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How Big is the Entire Universe?
When you walk outside and look at the horizon, you can’t immediately tell that the Earth is round. That’s because we can’t observe it on a scale that really gives us an honest look at the whole Earth.
Of course when we leave the surface, it becomes clearer. Likewise, if we can take certain measurements from different vantage points, geometry can tell us a lot about the size of our planet. Eratosthenes did this in ancient Egypt, over two millennia ago.
Ethan Siegel, in his typically great fashion, tells you all about if we can use similar methods to measure the shape of our universe at Starts With A Bang. 
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How Big is the Entire Universe?

When you walk outside and look at the horizon, you can’t immediately tell that the Earth is round. That’s because we can’t observe it on a scale that really gives us an honest look at the whole Earth.

Of course when we leave the surface, it becomes clearer. Likewise, if we can take certain measurements from different vantage points, geometry can tell us a lot about the size of our planet. Eratosthenes did this in ancient Egypt, over two millennia ago.

Ethan Siegel, in his typically great fashion, tells you all about if we can use similar methods to measure the shape of our universe at Starts With A Bang. 

Source: scienceblogs.com

    • #science
    • #physics
    • #universe
    • #size
    • #eratosthenes
  • 9 months ago
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