Pluto vs Ceres
Pluto (2,377 km) is 2.53× the size of Ceres (939 km).
2 Ceress stacked on end would reach the height of Pluto. The gap between them is 1,437 km (4,715,223 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pluto | 2,377 km | 7,797,244 ft | diameter |
| Ceres | 939 km | 3,082,021 ft | diameter |
What the scale shows
Pluto (2,377 km) is 2.53× the size of Ceres (939 km). The gap between them is 1,437 km (4,715,223 ft). Both are planets & moons, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 40% of the frame while the larger one runs to the top. The two are close enough that the difference is easy to see side by side.
Read the rest — 8 more sections
What each figure means
The figure for Pluto is its diameter (mean diameter). The figure for Ceres is its diameter (mean diameter).
Crossing them
At a jet's 900 km/h, Pluto's 2,377 km would take 2.6 hours and Ceres's 939 km would take 63 minutes.
In people: Pluto is 1,398,000 adults of 1.7 m tall, Ceres is 552,588.2. By size Pluto is 15th of the 16 planets & moons on this site and Ceres is 16th, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. Pluto is given as a diameter, mean diameter. Ceres is given as a diameter, mean diameter. Both are diameter figures, so putting them on one baseline is a like-for-like comparison, although the exact individual or convention still matters.
Worlds are listed by diameter. Gas giants are not round, so equatorial diameter is used for them and mean diameter for the rest. All figures are rounded from published mission data.
Where the pair sits among all the sizes here
Across all 86 things on this site, Pluto is number 15 from the top and Ceres is number 16. No other item falls between them, so in this collection they are direct neighbours.
Because the collection spans 13 mm up to 1,392,700 km, a ratio of 107,130,769,231× from smallest to largest, the position of a pair says a lot: both sit in the upper third of the list.
What the length ratio hides
A length ratio of 2.53× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, Pluto would have about 6.4× the surface or footprint of Ceres, and about 16.2× the volume. These two are not the same shape, so treat the figures as an upper bound for an imaginary scaled copy, not as a measurement of either one.
The drawing above shows length only. Ceres is drawn 40% as tall as Pluto, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 15.6%, which is why the smaller one looks even slighter than the numbers alone suggest.
Time to cross each one
Light travels at 299,792,458 m/s, so it crosses Pluto (2,377 km) in 8 milliseconds and Ceres (939 km) in 3 milliseconds. A jet at 900 km/h would take 2.6 hours for the larger and 63 minutes for the smaller.
These times assume a straight line and constant speed, which no real crossing has, but they turn a number in metres into something the body understands. At any fixed speed the travel times keep the same 2.53× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
Pluto measures 2,377 km, which is 7,797,244 ft or 1,476.8 miles. Ceres measures 939 km, which is 3,082,021 ft or 583.72 miles.
The difference between them is 1,437 km (4,715,223 ft). In kilometres the smaller one is 939.4 against 2,376.6, so the 2.53× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, Pluto or Ceres?
Pluto is bigger. At 2,377 km it is 2.53× the size of Ceres, which is 939 km.
How many times does Ceres fit along Pluto?
2 whole times, with 498 km left over, using 939 km for each.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are diameter figures. Pluto is mean diameter; Ceres is mean diameter.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, Pluto is about 1,398,000 people tall and Ceres is about 552,588.2. The gap of 1,437 km is 845,412 people.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each item has its own page that names the measurement and links to the Wikipedia article it was taken from. Some figures are rounded, and animals vary from one individual to the next, so treat them as representative values rather than records for every case.
How the sizes are taken. Each figure says what it measures — height, length, diameter or elevation — and for which individual or convention. Everything is drawn standing upright on one baseline so a single scale holds, including things that are long rather than tall. Values come from the linked Wikipedia article for each item.