Arrangement of planets by size. Comparative characteristics of the planets of the solar system: description and interesting facts

Have you asked yourself the question: what do the planets look like in comparison with each other?! - I personally more than once, but at the same time I could not visually imagine how big difference between them. I have always been interested in comparing them with each other, observing at least approximate proportions... Break large number images, I came across a picture close in its parameters to the required one. On it I tried to show how small our planet is compared to the Sun, but the most interesting thing is that there are a huge number of stars much larger than the Sun, tens of thousands or more times. This article provides a visual comparison of the sizes of the planets solar system and some famous stars among themselves, as well as their main physical characteristics.

1. Mercury is the smallest terrestrial planet. Its radius is only 2439.7 ± 1.0 km. The planet's mass is 3.3022×1023 kg (0.055 Earth's). The average density of Mercury is quite high - 5.43 g/cm³, which is only slightly less than the density of the Earth (0.984 Earth's). Surface area (S) - 6.083 × 1010 km³ (0.147 Earth).

2. Mars is the fourth most distant from the Sun (after Mercury, Venus and Earth) and the seventh largest (exceeding only Mercury in mass and diameter) planet of the solar system. The mass of Mars is 10.7% of the mass of the Earth (6.423 × 1023 kg versus 5.9736 × 1024 kg for the Earth), the volume is 16.318 × 1010 km³, which is about 0.15 the volume of the Earth, and the average linear diameter is 0.53 diameters Earth (6800 km). Surface area (S) - 144,371,391 km² (0.283 Earth).

3. Venus is the second inner planet of the Solar System with an orbital period of 224.7 Earth days. Volume (V) - 9.38 × 1011 km³ (0.857 Earth). Mass (m) - 4.8685×1024 kg (0.815 Earth). Average density (ρ) - 5.24 g/cm³. Surface area (S) - 4.60×108 km² (0.902 Earth). The average radius is 6051.8 ± 1.0 km.

4. Earth is the third planet from the Sun in the Solar System, the largest in diameter, mass and density among the terrestrial planets. The average radius is 6,371.0 km. Surface area (S) - 510,072,000 km². Volume (V) - 10.832073×1011 km³. Weight (m) - 5.9736×1024 kg. Average density (ρ) - 5.5153 g/cm³.

5. Neptune - the eighth and most distant planet Solar system. Neptune is also the fourth largest planet in diameter and third largest in mass. Neptune's mass is 1.0243×1026 kg, which is 17.2 times, and the diameter of the equator is 3.9 times greater than that of the Earth. The average radius is 24552.5 ± 20 km. Surface area (S) - 7.6408×109 km². Volume (V) - 6.254 × 1013 km³. Average density (ρ) - 1.638 g/cm³.

6. Uranus is the seventh planet in terms of distance from the Sun, the third in diameter and the fourth in terms of mass in the solar system. The average radius is 25266 km. Surface area (S) - 8.1156×109 km². Volume (V) - 6.833×1013 km³. Weight (m) - 8.6832×1025 kg. Average density (ρ) - 1.27 g/cm³.

7. Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System after Jupiter. Saturn, as well as Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, are classified as gas giants. Average radius - 57316 ± 7 km. Surface area (S) - 4.27 × 1010 km². Volume (V) - 8.2713×1014 km³. Weight (m) - 5.6846×1026 kg. Average density (ρ) - 0.687 g/cm³.

8. Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun, the largest in the Solar System. Along with Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, Jupiter is classified as a gas giant. Average radius – 69173 ± 7 km. Surface area (S) - 6.21796×1010 km². Volume (V) - 1.43128×1015 km³. Weight (m) - 1.8986×1027 kg.

9. Wolf 359 (CN Leio) is a star approximately 2.4 parsecs or 7.80 light years from the Solar System. It is one of the closest stars to the Sun; it is known that only the Alpha Centauri system and Barnard's star are closer to it. In the constellation Leo it is located next to the ecliptic. It is an extremely faint red dwarf, not visible to the naked eye, and is a flare star. Mass - 0.09-0.13 M☉ (M☉ - solar mass). Radius - 0.16-0.19 R☉ (R☉ - solar radius).

