Scale the Solar System

Explore the Solar System by doing, not just reading. Resize worlds, make predictions, test the Earth–Moon gap, calculate your weight on other planets and travel beyond Neptune towards the Oort Cloud.

How Big Are the Planets and the Sun?

Resize the planets and the sun until their relative sizes look right. Try the size quiz and see how close you can get!

Image of the quiz game, two buttons controlling the size of Jupiter compared to Earth.

Six Short Journeys Through the Solar System

Explore size, distance, gravity and the vast dark beyond Neptune. Each journey invites you to compare, predict, calculate or explore a true-scale model.

Start with journey 1 to follow all six in order, or jump straight into whichever one catches your interest.

  1. Compare the size of Earth and the Sun

    The sun background with the text "It is basically all the sun. Everything else is crumbs."

  2. Could all the planets fit between Earth and the Moon?

    image of earth and moon with the text: What fits between Earth and the Moon? The gap is much bigger than it feels

  3. See the Solar System at The Football Scale

    A football on a field with the text: The Football Scale, if earth were a size 5 ball then Neptune would be an hours drive away.

  4. Calculate your weight on other planets

    A panda in a spacesuit floating in space, Jupiter in the background, with the text: Gravity,How much would you weigh on Jupiter?

  5. Discover what lies beyond Neptune

    Image of the outer solar system with the text: Neptune feels like the edge, it is not.

  6. Travel to the edge of the Solar System: The Oort Cloud

    Text: into the immensity, the suns gravity extends far beyond the planets, the Oort Cloud

Made for anyone who’s curious

Scale the Solar System is a free educational resource for anyone curious about our world and its place in the Solar System - including families exploring together and teachers using it in the classroom. If you find it useful, you're welcome to share it.