How to Measure Distances in the Night Sky. WOW!

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You’re a Ruler. Unique Handy Guide to Measuring the Sky

Hello everyone! Welcome to our amazing channel. In today’s video Smart is the New Sexy decided to be practical. You often ask us how they measure distances in space and how astronomers know what color a particular planet is. In this episode, we’ll tell you how you can measure space distances with just your fingers. Curious to learn more?

Usually distances are expressed in terms of degrees (°), arc minutes ('), and arc seconds (").

Forget about all these for a while, because your hands and fingers will do all the job.

Hold your hand at arm’s length and then:

• Stretch your thumb and little finger as far from each other as you can and curl down the rest of your fingers. The span from tip to tip is about 25°;

• If you do the same with your index finger and little finger, you’ll get the span of the so-called YO gesture of about 15°;

• You can also use your clenched fist as a sextant to measure the height of the moon, star, or planet above the horizon. Clench your fist at arm's length, and hold it with the back of your hand facing you. The width is 10°; This means that any two objects that are on the opposite ends of your fist will be 10° apart.

• Hold your 3 middle fingers together; their span will be about 5°;

• The width of your little finger on its own is about 1º. However, take this with a pinch of salt as finger sizes vary greatly.

So now you the basics of measuring distances in the sky. But to learn more details watch the full video. Cause there's bonus waiting for you in the end.

Also try this technic tonight and share your result in the comments!

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