SCIENCE OF HOME AND COMMUNITY 



bodies of the solar system, the planets, moons, and sun form 

 a single group and are relatively very close together, com- 

 pared with the distance from the- stars. If we were to make 

 a dot to represent the position of the nearest star on the 

 same scale, it would be almost four miles away. 



FIG. 206. Solar system, showing the relative distances from sun, the relative 

 size of the orbits, the number of satellites, and the period of revolution. 



Relative distances of sun and stars. Hold the hand with 

 the fingers spread so that the tip of the third finger is about 

 six inches from the thumb. Let the thumb represent the 

 sun, and the four fingers represent the position of the first 

 four planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. Then, 

 proportionately, the nearest star would be at a distance of 

 almost twenty-five miles, and the North Star would be at a 

 distance of over two hundred and fifty miles, while the most 

 distant stars would be at a distance greater than the entire 

 width of the United States from New York to San Francisco. 

 This illustrates the fact that while the distances between the 