10. The Sun is the only star in the Solar System around which other objects of this system revolve: planets and their satellites, dwarf planets and their satellites, asteroids, meteoroids, comets and cosmic dust. The mass of the Sun is 99.866% of the total mass of the entire Solar System. Solar radiation supports life on Earth (photons are necessary for the initial stages of the photosynthesis process), determines climate. Of the stars currently known to belong to the 50 closest star systems within 17 light years, the Sun is the fourth brightest star (its absolute magnitude is +4.83m). The Sun's mass is 333,000 times that of the Earth. More than 99% of the mass of the solar system is contained in the sun. Most individual stars in the Universe have a mass between 0.08 and 50 solar masses, but the mass of black holes and entire galaxies can reach millions and billions of solar masses. The average diameter is 1.392 × 109 m (109 diameters of the Earth). Equatorial radius - 6.955×108 m. Volume - 1.4122×1027 m³ (1,303,600 Earth volumes). Mass - 1.9891×1030 kg (332,946 Earth masses). Surface area - 6.088 × 1018 m² (11,900 Earth areas).

11. Sirius (lat. Sirius), α Canis Major, is the brightest star in the night sky. Sirius can be observed from any region of the Earth, with the exception of its northernmost regions. Sirius is 8.6 light years away from the Solar System and is one of the closest stars to us. It is a main sequence star of spectral class A1. Initially, Sirius consisted of two powerful blue stars of spectral class A. The mass of one component was 5 solar masses, the second - 2 solar masses (Sirius B and Sirius A). Then the more powerful and massive component Sirius B burned out and became a white dwarf. Now the mass of Sirius A is approximately twice the mass of the Sun, Sirius B is slightly less than the mass of the Sun.

12. Pollux (β Gem / β Gemini / Beta Gemini) is the brightest star in the constellation Gemini and one of the brightest stars in the sky. Weight - 1.7±0.4 M☉. Radius - 8.0 R☉.

13. Arcturus (α Boo / α Bootes / Alpha Bootes) - the most bright star in the constellation Bootes and the northern hemisphere and the fourth brightest star in the night sky after Sirius, Canopus and the Alpha Centauri system. The apparent magnitude of Arcturus is −0.05m. Since Alpha Centauri consists of two bright stars (−0.01m and +1.34m), which closer friend to a friend than the resolution limit of the human eye, it appears brighter to the naked eye than Arcturus. Arcturus is the second brightest star visible in northern latitudes(after Sirius) and is the brightest star north of the celestial equator. Weight - 1–1.5 M☉. Radius - 25.7 ± 0.3 R☉.

14. Aldebaran (α Tau / α Tauri / Alpha Tauri) is the brightest star in the constellation Taurus and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. Weight - 2.5±0.15 M☉. Radius - 38±0.36 R☉.

15. Rigel is a bright near-equatorial star, β Orionis. Blue-white supergiant. The name means "foot" in Arabic (referring to Orion's foot). It has a visual magnitude of 0.12m. Rigel is located approximately 870 light years from the Sun. Its surface temperature is 11,200 K (spectral class B8I-a), its diameter is about 95 million km (that is, 68 times larger than the Sun) and its absolute magnitude is −7m; its luminosity is 85,000 times higher than the Sun, which means it is one of the most powerful stars in the Galaxy (in any case, the most powerful of the brightest stars in the sky, since Rigel is the closest star with such enormous luminosity). Weight - 17 M☉. Radius - 70 R☉.

16. Antares (α Sco / Alpha Scorpii) is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpio and one of the brightest stars in the night sky, a red supergiant. In Russia it is better visible in the southern regions, but is also observed in the central regions. Enters Bubble I - the region adjacent to the Local Bubble, which includes the Solar System. Antares is an M-class supergiant, with a diameter of approximately 2.1×109 km. Antares is approximately 600 light years away from Earth. Its visible luminosity is 10,000 times that of the sun, but given that the star emits much of its energy in the infrared, the total luminosity is 65,000 times that of the sun. The star's mass ranges from 15 to 18 solar masses. The huge size and relatively small mass indicate that Antares has a very low density. Weight - 15-18 M☉. Radius - 700 R☉.

