Our Solar System is so large it is hard to understand sizes and distances involved because all the numbers are also very large. We often hear these large numbers, learn them, and repeat them when asked:
The Sun is 865,000 miles in diameter.
The Earth is 93,000,000 miles from the Sun.
The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second.
It takes light 8.5 minutes to travel from the Sun to the Earth.
About the only number we can truly understand is the 8.5 minutes. We use that time period on a daily basis. That's the time it takes to cook a well done steak on the grill. That's the time it takes to get to the local grocery store. That's a little less than the time it takes me to run a mile.(Hey, I'm retired, give me a break.)
186,000 miles? has your car traveled that far? 23 Round-trips New York to Los Angeles? How about 24 hr/day at 60 mph for 129 days? It's hard to grasp the distance, isn't it?
We won't even attempt to understand 93,000,000.
Welcome to My Solar System.
My Solar System is a scale model at a ratio of about 23,000,000 : 1.
In My Solar System:
The Sun is a 200 foot diameter water tank. All other distances, sizes, and measurements are based upon this 200 foot diameter Sun.
The Earth is about 4 miles from the Sun.
The speed of light is about 34 mph.
VENUS is the second planet from the Sun and Earths nearest neighbor. It is similar in structure and size to Earth, but has changed over the eons.
Venus is 67 million miles from the Sun and has a rocky surface. Volcanoes and long ridge lines have been mapped on the surface.
Venus orbits the Sun in 225 earth days. A day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days and Venus spins in reverse of all the other planets, with the sun rising in the West and setting in the East.
Its thick atmosphere traps heat in a runaway greenhouse effect, making it the hottest planet in our solar system. Its surface temperature is 900°F, hot enough to melt lead. The acidic atmosphere blows at hurricane force, sending clouds around the planet in 5 days.
In My Solar System, Venus is 2.9 miles from the Sun and is 21 inches in diameter (about the diameter of a concrete base for a lamp post.)
CREDITS:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system/
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/overview/