Jupiter at closer distances
Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System and the most dramatic object to move inward, because its diameter is many times the Moon's. The moment it reaches the Moon's distance it stops being an object in the sky and becomes the sky.
- 139,820 km
- 9.93 hours
- planet
How big does Jupiter actually look from Earth?
At 3.9 AU, Jupiter spans 0.01° across your sky — a small fraction of the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 32.7 minutes.
Jupiter is among the brightest points in the scene, and still only a point.
How big would Jupiter look if it replaced the Moon?
At 384,400 km, Jupiter spans 20.6° across your sky — about 40 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 1.3 seconds.
At the Moon's distance Jupiter fills a large part of the visible sky, and the belts are plainly banded.
How big would Jupiter look from a hundredth of an astronomical unit?
At 1,495,979 km, Jupiter spans 5.4° across your sky — about 10 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 5.0 seconds.
The banding and the storm systems separate clearly.
How big would Jupiter look from a tenth of an astronomical unit?
At 14,959,787 km, Jupiter spans 0.5° across your sky — about 1.0 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 49.9 seconds.
Closer than Venus ever comes to Earth.
How big would Jupiter look at one astronomical unit?
At 149,597,871 km, Jupiter spans 0.05° across your sky — about 0.10 times the width of the full Moon. Light crosses that gap in 8.3 minutes.
Jupiter at Earth's own distance from the Sun.
What Perigee calculates and what it renders
The apparent size on this page is calculated from the published diameter and the distance you choose, using the same geometry the live scene uses. The lighting and surface treatment are an authored visualization.
How Perigee calculates apparent size