How big are the planets, side by side?
Textbook diagrams of the solar system are never to scale, in size or in distance. This one is, for size.
Almost exactly Earth
12,742 km is bigger than 5 of the 11 references on this page.
Reference figures are measurements and are rounded; the unit conversion behind them is exact.
| Reference | Size | Yours ÷ theirs | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ceres | 939 km | 13.6× | |
| the Moon | 3,475 km | 3.67× | |
| Mercury | 4,879 km | 2.61× | |
| Mars | 6,779 km | 1.88× | |
| Venus | 12,104 km | 1.05× | |
| Earth | 12,742 km | 1× | |
| Neptune | 49,244 km | 0.259× | |
| Uranus | 50,724 km | 0.251× | |
| Saturn | 116,460 km | 0.109× | |
| Jupiter | 139,820 km | 1/11 | |
| the Sun | 1,391,400 km | 1/109 |
Worth knowing
- Jupiter is 11 times Earth’s diameter and the Sun is 109 times. Drawn to scale on a page, Earth is a full stop next to the Sun.
- All eight planets would fit in the gap between the Earth and the Moon, with about 8 000 km to spare.
Frequently asked
How much bigger is Jupiter than Earth?
11.2 times the diameter, so 1 321 times the volume. It is more massive than all the other planets combined, by a factor of 2.5.
Why are diagrams of the solar system never to scale?
Because you cannot show both size and distance on one page. If the Sun were a beach ball, Earth would be a peppercorn 26 metres away.