Do People Understand the Scale of the Universe?

People don’t understand the scale of the Universe. There’s a data driven way to read the news: go to https://ground.news/veritasium to get 30% off the Vantage plan and see through sensationalized reporting.

If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms – a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically – https://ve42.co/SnatomsV

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A huge thank you to Dr. Ashmeet Singh for his expert feedback on this video.

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References:

Fun video by RealLifeLore about the scale of the Universe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy7Nz...

Moon Facts via NASA - https://ve42.co/NASAMoon

Titan Facts via NASA - https://ve42.co/Titan

Mercury Facts via NASA - https://ve42.co/Mercury

Why Pluto is no Longer a Planet, BBC News via YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIk29...

Pluto, Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/WikiPluto

Eris, Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/WikiEris

Brown, M. E., & Schaller, E. L. (2007). The mass of dwarf planet Eris. Science, 316(5831), 1585-1585. - https://ve42.co/Brown2007

Trans-Neptunian object, Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/WikiTNO

IAU 2006 General Assembly Press Release, via IAU - https://ve42.co/IAU2006

Solar System Moons via NASA - https://ve42.co/NASAMoons

Solar System Asteroids via NASA - https://ve42.co/Asteroids

Solar System, Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/WikiSolarSystem

How many stars are in the Universe via ESA - https://ve42.co/ESAStars

Catalog of Exoplanets via exoplanet - https://ve42.co/ExoplanetCatalog

Crowther, T. W., Glick, H. B., Covey, K. R., Bettigole, C., Maynard, D. S., Thomas, S. M., ... & Bradford, M. A. (2015). Mapping tree density at a global scale. Nature, 525(7568), 201-205. - https://ve42.co/Crowther2015

Galaxy, Wikipedia - https://ve42.co/WikiGalaxy

Counting Galaxies with the Hubble Space Telescope via NASA - https://ve42.co/CountingGalaxies

Conselice, C. J., Wilkinson, A., Duncan, K., & Mortlock, A. (2016). The evolution of galaxy number density at z8 and its implications. The Astrophysical Journal, 830(2), 83. - https://ve42.co/Conselice2016

Sagan, C., & Druyan, A. (2011). Pale blue dot: A vision of the human future in space. Ballantine books.

Images & Video:

Clip of Titan’s Surface, NASA via YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn3-0...

Clips of Pluto Had it Coming, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert via YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nqT7...

Image of Solar System Objects - https://ve42.co/SolarSystemObjects

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Directed by Casper Mebius

Written by Casper Mebius and Derek Muller

Additional research & fact checking by Gregor Čavlović

Edited by Peter Nelson

Animated by Ivy Tello and Alondra Vitae

Filmed by Derek Muller, Raquel Nuno and Zyan Treadwell

Produced by Derek Muller, Casper Mebius and Han Evans

Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images, StoryBlocks and by courtesy of NASA, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO, NASA JPL, NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA GSFC, NASA HQ, NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio, NCSA, A. Kritsuk, M. Norman

Music from Epidemic Sound

Thumbnail by Peter Sheppard