7 mind-bending comparisons between the Universe and the human body

Our observable Universe is enormous compared to a human: over 10²⁶ times as large.

These 7 comparisons give perspective to these vastly different scales.

1.) Human cells equal galactic planetary bodies.

Each human body possesses 80 trillion cells, half of which are human.

Our galaxy contains 400 billion stars, with around 100 rounded objects per stellar system.

2.) More cells than overall galaxies.

This outstrips the number of galaxies in the observable Universe: estimated at 20 trillion.

3.) Daily cell death comprises a whole galaxy of stars.

Each day, 50-70 billion cells die: comparable to our total number of brain neurons.

4.) A galaxy cluster’s galaxies are like organs, muscles, and bones.

Most galaxy clusters have around 1000 galaxies.

Meanwhile, humans have 79 organs, 206 bones, and 700 skeletal muscles.

5.) Water is the body’s “dark matter.”

Humans are mostly (50-80%) water, while dark matter dominates (80-85%) the cosmos’s mass.

6.) Our circulatory system’s length is like a galaxy compared to our home.

The ratio of our circulatory system’s length to our height is 60,000,000.

This equals our Kuiper belt’s to the Milky Way’s diameter ratio.

7.) Millions of human atoms for every star.

There are 10²⁸ atoms within a human, dwarfing the Universe’s 2×10²¹ stars.

Mostly Mute Monday tells an astronomical story in images, visuals, and no more than 200 words.

This article is featured on Big Think.