How big is the Sun?
NASA prints a diameter of about 865,000 miles, which it also writes as 1.4 million kilometers. That is the figure this comparison uses.
How big the Sun is
NASA prints the Sun’s diameter as about 865,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers). ESA prints 1,392,684 km, and Wikipedia’s mean diameter is about 1,391,400 km. The same NASA page also gives a radius of about 435,000 miles. Our comparison uses 865,000 miles. The Sun is past the 100 km slider, so it appears only in Bigger or Smaller.
The measurement we use
| Object | Sun |
|---|---|
| Dimension | diameter |
| Caliber | NASA rounded figure |
| Value | about 1.4 million km (865,000 mi) |
| Value type | A · primary source — sourced fact |
| Checked |
Why our number may differ from somewhere else you read
Different published figures usually measure different things. The first row is the one our game scores.
| Published figure | What it actually counts | Where you will see it | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| about 1.4 million km (865,000 mi) | NASA rounded figure | science.nasa.gov | A |
| 1,392,684 km | printed diameter | ESA | A |
| about 1,391,400 km (864,600 mi) | mean diameter | Wikipedia | B |
| about 435,000 miles (700,000 kilometers) | radius, half a diameter | NASA Science | A |
People also ask
Why do other pages say 1,392,684 km or 1,391,400 km?
Those are tighter diameters. ESA prints 1,392,684 km. Wikipedia’s mean diameter is about 1,391,400 km. NASA’s 1.4 million kilometers is the same size rounded.
Can I drag the Sun on the size slider?
No. The slider stops at 100 km. The Sun is only dealt in Bigger or Smaller, where the question is which thing is larger.
Source for this number
science.nasa.gov A, checked . NASA prints a diameter of about 865,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers). The metre figure we score against converts that mileage, which rounds to about 1.39 million km. That metre value is derived. NASA prints about 1.4 million kilometers. This object is shown only in Bigger or Smaller. It sits past the 100 km slider, so it is not on the homepage or in Guess the Size.
Think this number is wrong?
We re-verify every reported value against its source before the next release, and log the change on the change log. Send the object name, the number you saw, and a link that states it. A primary source moves fastest.