What the Solar System Looks Like When the Moon Is 1 Pixel

In case you weren’t already over the moon about NASA getting up-close and personal with what was once our most distant planet (now the largest dwarf planet in our Solar System), consider this: At the most distant point in its orbit from the sun, Pluto is 4.67 billion miles away from Earth. 

Perhaps that number doesn’t seem that big to you. After all, NASA has sent probes farther into space.  For a refresher on the challenges of traveling to the farthest reaches of our solar system, take a gander at this visualization by graphic designer Josh Worth, in which the size of the moon equals just one pixel onscreen. You’re likely to develop a repetitive stress injury from trying to scroll all the way from Earth to the tiny speck of screen-dust that represents Pluto. If you allow the visualization to progress at the speed of light (click the icon in the lower right-hand corner), it'll take you four and a half hours to get from Earth to Pluto.

Don’t worry, lazy space enthusiasts. You can click the icons at the top of the page to zoom through the Solar System and arrive at whatever planet you want.

You can really get a sense of the power of Jupiter’s gravity when you look at how big its most-distant moon's orbit is around the planet:

This is how small our entire planet is:

Now go ahead and contemplate humanity's place in the universe. 

[h/t: FlowingData]

All images by Josh Worth.