In my Science 9 class we were tasked with recreating the solar system using our own scale. Google Maps was the program we used.

The solar system is measured with Astronomical Units (AU). One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the Sun (approx. 149.6 million km). Each student chose a slip of paper out of a cup that had two famous monuments. They  would be used as our Earth and Sun.

 

I chose to have The Blue Mosque as the Earth and Hagia Sofia as the Sun.

Using the Measuring Tool, I  found the distance between the Sun (Hagia Sofia) and the Earth (The Blue Mosque). The distance between the two is 608 meters. Therefore 608 m = 1 AU.

 

Now that I know what 1 AU is equal to, I can find out where the rest of the planets are.

Mercury – 0.387 AU – 235 m

Venus – 0.722 AU – 439 m

Earth – 1 AU – 608 m

Mars – 1.52 AU – 924 m

Asteroid Belt – 2.2 AU – 3.3 AU (Used 2.7 AU) – 1.64 km

Jupiter – 5.2 AU – 3.16 km

Saturn – 9.58 AU – 5.82 km

Uranus – 19.2 AU – 11.67 km

Neptune – 18.3 AU – 18.3 km

Pluto – 39.5 AU – 24 km

Using the Measuring Tool again, I measured out the appropriate distance and put a marker down for each planet.

Here is the finished product.