🔬 Science & Nature #117
Elements 51–60 on the periodic table — answers & sources
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Top 10 largest objects in the Solar System
Daily Tens #3 · Thursday, July 16, 2026 · Ranked by mean equatorial diameter
Heads up: the answers are published further down this page.
About this ranking
This puzzle includes the Sun, planets and moons. The table adds approximate diameters to the original answer order, making the size gaps easier to compare.
The answers
| Rank | Answer | Diameter (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Sun | 1,391,400 |
| 2 | Jupiter | 142,984 |
| 3 | Saturn | 120,536 |
| 4 | Uranus | 51,118 |
| 5 | Neptune | 49,528 |
| 6 | Earth | 12,756 |
| 7 | Venus | 12,104 |
| 8 | Mars | 6,792 |
| 9 | Ganymede | 5,262.4 |
| 10 | Titan | 5,150 |
Planet values are equatorial diameters from NASA. The Sun uses twice its volumetric mean radius; moon values use twice NASA’s listed radius. Rings and extended atmospheres are excluded. These supporting measurements were checked on September 13, 2026; the original puzzle order is unchanged.
Why are Ganymede and Titan ahead of Mercury?
Mercury measures 4,879 km across in NASA’s comparison table. Ganymede and Titan are both wider, so the two moons take the last places in this diameter ranking. Being a planet does not automatically make an object larger than every moon.
Would ranking by mass change the order?
Yes. Uranus has a larger diameter than Neptune, but NASA lists Neptune as the more massive planet. Diameter measures the distance across a body; mass measures how much matter it contains. Use the stated metric when deciding which answer belongs at each rank.
Does Saturn’s ring system count?
This puzzle compares the bodies themselves. Saturn’s entry uses the planet’s equatorial diameter, with its surrounding rings excluded. Counting a ring system as part of the diameter would change what is being measured.
How should the numerical gaps be read?
The Sun is far wider than even Jupiter, while the differences among the inner rocky planets are much smaller. Adjacent ranks therefore do not represent equal steps in size. A chart must also state whether it uses a linear or logarithmic scale: a linear scale preserves the ratios of the measurements, but makes small bodies look very short beside the Sun. A logarithmic scale can make all entries easier to distinguish, yet its bar lengths no longer communicate those ratios directly. The table keeps the actual kilometre values available so a visual comparison does not replace the measurements.
What does this list leave out?
The answer set compares the diameters of the bodies, not the extent of their orbital systems. Jupiter’s moons and Saturn’s rings are not added to their host planet’s size. A natural satellite can belong in the list without becoming a planet, and a planet can fall outside the first ten. Equatorial and mean-diameter conventions also need to be distinguished when checking a close comparison. The supplemental table states which NASA measurement each value uses instead of implying that every body was measured with an identical geometric convention.
Sources & further reading
- NASA: Planetary Fact Sheet
- NASA: Sun Fact Sheet
- NASA: Jovian Satellite Fact Sheet
- NASA: Saturnian Satellite Fact Sheet
Explanation updated . The puzzle’s original data date is listed below.
Sources & methodology
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