Our true place in the universe, an eclipse for insomniacs and how far the Chilean landmass moved last week

By Tushna Commissariat

An image of the solar system – showing our luminous Sun ringed by nine (or is it eight?) evenly spaced planets and the asteroid belt – is a familiar feature in many school textbooks. In fact, such images are so commonplace that we often forget just how wrong they are when it comes to showing the true scale of the solar system. In particular, the billions and billions of kilometres of empty space that lie between each planet are rarely depicted.

Now, filmmakers and friends Wylie Overstreet and Alex Gorosh have “drawn” a realistic model of the solar system on a dry Nevada lakebed, complete with planetary orbits. The duo describes it as “a true illustration of our place in the universe”. Watch the video above to see how the pair planned and executed their massive portrait.

In keeping with the space theme, make sure that you have this Sunday night and early-morning Monday marked in your diaries. That’s when we will be treated to a total lunar eclipse. I recommend trying to view it because you won’t get another chance until 2019. It will be easily visible to the naked eye and perfect for insomniacs because it will begin around 02:00 BST on Monday 28 September, with the maximum eclipse at 03:47. The  event will last five hours, with first hints of a shadow caressing the lunar edge just after midnight. The Royal Astronomical Society has put together some viewing tips and any self-respecting eclipse watcher should have a pair of binoculars handy and a midnight snack to see them through the night. Why not make a party of it and bake this excellent constellation-themed cosmic cake for your astronomer friends?

Regular readers of this blog will also know that Physics World features editor Louise Mayor has been in Chile this past week, on  a visit to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array as a reward for winning the European Astronomy Journalism Prize 2014. Unfortunately, just last week, Chile was rocked by a massive 8.3 magnitude earthquake, and tremors have continued since. To see just what happened to the actual Chilean landmass, head on over to iO9 website to view some amazing graphics of how much the ground actually moved.