17. Betelgeuse is a red supergiant (α Orionis), a semi-regular variable star, the brightness of which varies from 0.2 to 1.2 magnitude and averages about 0.7m. According to modern estimates, Betelgeuse's angular diameter is about 0.055 arcseconds. The distance to the star, according to various estimates, ranges from 495 to 640 light years. This is one of the largest stars known to astronomers: if it were placed instead of the Sun, then at its minimum size it would fill the orbit of Mars, and at its maximum it would reach the orbit of Jupiter. If we take 570 light years as the distance to Betelgeuse, then its diameter will exceed the diameter of the Sun by approximately 950-1000 times. Betelgeuse has a color index (B-V) of 1.86 and is thought to have a mass of about 20 solar masses. At its minimum size, Betelgeuse's brightness exceeds the brightness of the Sun by 80 thousand times, and at its maximum - 105 thousand times. Weight - 18-19 M☉. Radius - ~1000 R☉.

18. Mu Cephei (μ Cep / μ Cephei), also known as Herschel's Garnet Star, is a red supergiant star located in the constellation Cepheus. It is one of the largest and most powerful (total luminosity 350,000 times higher than the Sun) stars in our Galaxy and belongs to the spectral class M2Ia. The star is approximately 1650 times larger than the Sun (radius 7.7 AU) and if placed in its place, its radius would be between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn. Mu Cephei could contain a billion suns and 2.7 quadrillion earths. If the Earth were the size of a golf ball (4.3 cm), Mu Cephei would be the width of 2 Golden Gate Bridges (5.5 km). Weight - 25 M☉. Radius -1650 R☉.

19. VV Cephei (lat. VV Cephei) is an eclipsing double star of the Algol type in the constellation Cepheus, which is located at a distance of about 3000 light years from Earth. Component A is the third largest star, known science on at the moment and the second largest star in the Milky Way galaxy (after VY Canis Majoris and WOH G64). The M2 class red supergiant VV Cephei A is the second largest in our Galaxy (after the hypergiant VY Canis Majoris). Its diameter is 2,644,800,000 km - this is 1600-1900 times the diameter of the Sun, and its luminosity is 275,000-575,000 times greater. The star fills the Roche lobe, and its material flows to the neighboring companion. The speed of gas outflow reaches 200 km/s. It has been established that VV Cephei A is a physical variable pulsating with a period of 150 days. The speed of the stellar wind flowing from the star reaches 25 km/s. Judging by its orbital motion, the mass of the star is about 100 solar, however, its luminosity indicates a mass of 25-40 solar. Weight - 25–40 or 100/20 M☉. Radius - 1600–1900/10 R☉.

20. VY Canis Majoris - a star in the constellation Canis Major, a hypergiant. It is perhaps the largest and one of the brightest famous stars. The distance from Earth to VY Canis Majoris is approximately 5000 light years. The radius of the star is from 1800 to 2100 R☉. The diameter of this supergiant is about 2.5-2.9 billion kilometers. The mass of the star is estimated at 30-40 M☉, which indicates the negligible density of the star in its depths.

a > > Dimensions of the planets of the solar system

Sizes of the planets of the solar system in order. Description with photos for all the planets around the Sun, comparison with the Earth and rating: from smallest to largest.

If you like planets, then you can learn a lot only within our system. Solar facilities provide various types and each copy is endowed with its own unique features. But the size is also striking. To find out the details, it's worth starting with the history of the formation of the solar system.

The Birth of the Solar System

The solar system appeared 4.5 billion years ago. This figure is given by analysis of terrestrial rocks and cosmic rocks, as well as computer models. Researchers believe it all started with a rotating haze of dust and gas. One day, gravity caused it to collapse and our star appeared. Theories say that its energy repelled lighter elements and attracted larger ones.

Over millions of years, the particles merged and rotated, creating larger objects. This is how the planets appeared. Most of the gas escaped into external system, giving birth to gas giants, and planets remained in the inner earth type.

Until the 1990s. scientists had modest knowledge about the planets. But technology developed and it turned out that there are also many planets outside our system. Some of them were even larger than Jupiter, while others resembled our Earth.

There were also objects like Pluto in the solar system. This forced the IAU to introduce new criteria and the 9th planet was shifted to the dwarf category.

Nowadays, a planet is considered a body that makes an orbital passage around the Sun with sufficient massiveness to achieve hydrostatic balance and clear the orbit of foreign objects.

