In our case, it’s pretty big: about 150,000–200,000 light years in diameter, and 1000 light years thick on average (Wikipedia). How much does it weigh?
The Guardian reports today that astronomers have managed to pin down its weight: 3,000 trillion trillion trillion tonnes.
How big a piece of paper is needed to cover the entire Earth?
Size of A0 paper: a x b mm^2 where a = 1189 and b = 841
Size of A-n paper = a * (a/b)^n x b * (a/b)^n mm^2
Diameter of Earth = e ~ 12742000000 mm
To cover the Earth, need:
a * (a/b)^n > e
so
log(e/a) < n log(a/b) so n > log(e/a)/log(a/b)
need n > log(12742000000/1189)/log(1189/841) ~ 46.7
So A-47 paper would be sufficient.
I took this photo of the {super, blue, blood, moon}
