = 700,000 km

Distance between earth and sun = 1.5×108 km

Diameter of the desk globe = 12 inches

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