Mercury
Mercury is a rocky planet orbiting closest to the Sun in the Solar System.
4,879 kmMean diameterWorlds apart
Mercury vs Earth
What are they, and what does the difference actually look like?
Two things. One honest scale.
Meet the pair
What these two things are
Earth
Earth is the rocky planet on which we live and the third planet from the Sun.
12,740 kmMean diameterEarth has about 2.61 times the mean diameter of Mercury.
Both marked spans share one linear scale. Artwork keeps its proportions; poses and surface detail are illustrative.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +
Mercury
Mean-radius spherical model for Mercury; actual shape is not perfectly spherical.
NASA JPL — planetary physical parameters
The marked mean diameter is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Earth
Mean-radius spherical model for Earth; actual shape is not perfectly spherical.
NASA JPL — planetary physical parameters
The marked mean diameter is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Change the comparison
Put something else beside it.
Measurement details
Why these numbers?
The visual compares mean diameter with mean diameter. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.
Mercury
4,879 kmMean diameter · approximate
Mean-radius spherical model for Mercury; actual shape is not perfectly spherical.
Earth
12,740 kmMean diameter · approximate
Mean-radius spherical model for Earth; actual shape is not perfectly spherical.
- Comparing
- Mean diameter ↔ Mean diameter
- Relative size
- Earth is larger on this measurement by a factor of about 2.61. Earth's selected measurement is approximately 161% greater than Mercury's.
How to read the visual
The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.
- Mercury is labelled approximate; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
- Earth is labelled approximate; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
There’s always another scale
Follow your curiosity.
SpaceMercury4,879 kmMercury is a rocky planet orbiting closest to the Sun in the Solar System.SpaceEarth12,740 kmEarth is the rocky planet on which we live and the third planet from the Sun.
SpaceMoon3,475 kmThe Moon is Earth’s natural satellite and the brightest large object in Earth’s night sky.
SpaceJupiter139,800 kmJupiter is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, orbiting the Sun beyond the asteroid belt.
SpaceSun1,391,000 kmThe Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System.Side by side
Another point of view.
