A recently added feature in the GalaxSee software is the ability to switch between length and
time scales. Most of us are more familiar with distances and times much smaller than
thousands of light years and millions of years. By changing to another scale, we can
model things more common to our experience, like the earth going around the sun.
This has the advantage of letting us check the accuracy of the model. For example, if
we set up a system that accurately reflects the masses, positions, and velocities of the
earth and sun, we could run this system and watch to see if it did what we expected it to do.
There are currently three scale options. The default option is galactic, with lengths measured in thousands of light years and masses measured in solar masses, etc. The two other scales available are much smaller than this. They are designed to allow for modeling of the phenomena inside our solar system. The table below shows how lengths, masses, and times are measured in each scale.
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