The
Football
Scale
If the Earth were a football - a standard size 5 ball measuring 22 cm across - how big would everything else be, and how far away?
Scaled sizes
The Sun
A tennis court length
24 mSun at this scale
23.77 mTennis court
Almost exact match
The Moon
An American pool ball
6 cmMoon at this scale
5.715 cmPool ball
Very close match
Jupiter
Almost the height of a football goal2.41 mJupiter at this scale
2.44 mFootball goal
Almost exact match
Venus
A size 4 football
20.9 cmVenus at this scale
21 cmSize 4 football
Almost exact match
Neptune
The height of a washing machine
85 cmNeptune at this scale
85 cmWashing machine
Exact match
| Outer planets | Inner planets and Moon |
|---|---|
| Jupiter2.41 m | Earth22 cm |
| Saturn2.01 m | Venus20.9 cm |
| Uranus87.6 cm | Mars11.7 cm |
| Neptune85 cm | Mercury8.4 cm |
| Moon6 cm |
Scaled distances
The Moon to Earth
The average distance is 6.64 m centre to centre.The live distance is loading.
A full-size football goal is 7.32 m wide, so the Moon sits just inside the far post.
A double-decker bus is about 6.5-7 m long.
A full-size football goal is 7.32 m wide, so the Moon sits just inside the far post.
The inner planets — all within walking distance.
Measured from the Sun, with Earth as a football.
- Mercury1.0 kmA 12-minute walk0.4 AU
- Venus1.87 kmA 22-minute walk0.7 AU
- Earth2.58 kmA 30-minute walk1.0 AU
- Mars3.94 kmA 47-minute walk1.5 AU
Then there's a gap.
The inner planets are bunched together — all within a 47-minute walk. Then nothing, for kilometres. That gap is where the asteroid belt sits.
The outer planets — a much longer walk (or ride).
Jupiter
13.4 km / 8.3 milesA longer walk5.2 AUSaturn
24.6 km / 15.3 milesA long bike ride9.6 AUUranus
49.6 km / 30.8 milesFor serious cyclists.19.2 AUNeptune
77.7 km / 48.3 milesRoughly an hour's drive ( in clear traffic).30.0 AU
From Washington, D.C., on a map
Put the Sun in Washington, D.C., and the outer planets begin to land on real places.