Dimensions of the 8 planets of the solar system in numbers

Let's look at the sizes of the planets of the Solar System in descending order of radius (from largest to smallest):

• Jupiter (69,911 km) – 1.120% of Earth's.
• Saturn (58,232 km) - 945% of Earth's.
• Uranus (25,362 km) – 400% of Earth’s.
• Neptune (24,622 km) – 388% of Earth.
• Earth (6,371 km).
• Venus (6,052 km) – 95% of Earth’s.
• Mars (3390 km) – 53% of Earth’s.
• Mercury (2440 km) – 38% of Earth’s.

Jupiter is the most big planet Solar system. Its gravity affected the movement inner planets and mass distribution during formation. It can also attract and repel comets and asteroids from Earth.

Saturn is notable for its ring system. And Uranus and Neptune are representatives of the ice giants.

The inner planets of the terrestrial group include: Venus (earthly sister), Mars (cool desert), Mercury (the smallest) and Earth - home.

Today we will talk about the fact that the Earth is small and the sizes of other huge celestial bodies in the Universe. What are the sizes of the Earth compared to other planets and stars of the Universe.

In fact, our planet is very, very small... compared to many other celestial bodies, and even compared to the same Sun, the Earth is a pea (a hundred times smaller in radius and 333 thousand times smaller in mass), and there are stars in times, hundreds, thousands (!!) times more than the Sun... In general, we, people, and each of us especially, are microscopic traces of existence in this Universe, atoms invisible to the eyes of creatures who could live on huge stars (theoretically, but , perhaps practically).

Thoughts from the film on the topic: it seems to us that the Earth is big, it is so - for us, since we ourselves are small and the mass of our body is insignificant in comparison with the scale of the Universe, some have never even been abroad and do not leave for most of their lives They know almost nothing beyond the confines of a house, a room, and even about the Universe. And the ants think that their anthill is huge, but we will step on the ant and not even notice it. If we had the power to reduce the Sun to the size of a white blood cell and reduce the Milky Way in proportion, then it would be equal to the scale of Russia. But there are thousands or even millions and billions of galaxies besides the Milky Way... This cannot possibly fit into people’s consciousness.

Every year, astronomers discover thousands (or more) of new stars, planets, and celestial bodies. Space is an unexplored area, and how many more galaxies, star, planetary systems will be discovered, and it is quite possible that there are many similar solar systems with theoretically existing life. We can judge the sizes of all celestial bodies only approximately, and the number of galaxies, systems, and celestial bodies in the Universe is unknown. However, based on known data, the Earth is not the smallest object, but it is far from the largest; there are stars and planets hundreds, thousands of times larger!!

The largest object, that is, a celestial body, is not defined in the Universe, since human capabilities are limited, with the help of satellites and telescopes we can see only a small part of the Universe, and we do not know what is there, in the unknown distance and beyond the horizons... perhaps even larger ones celestial bodies than those discovered by people.

So, within the Solar System, the largest object is the Sun! Its radius is 1,392,000 km, followed by Jupiter - 139,822 km, Saturn - 116,464 km, Uranus - 50,724 km, Neptune - 49,244 km, Earth - 12,742.0 km, Venus - 12,103.6 km, Mars - 6780.0 km, etc.

Several dozen large objects - planets, satellites, stars and several hundred small ones, these are only those that have been discovered, but there are some that have not been discovered.

Sun more than Earth in radius - more than 100 times, in mass - 333 thousand times. These are the scales.

Earth is the 6th largest object in the solar system, very close to the scale of Earth, Venus, and Mars is half the size.

The Earth is generally a pea compared to the Sun. And all the other planets, smaller ones, are practically dust for the Sun...

However, the Sun warms us regardless of its size and our planet. Did you know, did you imagine, walking with your feet on mortal soil, that our planet in comparison with the Sun is almost a point? And accordingly, we are microscopic microorganisms on it...

However, people have a lot of pressing problems, and sometimes there is no time to look beyond the ground under their feet.

Jupiter is more than 10 times larger than Earth, it is the fifth planet farthest from the Sun (classified as a gas giant along with Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).

