The Mass of Planets – How Much Do the Planets in Our Solar System Weigh?
As you most likely know, our solar system contains several different planets. Have you ever wondered how much each of the planets in our solar system weighs?
Before discussing this topic, it is important to first explain what “weight” actually is. Weight is defined as the measurement of the pull of gravity on an object. As you likely know, we stay on Earth because of its’ gravitational pull on us. The amount of “pull” received is measured as weight – you may be familiar with units such as ounces and pounds, which measure this. In short, weight is what is measured when you step on a scale.
The concept of “weight” does not really apply to measuring a planet – since weight is largely determined by the gravitational force from a planet, this form of measurement cannot be used to measure the planet itself. Instead, planets are measured using a measurement called mass. Mass is the measurement of the amount of matter an object contains. The concept of weight compared to mass can be difficult to grasp and is a topic that we will discuss in further detail in a future post. For now, just make note that planets are most often measured in terms of mass rather than weight.
Here is a list of the mass of the planets in our solar system:
- Mercury: 0.33 x 10^24 kg
- Venus: 4.867 x 10^24 kg
- Earth: 5.972 x 10^24 kg
- Mars: 0.65 x 10^24 kg
- Jupiter: 1900 x 10^24 kg
- Saturn: 570 x 10^24 kg
- Uranus 87 x 10^24 kg
- Neptune: 100 x 10^24 kg
- Pluto: 1.3 × 10^22 kg
How do those masses compare to the sun?
[Reply]
Brian - Staff Writer replied:
May 11th, 2012 at 12:34 am
Hello Doug-
Good question!
The mass of the sun is:
1.98892 × 10^30 kg
As you can see, the sun is far larger than any of the planets.
We may expand on the comparison of planetary mass compared to the sun in a future post.
Thanks for the great question!
[Reply]
george hamilton replied:
April 23rd, 2015 at 1:36 pm
you guys think everything is about planets but i have to admit i love planets and science
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? replied:
February 27th, 2015 at 12:01 pm
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Thanks for that great question!!!!! It truly helped
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Are you kiding? Have you wached Bill Nye (The scines guy:gravity.)before?
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Beside earth where else have humans discovered?
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? replied:
February 27th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
I don’t know ask bill nye the science guy
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Correction
Do you believe the universe is endless, why?
Since galaxies in the universe are moving away and gravity has a pulling effect on objects, do you think galaxies could be revolving around a common mass or force?
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the information really helpad
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it is very helpful
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