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Montage of the planets Credit: NASA
You can do a planet size comparison based on several criteria: mass, density, volume, or surface area. What you will find in this article is all four of those specs on each planet, then a comparison at the end.
Mercury
Mercury has a mass of 3.3×1023kg, a density of 5.427 g/cm3, volume of 6.1×1010km3, and a surface area of 7.48×107km2.
Venus
Venus has a mass of 4.87×1024 kg, a density of 5.21 g/cm3, a volume of 9.38×1011km3, and a surface area of 4.6×108 km2.
Earth
Our planet has a mass of 5.97×1024kg, a density of 5.52 g/cm3, a volume of 1.08×1012km3, and a surface area if 5.1×108km2.
Mars
Mars has a mass of 6.42×1023kg, a density of 3.93 g/cm3, a volume of 1.63×1011km3, and a surface area of 1.4×108km2.
Jupiter
Jupiter has a mass of 1.9×1027kg, a density of 1.32 g/cm3, a volume of 1.43×1015km3, and a surface area of 6.22×1010km2.
Saturn
Saturn has a mass of 5.69×1026 kg, a density of 0.687 g/cm3, a volume of 8.27×1014 km3, and a surface area of 4.27×1010 km2.
Uranus
Uranus has a mass of 8.68×1025kg, a density of 1.27 g/cm3, a volume of 6.83×1013km3, and a surface area of 8.12×109km2.
Neptune
Neptune has a mass of 1.02×1026kg, a density of 1.638 g/cm3, a volume of 6.25×1013km3, and a surface area of 7.64×109km2.
So, for the planet size comparison: the largest planet by mass is Jupiter, the largest by density is Earth, the planet with the highest volume is Jupiter, and the planet with the largest surface area is Venus.
We have written many articles about the planets for Universe Today. Here’s an article about the largest planet, and here’s an article about why Pluto is no longer a planet.
If you’d like more info on the planets, check out NASA’s Solar System exploration page, and here’s a link to NASA’s Solar System Simulator.
We’ve also recorded a series of episodes of Astronomy Cast about every planet in the Solar System. Start here, Episode 49: Mercury.
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