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Putting sizes in perspective

Saturn and Jupiter: the sizes of two giants

The diameters of the planets’ bodies are compared. Saturn’s rings are visible in the illustration but must not be mistaken for the body’s diameter.

Jupiter: a dimension about 1.201 times that of Saturn using the adopted values.

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Is Jupiter larger than Saturn?

Dimensions adopted for the calculation
ReferenceDimension
Saturn116,460 km
Mean diameter ≈ 116 500 km
Jupiter139,820 km
Mean diameter ≈ 139 800 km

Calculation: 139,820 km ÷ 116,460 km, after conversion into the same unit. The ratio calculated from the catalogue data is about 1.201.

Both illustrations use a common factor for the stated dimension. Positions aid reading and do not represent physical separation.

Check the conventions

Saturn

Mean diameter calculated from the volume-equivalent radius in the NASA/JPL table. Rings and the outer atmosphere are excluded.

Approximate catalogue reference; a source is provided, but the measurement has not been individually audited.

Jupiter

Mean diameter calculated from the volume-equivalent radius in the NASA/JPL table. Rings and the outer atmosphere are excluded.

Approximate catalogue reference; a source is provided, but the measurement has not been individually audited.

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Replace an object in the explorer, keep the common scale factor and try predicting the new ratio before reading it.

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