After the gas giants, the Earth is the first largest object in the solar system after the Sun. then come the rest of the terrestrial planets, Mercury after the satellite of Saturn and Jupiter.

Terrestrial planets - Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars - planets located in internal area Solar system.

Pluto is about one and a half times smaller than the Moon, today it is classified as a dwarf planet, it is the tenth celestial body in the solar system after 8 planets and Eris (a dwarf planet approximately similar in size to Pluto), consists of ice and rocks, with an area of South America, a small planet, however, it is larger in scale in comparison with the Earth and the Sun, the Earth is still two times smaller in proportions.

For example, Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter, Titan is a satellite of Saturn - only 1.5 thousand km less than Mars and more than Pluto and large dwarf planets. Dwarf planets and satellites discovered in lately- a lot, and even more stars, more than several million, or even billions.

Few objects smaller than Earth and half as large as the Earth, there are several dozen in the solar system, and those that are slightly smaller are several hundred. Can you imagine how many things are flying around our planet? However, to say “flies around our planet” is incorrect, because as a rule, each planet has some relatively fixed place in the solar system.

And if some asteroid is flying towards the Earth, then it is even possible to calculate its approximate trajectory, flight speed, time of approach to the Earth, and with the help of certain technologies, devices (such as hitting an asteroid with the help of a super-powerful atomic weapons in order to destroy part of the meteorite and, as a result, change the speed and trajectory of the flight) change the direction of flight if the planet is in danger.

However, this is a theory; such measures have not yet been applied in practice, but cases of unexpected falls of celestial bodies to Earth have been recorded - for example, in the case of the same Chelyabinsk meteorite.

In our minds, the Sun is a bright ball in the sky; in the abstract, it is some kind of substance that we know about from satellite images, observations and experiments of scientists. However, all we see with our own eyes is a bright ball in the sky that disappears at night. If you compare the sizes of the Sun and the earth, then it’s about the same as a toy car and a huge jeep; the jeep will crush the car without even noticing it. Likewise, the Sun, if it had at least a little more aggressive characteristics and an unrealistic ability to move, would have absorbed everything in its path, including the Earth. By the way, one of the theories of the death of the planet in the future says that the Sun will engulf the Earth.

We are accustomed, living in a limited world, to believe only what we see and take for granted only what is under our feet and perceive the Sun as a ball in the sky that lives for us, in order to illuminate the path for mere mortals, to warm us, to give energy for us, in general, we use the Sun according to full program, and thoughts about what this bright star carries within itself potential danger, seem ridiculous. And only a few people will seriously think that there are other galaxies in which there are celestial objects hundreds and sometimes thousands of times larger than those in the solar system.

People simply cannot comprehend in their minds what the speed of light is, how celestial bodies move in the Universe, these are not the formats of human consciousness...

We talked about the sizes of celestial bodies within the Solar system, about the sizes major planets, they said that the Earth is the 6th largest object in the solar system and that the Earth is a hundred times smaller than the Sun (in diameter), and 333 thousand times smaller in mass, however, there are celestial bodies in the Universe MUCH larger than the Sun. And if the comparison of the Sun and the Earth did not fit into the consciousness of mere mortals, then the fact that there are stars in comparison with which the Sun is a ball - is even more impossible to fit into us.

However, according to scientific research, this is true. And this is a fact, based on the data obtained by astronomers. There are other star systems where planetary life exists similar to ours, the Solar one. By “life of planets” we do not mean earthly life with people or other creatures, but the existence of planets in this system. So, on the question of life in Space - every year, every day, scientists come to the conclusion that life on other planets is more and more possible, but this remains only speculation. In the solar system, the only planet close in terms of conditions to those on Earth is Mars, but the planets of others star systems have not been fully explored.

For example:

“It is believed that Earth-like planets are the most favorable for the emergence of life, so the search for them attracts close public attention. So in December 2005, scientists from the Space Science Institute (Pasadena, California) reported the discovery of a Sun-like star around which rocky planets are believed to be forming.

Subsequently, planets were discovered that were only several times more massive than the Earth and would probably have a solid surface.

An example of terrestrial exoplanets are super-Earths. As of June 2012, more than 50 super-Earths have been found."

