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> Why do journalists do this? I agree, this doesn't really help convey the size of the number. It assumes readers know the circumference of the Moon, when the
by cvarjas 11y ago
> Why do journalists do this?
I agree, this doesn't really help convey the size of the number. It assumes readers know the circumference of the Moon, when the size relative to Earth would be more useful.
- slavik81 11y agoThe number 40,000 stood out to me because the Earth is roughly 40,000 kilometres in circumference. Of course, this is 40,000 miles, so it's roughly 1.6x the circumference of the Earth. I don't really know what the circumference of the moon is. Or, at least I didn't. Combine the facts above with the ones in the article, and you discover the circumference of the moon is roughly 1/4 that of the Earth.
- cvarjas 11y agoNice, same thought process here.