The Sun vs Jupiter
The Sun (1,392,700 km) is 9.74× the size of Jupiter (142,984 km).
9 Jupiters stacked on end would reach the height of the Sun. The gap between them is 1,249,716 km (4,100,118,110 ft).
The comparison in numbers
| Thing | Size | In feet | Measured as |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sun | 1,392,700 km | 4,569,225,722 ft | diameter |
| Jupiter | 142,984 km | 469,107,612 ft | diameter |
What the scale shows
The Sun (1,392,700 km) is 9.74× the size of Jupiter (142,984 km). The gap between them is 1,249,716 km (4,100,118,110 ft). Both are planets & moons, so the figures describe the same kind of thing.
Draw both on one baseline and the smaller one fills 10% 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 the Sun is its diameter (mean diameter). The figure for Jupiter is its diameter (equatorial diameter).
Crossing them
At a jet's 900 km/h, the Sun's 1,392,700 km would take 64.5 days and Jupiter's 142,984 km would take 6.6 days.
In people: the Sun is 819,235,294 adults of 1.7 m tall, Jupiter is 84,108,235.3. By size the Sun is 1st of the 16 planets & moons on this site and Jupiter is 2nd, so 1 place separates them in the ranking.
How to read these two figures
Before trusting any comparison, check what each number measures. The Sun is given as a diameter, mean diameter. Jupiter is given as a diameter, equatorial 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, the Sun is number 1 from the top and Jupiter is number 2. 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 9.74× is easy to picture, but area and volume grow faster than length. If two objects had exactly the same shape, the Sun would have about 94.9× the surface or footprint of Jupiter, and about 924× 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. Jupiter is drawn 10% as tall as the Sun, but the equivalent share of footprint would be only 1.1%, 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 the Sun (1,392,700 km) in 4.6 seconds and Jupiter (142,984 km) in 477 milliseconds. A jet at 900 km/h would take 64.5 days for the larger and 6.6 days 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 9.74× ratio as the sizes.
The same figures in other units
The Sun measures 1,392,700 km, which is 4,569,225,722 ft or 865,383.7 miles. Jupiter measures 142,984 km, which is 469,107,612 ft or 88,846.14 miles.
The difference between them is 1,249,716 km (4,100,118,110 ft). In kilometres the smaller one is 142,984 against 1,392,700, so the 9.74× ratio holds in every unit; only the numbers on the ruler change.
Questions people ask about this pair
Which is bigger, the Sun or Jupiter?
The Sun is bigger. At 1,392,700 km it is 9.74× the size of Jupiter, which is 142,984 km.
How many times does Jupiter fit along the Sun?
9 whole times, with 105,844 km left over, using 142,984 km for each.
Are the two figures measured the same way?
Yes in kind: both are diameter figures. The Sun is mean diameter; Jupiter is equatorial diameter.
How does the gap look in people?
Taking an adult of 1.7 m, the Sun is about 819,235,294 people tall and Jupiter is about 84,108,235.3. The gap of 1,249,716 km is 735,127,059 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.