These super-Earths are potential carriers of life in the Universe. Although this is a question, since the main criterion for the class of such planets is a mass more than 1 times the mass of the Earth, however, all discovered planets revolve around stars with less thermal radiation compared to the Sun, usually white, red and orange dwarfs.

The first super-Earth discovered in the habitable zone in 2007 was the planet Gliese 581 c near the star Gliese 581, the planet had a mass of about 5 Earth masses, “removed from its star by 0.073 AU.” e. and is located in the “life zone” of the star Gliese 581.” Later, a number of planets were discovered near this star and today they are called a planetary system; the star itself has a low luminosity, several tens of times less than the Sun. It was one of the most sensational discoveries in astronomy.

However, let's return to the topic of big stars.

Below are photos of the largest solar system objects and stars in comparison with the Sun, and then with the last star in the previous photo.

Mercury< Марс < Венера < Земля;

Earth< Нептун < Уран < Сатурн < Юпитер;

Jupiter< < Солнце < Сириус;

Sirius< Поллукс < Арктур < Альдебаран;

Aldebaran< Ригель < Антарес < Бетельгейзе;

Betelgeuse< Мю Цефея < < VY Большого Пса

And this list also includes the smallest stars and planets (the only truly large star on this list is probably the star VY Canis Majoris). The largest ones cannot even be compared with the Sun, since the Sun simply will not be visible.

The equatorial radius of the Sun was used as a unit of measurement for the radius of the star - 695,700 km.

For example, the star VV Cephei is 10 times larger than the Sun, and between the Sun and Jupiter the largest star is Wolf 359 (a single star in the constellation Leo, a faint red dwarf).

VV Cephei (not to be confused with the star of the same name with the “prefix” A) - “an eclipsing binary star of the Algol type in the constellation Cepheus, which is located at a distance of about 5000 light years from Earth. Component A is the seventh largest star known to science in radius as of 2015 and the second largest star in the Milky Way Galaxy (after VY Canis Majoris)."

“Capella (α Aur / α Auriga / Alpha Aurigae) is the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, the sixth brightest star in the sky and the third brightest in the sky of the Northern Hemisphere.”

The capella is 12.2 times the radius of the Sun.

The polar star is 30 times larger in radius than the Sun. A star in the constellation Ursa Minor, located near North Pole world, supergiant of spectral class F7I.

Star Y Canes Venatici is larger than the Sun by (!!!) 300 times! (that is, about 3000 times larger than the Earth), a red giant in the constellation Canes Venatici, one of the coolest and reddest stars. And this is far from the largest star.

For example, the star VV Cephei A is 1050-1900 times larger in radius than the Sun! And the star is very interesting for its inconstancy and “leakage”: “luminosity is 275,000-575,000 times greater. The star fills the Roche lobe, and its material flows to the neighboring companion. The speed of gas outflow reaches 200 km/s. It has been established that VV Cephei A is a physical variable pulsating with a period of 150 days.”

Of course, most of us will not understand the information from scientific terms, to put it succinctly - a red-hot star losing matter. Its size, strength, and brightness of luminosity are simply impossible to imagine.

So, the 5 largest stars in the Universe (recognized as those currently known and discovered), in comparison with which our Sun is a pea and a speck of dust:

— VX Sagittarius is 1520 times the diameter of the Sun. A supergiant, hypergiant, variable star in the constellation Sagittarius loses its mass due to stellar wind.

- Westerland 1-26 - approximately 1530-2544 times the radius of the Sun. The red supergiant, or hypergiant, "is located in the Westerland 1 star cluster in the constellation Altar."

— Star WOH G64 from the constellation Doradus, a red supergiant of spectral class M7.5, is located in the neighboring Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. The distance to the solar system is approximately 163 thousand light years. years. 1540 times greater than the radius of the Sun.

— NML Cygnus (V1489 Cygnus) is 1183 - 2775 times larger in radius than the Sun, - “the star, a red hypergiant, is located in the constellation Cygnus.”

— UY Scutum is 1516 - 1900 times larger than the radius of the Sun. Currently the most big star V Milky Way and in the Universe.

“UY Scuti is a star (hypergiant) in the constellation Scutum. Located at a distance of 9500 sv. years (2900 pc) from the Sun.

