It’s no secret that the universe is vast. The distances between us and our closest astronomical neighbors are huge and the numbers only get bigger the farther away those stars and galaxies are from us. So, how do astronomers grapple with it to make the size of the universe understandable to the rest of us?
Jean Creighton, Lake Effect's astronomy contributor, says one way we do it is by using orders of magnitude. Another way is by using time as a measure. That seems odd until you realize we do it all the time:
"We say something is 10 minutes away," Creighton explains. "This could be by car, this could be on foot, but it’s quietly understood that we have some speed in mind and that uniquely determines how much time that’s going to take us to get there."
Creighton tells us it's the immensity of the universe that makes it important to find these ways to talk about it in smaller pieces:
