Planetary Solar System
The Solar System is the collection of the Sun and all objects gravitationally bound to it, including planets, moons, and smaller bodies.
60.22 AUDiameterWorlds apart
Planetary Solar System vs Oort Cloud
What are they, and what does the difference actually look like?
Two things. One honest scale.
Meet the pair
What these two things are
Oort Cloud
The Oort Cloud is a distant, roughly spherical shell of icy objects believed to surround the Solar System and supply long-period comets.
3.163 lyDiameterOort Cloud has about 3,320 times the diameter of Planetary Solar System.
01
Planetary Solar System60.22 AUDiameter
02
Oort Cloud3.163 lyDiameter
Inset ×1,170Planetary Solar System is too small to see clearly at this scale. The ring marks its position; only the inset is enlarged.
Measurements, assumptions & sources +
Planetary Solar System
A schematic diameter spanning Neptune’s orbit. The Solar System also includes much more distant bodies. The illustration is a boundary diagram; dots identify objects or regions and do not depict their physical diameters.
Defined examples — our methodology
The marked diameter is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Oort Cloud
A conceptual 200,000 AU diameter corresponding to a 100,000 AU outer radius. This distant comet reservoir is inferred, with a very uncertain extent. The illustration is a boundary diagram; dots identify objects or regions and do not depict their physical diameters.
The marked diameter is calibrated. Unmeasured illustration details are representative.
Change the comparison
Put something else beside it.
Measurement details
Why these numbers?
The visual compares diameter with diameter. The records below preserve each value’s basis and caveats.
Planetary Solar System
60.22 AUDiameter · rounded reference
A schematic diameter spanning Neptune’s orbit. The Solar System also includes much more distant bodies. The illustration is a boundary diagram; dots identify objects or regions and do not depict their physical diameters.
Oort Cloud
3.163 lyDiameter · approximate
A conceptual 200,000 AU diameter corresponding to a 100,000 AU outer radius. This distant comet reservoir is inferred, with a very uncertain extent. The illustration is a boundary diagram; dots identify objects or regions and do not depict their physical diameters.
- Comparing
- Diameter ↔ Diameter
- Relative size
- Oort Cloud is larger on this measurement by a factor of about 3,320.
How to read the visual
The labelled spans and stored measurements determine the scale; unmeasured illustration details do not.
- Planetary Solar System is labelled rounded reference; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
- Oort Cloud is labelled approximate; treat the displayed value as a comparison anchor rather than false precision.
There’s always another scale
Follow your curiosity.
SpacePlanetary Solar System60.22 AUThe Solar System is the collection of the Sun and all objects gravitationally bound to it, including planets, moons, and smaller bodies.SpaceOort Cloud3.163 lyThe Oort Cloud is a distant, roughly spherical shell of icy objects believed to surround the Solar System and supply long-period comets.
SpaceEarth–Sun distance1 AUThe Earth–Sun distance, or astronomical unit, is the standard measure of separation between Earth and the Sun used in astronomy.
SpaceMilky Way30.66 kpcThe Milky Way is a spiral galaxy containing hundreds of billions of stars, including our Solar System.
SpaceObservable universe28.21 GpcThe observable universe is the region from which light or other signals have had time to reach us since the early universe.Side by side
Another point of view.
