• SkyeStarfall
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    3 months ago

    There’s about 4.6*10^46 molecules in the ocean. There are about 8.5*10^47 cubic meters in a cubic light-year

    Surprisingly close orders of magnitude

    For reference, the closest next star system is 4.25 light years away. The diameter of our Galaxy is about 105 700 light years, with a thickness of about 1000 light years (much less than the diameter, since our Galaxy lies on a plane)

    • mholiv@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Huh. That’s crazy. And that’s just one cubic light year.

      Now if we multiply that cubic light year to match the volume of space we have a similar comparison. Infinite oceans to sift through for a single molecule.

      • Jojo, Lady of the West
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        3 months ago

        “Space” as a volume is probably infinite, but even just talking our local stellar neighborhood or even just the solar system and space is already ridiculously more empty and big than anything you could compare to on earth. With I guess the possible exception of high-precision vacuums in laboratories.