It is one of the largest and brightest stars known. According to scientists, the radius of UY Scuti is equal to 1708 solar radii, the diameter is 2.4 billion km (15.9 AU). At the peak of the pulsations, the radius can reach 2000 solar radii. The volume of the star is approximately 5 billion times the volume of the Sun.”

From this list we see that there are about a hundred (90) stars much larger than the Sun (!!!). And there are stars on a scale on which the Sun is a speck, and the Earth is not even dust, but an atom.

The fact is that places in this list distributed according to the principle of accuracy of determination of parameters, mass, there are approximately larger stars than UY Scuti, but their sizes and other parameters have not been established for certain, however, the parameters of this star may one day come into question. It is clear that stars 1000-2000 times larger than the Sun exist.

And, perhaps, there are or are forming planetary systems around some of them, and who will guarantee that there cannot be life there... or not now? Wasn't there or never will be? Nobody... We know too little about the Universe and Space.

Yes, and even of the stars presented in the pictures - the very last star - VY Canis Majoris has a radius equal to 1420 solar radii, but the star UY Scuti at the peak of pulsation is about 2000 solar radii, and there are stars supposedly larger than 2.5 thousand solar radii. Such a scale is impossible to imagine; these are truly extraterrestrial formats.

Of course, the question is interesting - look at the very first picture in the article and at latest photos, where there are many, many stars - how do so many celestial bodies coexist in the Universe quite calmly? There are no explosions, no collisions of these very supergiants, because the sky, from what is visible to us, is teeming with stars... In fact, this is just the conclusion of mere mortals who do not understand the scale of the Universe - we see a distorted picture, but in fact there is enough room for everyone there , and perhaps there are explosions and collisions, but this simply does not lead to the death of the Universe and even part of the galaxies, because the distance from star to star is enormous.

Its planets and stars, especially compared to our Earth.

British astronomer John Brady(John Brady) tried to clearly show the scale of objects in our galaxy, superimposing the continents of the Earth and our world on the celestial bodies.

Many objects are so large that it is quite difficult to show their actual size.

Sizes of planet Earth in comparison

Neutron star

Neutron star compared to northeast England

A neutron star is a rather strange and unusual object. Although it is only 20 kilometers in diameter, it has 1.5 times the mass of the Sun as it is incredibly dense.

So dense that a teaspoon would weigh a billion tons. And if you stood on its surface, you would feel gravity, which is 200 billion times greater than on our planet.

In addition, a neutron star has the ability to rotate, and the speed is the fastest neutron star amounts to 716 times per second.

Mount Olympus on Mars

The Martian volcano Olympus Mounts in Arizona

Although Mars is a relatively small planet, it is home to most big volcano in the solar system- Mount Olympus. It is 3 times higher than Mount Everest, reaching 624 km in width and 26 km high.

At the top of this incredible structure is a caldera with a diameter of 80 km.

Jupiter's moon Io

Comparison of Jupiter's moon Io with North America

Io's satellite is the most volcanic body in the Solar System. Its diameter is 3636 km, and its size is close to the size of the Earth's satellite - the Moon. Io is simply tiny compared to Jupiter, being 350,000 km away (or 2.5 Jupiters).

Due to Jupiter's gravitational pull, Io's core is molten and volcanoes on the surface spew lava, coating Io in yellow sulfur. Lava flows so high that if they took place on Earth, they would be higher than the International Space Station.

Sizes of stars and planets in the solar system

Planet Mars

North America compared to Mars

The planet Mars is not as big as it might seem. If you decided to fly from one side of Mars to the other, it would take 8 hours. The diameter of Mars is 6,792 km at the equator, and from pole to pole it is 40 km smaller.

Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system after Mercury. In fact The land mass of Mars is almost the same as that of Earth, and although it is much smaller than Earth, it does not have oceans.

Saturn

In the image you can see how much larger Saturn is than Earth.

The width of Saturn's rings would fit 6 planets Earth.

The diameter of the main disk of Saturn could fit almost 10 planets Earth, and if the space inside Saturn could be filled, it would fit 764 Earths.

Rings of Saturn

This is what our planet would look like if Earth were placed instead of Saturn's disk

Saturn's icy rings are made up of billions of particles, ranging from tiny grains to mountain-sized blocks.

