The Scale of the Universe (A Bout of Sciento-Reverence)

Well, I am in Sciento-Awe again. This time it is in the form of scale appreciation. Lest I prattle, let me share the experience with you so that you too can take part in the wonderment.

Scale of the Universe Interactive

The Scale of the Universe Interactive, designed by Cary & Michael Huang (http://htwins.net) takes you through a tour of the universe from smallest known scale to largest. You begin here on the slider:

Screenshot: The Scale of the Universe Interactive. Scale begins here.

If you travel to the increasingly larger sizes, you shall see:

Screenshot: The Scale of the Universe Interactive. Scale increasing.

Screenshot: The Scale of the Universe Interactive. Scale ever larger.

If you travel to the increasingly smaller sizes, you shall see:

Screenshot: The Scale of the Universe Interactive. Scale decreasing.

Screenshot: The Scale of the Universe Interactive. Scale ever smaller.

I found that the author's website loads the interactive very slowly, so here are two additional sites that are hosting the interactive:

4 Chan (bulletin board, best version IMHO)

One More Level (gaming site)


More Scale Interactives:

If you didn't get enough there, I came across two other scale interactives worthy of mention.

Nikon's Universcale can be found HERE.

The Universcale "lets you see and understand the relative size of the full range of known objects in our universe." It also lets you choose between two different screen modes, just in case your computer is a wee bit challenged.

Cell Size & Scale at The Genetic Science Learning Center, U of U.

The Cell Size & Scale interactive at the University of Utah's Genetic Science Learning Center website is a micro-scale slider akin to the above htwins slider, but focuses on the smaller things. It is a nice inner-space compliment to the outerspace majesty of the first interactive.


New perspectives. Deeper understanding. Greater awe.