The Known Universe

January 9, 2011

This video by the American Museum of Natural History shows the size of Earth, the Sun, our galaxy, the extent of humanity’s first radio signals, all the way to the edges of the known universe. All of the positions and sizes of the spots and smears are scientifically accurate.

Quite astonishing.

The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world’s most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History.

Data from the Hayden Planetarium.