How far is each planet?

How far each planet is from the sun is a more complicated question than it seems. Each planet is in an elliptical orbit around the sun. This means that the orbits of the planets are oval and the planets will be at different distances closer or further from the sun. It can be difficult to fully grasp the extent of the solar system. To help with this, astronomers began using astronomical units. Because one astronomical unit is the average distance between the earth and the sun, astronomical units (AU) can provide an easier-to-understand scale.

inner solar system

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun at an average distance of 35 million miles. The elliptical orbit causes Mercury to get as close as 29 million miles and as close as 43 million miles to the Sun. To put this in perspective, Mercury is on average 0.387 AU from the Sun. That means Mercury is about a third of the way between the Sun and Earth.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the closest planet to Earth. Venus orbits the Sun at an average distance of 0.722 AU, which is an average of 67 million miles. Venus’ orbit causes it to drift between 66 and 68 million miles from the Sun.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun at an average distance of one AU. Scientists place astronomical units outside of Earth, so one AU equals 93 million miles. Earth also has an elliptical orbit and can be anywhere from 91 million miles to 94 million miles from the sun.

The last planet in the inner solar system is Mars. Mars orbits between 127 million miles and 155 million miles and has an average distance of 142 million miles from the sun. At 1.52 AU, Mars is 1.5 times farther from the Sun than Earth.

Outer Solar System

First in the outer solar system is Jupiter. There is a large jump in the distances between Mars and Jupiter, ranging from 460 million to 508 million miles from the Sun. On average, Jupiter is 484 million miles from the Sun, which is 5.2 AU. For perspective, this shows that Earth’s orbit could fit five times between the Sun and Jupiter.

Saturn is almost twice as far from the Sun as Jupiter. Saturn lies between 839 million miles and 938 million miles and averages 9.58 AU (889 million miles) from the Sun. Earth’s orbit could fit nearly ten times that of Saturn. As we move farther from the sun, the planets spread exponentially.

Uranus orbits the Sun at an average distance of 1.79 billion miles. This can also be written as 19.2 AU. Uranus has a big difference in its closest and furthest approach. Its closest approach is 1.86 billion miles and it only comes close to 1.71 billion miles.

Neptune is the outermost planet in the solar system. Neptune has a gigantic orbit ranging from 2.77 billion miles to 2.83 billion miles. This corresponds to an average of 2.8 billion miles from the Sun, or 30.1 AU.

Average distance from the sun in the solar system