This Is How the Sun Looks from Every Planet

 

Our Solar System is a breathtakingly lovely location to visit. Whether it's the pockmarked volcanic surface of Mercury, the dusty crimson plains of Mars, the gorgeous rings of Saturn, or even the blues and viridians of our own Earth, it's a diverse place full of stunning views and natural wonders.

 

To be sure, we'd be nothing without the Sun, as artist and illustrator Ron Miller's series of genuinely amazing renderings of our neighbourhood star – as viewed from each planet, including the unfortunate Pluto – serve to remind you. He's spent more than 40 years depicting the black reaches of space, both near and far, and has created the most lifelike renderings of the Sun as viewed from these far-flung worlds.

 

"I've gone to great lengths to ensure that not only the Sun, but also the surfaces of the planets and satellites are shown correctly," Miller explained.

 

Despite the fact that Pluto lies 7.5 billion kilometres (approximately 4.7 billion miles) from Earth at its farthest point, the Sun appears to be exceptionally brilliant. "While the Sun has shrunk in size, it is still a magnificent source of light," Miller continued. "The light levels on the surfaces around you [on Pluto] would be similar to dusk, but the sun would still be a very bright object — although a small one."

 

According to physical laws, the brightness of the Sun is related to the square of the relative distance from it. As a result, if you are now half as close to the Sun as you were previously, the perceived brightness will be a quarter of what it was previously. See how (1/2)2 Equals 1/4?

 

As you go away from the Sun, the brightness of the Sun falls drastically. The fact that it's still blazing by the time you get to Pluto is a testament to our nearest thermonuclear star furnace's immense power.

 

The Sun as viewed from Mercury, which is 60 million kilometres from the Sun and represents 39% of the Earth-Sun distance. The Sun is almost three times larger on Mercury than it is on Earth.

The Sun as viewed (nearly) from Venus, at a distance of around 108 million kilometres (72 percent of the distance from Earth to the Sun). The Sun is nothing more than a softly light patch in the constant overcast when seen from beneath Venus' deep, sulfuric acid-laden clouds.

The Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of 150 million kilometres (93 million miles). If you've ever seen a solar eclipse, you'll be familiar with this sight.

Mars orbits the Sun at a distance of 230 million kilometres, or 1.5 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. The strong winds that sweep dust up into the outer bounds of the Red Planet's atmosphere, not the distance, are what reduce the Sun's visibility.

From Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, this is how the Sun appears. At 779 million kilometres from the Sun, it is a long way away (5.2 times greater than the distance between the Sun and the Earth).

The Sun as viewed from Saturn, at a distance of 1.5 billion kilometres. It is roughly 9.5 times the distance between Earth and the Sun. Water and gas crystals, such as ammonia, refract sunlight here, resulting in spectacular optical illusions like haloes and sundogs.

The Sun, as viewed from one of Uranus' moons, Ariel. Uranus is approximately 2.9 billion kilometres from the Sun, or 19 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

The Sun as viewed from one of Neptune's moons, Triton. Neptune orbits the Sun at a distance of around 4.5 billion kilometres. That's nearly 30 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

The Sun appears to be little more than a small point of light from the planet farthest away from our solar system. Pluto is 6 billion kilometres from the Sun (40 times the distance between it and Earth), thus the light it receives is 1600 times weaker than what we receive here on Earth.