The Cosmic Highway
How Fast We're Racing Through Space
Even if you’re just sitting on your couch binge-watching your favorite show, you’re actually zooming through the universe at some pretty mind-blowing speeds—no ticket required!
First off, let’s talk about the Earth’s rotation. The Earth spins around its axis at about 1,000 miles per hour (1,600 km/h) at the equator. So even while standing still, you’re taking a high-speed ride, thanks to the rotation of our planet.
But it doesn’t stop there! The Earth also orbits the Sun at an incredible speed of about 67,000 miles per hour (107,000 km/h). Imagine a massive roller coaster ride where you’re constantly looping around a giant ball of fire—that’s what you’re doing right now!
Still not impressed? Well, the entire solar system, including our lovely spinning Earth, is orbiting around the center of the Milky Way galaxy at a mind-boggling speed of about 514,000 miles per hour (828,000 km/h). We’re all traveling on this galactic journey, looping around the center of our galaxy in a trip that takes about 230 million years to complete. Talk about a long road trip!
And then there’s the motion of the Milky Way itself. Our entire galaxy is hurtling through space at an estimated speed of 1.3 million miles per hour (2.1 million km/h) relative to the cosmic microwave background, which is the afterglow of the Big Bang.
So, when you add all of this up, while you’re seemingly standing still, you’re actually traveling at a speed that could be more than 2 million miles per hour (3.2 million km/h) through the universe! It’s enough to make your head spin (but don’t worry, your couch isn’t going anywhere). This mind-boggling speed is all thanks to the combined motion of the Earth’s spin, its orbit around the Sun, the Sun’s orbit around the Milky Way, and the Milky Way’s own journey through space. So, next time someone asks you what you’re doing, you can say, “Oh, you know, just casually speeding through the universe at over a million miles per hour!”