Powers of 10

DNA strand (credit: PBS/Nova)

Scaling images from the size of the universe down to a DNA strand is an adventure in magnitudes. It was the premise for Powers of Ten, a 'big data' visualization, produced in 1977 nearly 50 years ago. Starting with a couple enjoying a nice lakeside picnic in Chicago, the film transports you to the edge of the Milky and beyond before returning back to Earth again. Every ten seconds the starting point is ten times farther away until our own galaxy is visible barely as a speck of light among many others.

The visualization is part of the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. It is still as fresh and amazing as it was when it was first created. Enjoy! WHB

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