How fast are we traveling in space

This article is written with the intent of providing ‘points to ponder,’ such as hypothetical ‘What if’ situations.

What happens when you apply a sudden brake while driving

While riding as a passenger inside a car speeding at 40 miles per hour, we can comfortably sip coffee, talk on the phone, talk to others, listen to music, and engage in other activities.

But all of a sudden, if you hit the brakes while driving at 10, 15, 30, or even 40 miles an hour, one can imagine how forcefully the passengers lunge forward, making everyone uncomfortable.

No one wants to be the passenger in those situations, right?

Now imagine this ….

How fast do you think we are traveling while residing on Earth?

Let us explore.

We know that our planet Earth takes 24 hours to make one full rotation around its axis. At the same, the Earth takes 365 days to revolve around the Sun.

That means, all of the living beings, humans included, residing on this beautiful planet, are also rotating and revolving at the same time. We are like the passengers riding on Earth, while it is rotating around its axis.

Let us compute how fast we are traveling in space:

The total distance around the surface of the Earth at the equator, or the circumference of the Earth, is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers).

Earth completes one full rotation around its axis every 24 hours.

If we divide the distance by 24 hours, we get approximately 1037 miles per hour.

Therefore, Earth is rotating at about 1037 miles per hour.

That means humans and all living beings standing on this planet are also rotating at approximately 1037 miles per hour.

Next, as we all know, Earth revolves around the sun every 365 days a year.

How much distance does the earth travel to go around the sun?

Earth travels 584 million miles, or 940 million km in 365 days.

Now let us find out the speed at which the Earth is revolving around the sun.

If we divide the distance of 584 million miles by 365 days, we get 1.6 million miles per day in one day.

That means Earth travels, 1.6 million miles in space in one day.

If we divide 1.6 million miles per day by 24 hours, we get 66,666 miles per hour.

When Earth is revolving around the Sun, it is hurtling through space at 67,000 mph.

Effectively, we humans and all other living beings are rotating at 1037 miles per hour, and the same traveling through space at 67,000 miles per hour.

If that is not enough, our planetary system, which includes the Earth and Sun, belongs to the Milky Way galaxy.

The Milky Way galaxy is traveling at 1.3 million miles per hour.

Now, imagine this:

What would happen if the Earth suddenly stops rotating?

This is equivalent to applying sudden brakes while traveling at 1,000 miles per hour.

What would happen if the Earth stops revolving?

This is equivalent to applying brakes while traveling at 67,000 miles per hour.

Finally,

What would happen if the Milky Way galaxy suddenly stops?

Can we even imagine applying sudden brakes while traveling at 1.3 million miles per hour?

I understand these will never come to pass in our lifetime. But based on these interesting facts, we can imagine “what if” scenarios.

As we say, this will never happen, but these are some of the points to ponder.

If you find this interesting, please leave a comment. Thanks.