The rings reach 1 km thick, and the distance from the inner ring to the outer ring is 282,000 km, and this is three-quarters of the distance from the Earth to the Moon.

Jupiter

Dimensions North America against the backdrop of Jupiter

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, and its mass is greater than all the planets and moons combined.

Jupiter's diameter is 142,984 km at the equator. This is 11 times the diameter of our planet. Lightning on Jupiter is 1000 times stronger than on Earth, and wind speeds are upper layers atmosphere can reach 100 meters per second.

In addition, it is the fastest rotating planet that makes revolution around its axis in 10 hours(The earth rotates around g of its axis in 24 hours).

Sun

Earth compared to the Sun

The sun makes up 99.86 percent of the mass of the entire solar system, which means that our Earth, other planets and satellites are just fine rubble left over from the formation of the Sun 4.5 billion years ago.

Normal sunspot easily eclipses the Earth in size. The diameter of the Sun can fit 109 planets Earth, and to fill the volume of the Sun would require 1,300,000 Lands.

Upon closer examination, the Sun appears granular, and in total there are up to 4 million such granules across the diameter of the solar disk, each of them up to 1000 km in size.

In 1 second, the Sun releases more energy than has been produced in the entire history of mankind. It loses 4 billion material every second, but it can live another 5 billion years.

But it is worth remembering that the Sun is everything one of the hundreds of billions of stars in our Milky Way galaxy.

On conditional map In the solar system, the difference in the dimensions of celestial bodies does not seem so significant to us, but if we look in more detail, comparing the sizes of the planets will become a real discovery for us.

The diameter of the Earth is only 12,000 kilometers. For us living here, the distance seems enormous, but the circumference of the Sun is almost 117 times greater! This is despite the fact that by the standards of the Universe it is considered a rather small celestial body.

Comparing the sizes of planets with the Sun

Let us consider in more detail the physical and mathematical parameters of each object in order to clearly see their colossal difference (unit of measurement is km).

Comparison of the sizes of the planets of the solar system. Click to enlarge.

1. Mercury. "Dwarf" among all planets. With a radius of about 2.5 thousand and a mass of 3.3x10 23 kg. This is only 0.055 of the Earth. Among other things, their density is almost the same, equal to 5.4 g / cubic meter. cm. Surface area - about 15%.
2. Venus. Girth 6.05 thousand and weight 4.87x10 24 kg it is 20% less. Surface – 4.6x10 8 squares, (10% difference).
3. Earth. Radius - 6.4 thousand, weight 5.98x10 24 kg, area 510 million square meters.
4. Mars. Diameter - 6.8 thousand, that is, almost half of ours. Weight 6.42x10 23 kg forms a tenth of its mass. Surface – 144.37 million squares. The parameters of Mars are superior only to Mercury.
5. Jupiter. Gas giant of the solar system. Its radius is eleven times greater than that of the object, its surface dimensions are 120! Its weight is almost 3.2 green planets.
6. Saturn. It ranks second in size after Jupiter. The girth is four times larger than ours. Regarding the dimensions, the following comparison can be made: the expanses of Saturn will accommodate approximately 10 Earths.
7. Uranus. The radius is almost the same as its neighbor Saturn. Weight 8.68x10 25 kg it is about 14.5 times ahead of the human habitation.
8. Neptune. The area/mass ratio is approximately 15/17, respectively. The diameter of Neptune is 4 Earth equators.

Obviously: the sizes of the planets compared to the Sun are extremely small, but is it true that the famous star is the most gigantic object in the Universe? Let's figure it out further.

Comparison of the sizes of stars and planets

Everyone knows that the Sun is a huge star, the dimensions of which repeatedly exceed those of other celestial bodies. However, there are countless celestial bodies in the Universe, relative to which a star appears as a small point.

Comparison of the sizes of the moons of the solar system. Click to enlarge.

Red dwarfs, such as Centauri and Proxima, are considered the most compact. Differences with the Sun – 78% decreasing. That is, they are slightly larger than Jupiter.

Rigel has a heavier/larger ratio – 17/62, respectively. Do you think this is an impressive figure? Introducing Betelgeuse - it's like 20 Suns. And some objects from the constellation Big Dog almost 2000 times larger. If they occupied the positions of our luminaries, they could easily reach Saturn.