How big does the Sun actually look from each planet?

This image puts it all in perspective – from the blinding, horizon-filling Sun seen on Mercury to a tiny, brilliant point from Neptune.

The closer a planet is to the Sun, the larger it appears in the sky. On Mercury, the Sun looks over three times wider than it does from Earth – enough to dominate the sky and cast intense shadows. By the time you reach Jupiter, it’s just a bright dot, and from Neptune, the Sun is barely more than a brilliant star.

What you’re seeing here is apparent angular size – how wide something looks in the sky, not how big it actually is. The Sun itself doesn’t shrink, but our view of it changes drastically depending on where we are in the solar system.

Same star. Very different view.