The diameter of the Sun is about 116 times the diameter of a white dwarf. Selected basis: a representative value for White dwarf; approximate values.
The ring marks the true-scale position of a white dwarf; it does not show its width. Only the inset is enlarged (×36.4).
Both rulers start at the same zero and share one linear scale. Artwork keeps its original proportions.
1,391,000 km - Diameter; approximate.
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. Its light and heat power most life and weather on Earth.
Our star, modelled with the IAU nominal solar radius. “Surface” means the visible photosphere. The core is much hotter; this is not a solid surface.
IAU — nominal solar and planetary conversion constants12,000 km - Diameter; representative.
A white dwarf is the dense, hot remnant core left behind after a star like the Sun has exhausted its nuclear fuel and shed its outer layers.
A chosen 12,000 km, 0.6 solar-mass white dwarf. These remnants have roughly planetary dimensions but stellar masses.
NASA — White dwarfs
There’s always another scale
SpaceSun1,391,000 kmThe Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System.
SpaceWhite dwarf12,000 kmA white dwarf is the dense, hot remnant core left behind after a star like the Sun has exhausted its nuclear fuel and shed its outer layers.
SpaceEarth12,740 kmEarth is the rocky planet on which we live and the third planet from the Sun.
SpaceJupiter139,800 kmJupiter is a giant planet composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, orbiting the Sun beyond the asteroid belt.
SpaceNeutron star20 kmA neutron star is the dense remnant core left after a massive star explodes as a supernova, composed mostly of neutrons.
SpaceEarth–Sun distance1 AUThe Earth–Sun distance, or astronomical unit, is the standard measure of separation between Earth and the Sun used in astronomy.Side by side
Illustrative artwork · not to scale
Illustrative artwork · not to scale
Illustrative artwork · not to scale
Illustrative artwork · not to scaleGot a good eye for scale?