Orders of magnitude (length)

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Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use dmy dates

Objects of sizes in different order of magnitude (at inconsistent intervals)
Graphical overview of sizes

The following are examples of orders of magnitude for different lengths.

Overview

Scale Range (m) Unit Example items
<
Subatomic 0 Gravitational singularity
10−36 10−33 Template:Math Fixed value (not a range). Quantum foam, string
10−18 10−15 am Proton, neutron, pion
Atomic to cellular 10−15 10−12 fm Atomic nucleus
10−12 10−9 pm Wavelength of gamma rays and X-rays, hydrogen atom
10−9 10−6 nm DNA helix, virus, wavelength of optical spectrum, transistors used in CPUs
Cellular to human 10−6 10−3 μm Bacterium, fog water droplet, human hair's diameter<ref name="Note Physics Factbook" group=note>The diametre of human hair ranges from 17 to 181 μm Template:Cite web</ref>
10−3 1 mm Mosquito, golf ball, domestic cat, violin, football
Human to astronomical 1 103 m Piano, human, automobile, sperm whale, football field, Eiffel Tower
103 106 km Mount Everest, length of Panama Canal and Trans-Siberian Railway, larger asteroid
Astronomical 106 109 Mm The Moon, Earth, one light-second
109 1012 Gm Sun, one light-minute, Earth's orbit
1012 1015 Tm Orbits of outer planets, Solar System
1015 1018 Pm A light-year, the distance to Proxima Centauri
1018 1021 Em Galactic arm
1021 1024 Zm Milky Way, distance to Andromeda Galaxy
1024 1027 Ym Huge-LQG, Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall, Observable universe

Template:Clear

Detailed list

To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various lengths between <math>1.6 \times 10^{-35}</math> metres and <math>10^{10^{10^{122}}}</math>metres.

Subatomic scale

Factor (m) Multiple Value Item
0 0 0 Singularity
10−35 1 Planck length 0.0000162 qm  Planck length; typical scale of hypothetical loop quantum gravity or size of a hypothetical string and of branes; according to string theory, lengths smaller than this do not make any physical sense.<ref name="Burgess_and_Quevedo">Template:Cite journal</ref> Quantum foam is thought to exist at this scale.Template:Citation needed
10−24 1 yoctometre (ym) 142 ym Effective cross section radius of 1 MeV neutrinos<ref>Template:Cite web (6.3 × 10−44 cm2, which gives an effective radius of about 1.42 × 10−22 m)</ref>
10−21 1 zeptometre (zm) Preons, hypothetical particles proposed as subcomponents of quarks and leptons; the upper bound for the width of a cosmic string in string theory
7 zm Effective cross section radius of high-energy neutrinos<ref name="NaveN3">Template:Cite web (area for 20 GeV about 10 × 10−42 m2 gives effective radius of about 2 × 10−21 m; for 250 GeV about 150 × 10−42 m2 gives effective radius of about 7 × 10−21 m)</ref>
310 zm De Broglie wavelength of protons at the Large Hadron Collider (4 TeV Template:As of)
10−18 1 attometre (am) Upper limit for the size of quarks and electronsTemplate:Citation needed
Sensitivity of the LIGO detector for gravitational waves<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Upper bound of the typical size range for "fundamental strings"<ref name="Burgess_and_Quevedo"/>
10−17 10 am Range of the weak force
10−16 100 am 850 am Approximate charge radius of the proton<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Atomic to cellular scale

Factor (m) Multiple Value Item
10−15Template:Anchor 1 femtometre (fm, fermi) 1 fm Approximate limit of the gluon-mediated color force between quarks<ref name=profmattstrassler/><ref name=Kolena_at_Duke/>
1.5 fm Effective cross section radius of an 11 MeV proton<ref name="Nav">Template:Cite web

(diametre of the scattering cross section of an 11 MeV proton with a target proton)</ref>

2.81794 fm Classical electron radius<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
3 fm Approximate limit of the meson-mediated nuclear binding force<ref name=profmattstrassler>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Kolena_at_Duke>Template:Cite web</ref>
750 to 822.25 fm Longest wavelength of gamma rays
10−12Template:Anchor 1 picometre (pm) 1.75 to 15 fm diameter range of the atomic nucleus<ref name="Burgess_and_Quevedo" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1 pm Distance between atomic nuclei in a white dwarf
2.4 pm Compton wavelength of electron
5 pm Wavelength of shortest X-rays
10−11 10 pm 28 pm Radius of helium atom
53 pm Bohr radius (radius of a hydrogen atom)
10−10 100 pm 100 pm 1 ångström (also covalent radius of sulfur atom<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)
154 pm Length of a typical covalent bond (C–C)
280 pm Average size of the water molecule (actual lengths may vary)
500 pm Width of protein α helix
10−9Template:Anchor 1 nanometre (nm) 1 nm diameter of a carbon nanotube<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> diameter of smallest transistor gate (as of 2016)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2 nm diameter of the DNA helix<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2.5 nm Smallest microprocessor transistor gate oxide thickness (Template:As of)Template:Citation needed
3.4 nm Length of a DNA turn (10 bp)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
6–10 nm Thickness of cell membrane
10−8 10 nm 10 nm Upper range of thickness of cell wall in Gram-negative bacteria<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
10 nm Template:As of, the 10 nanometre was the smallest semiconductor device fabrication node<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
40 nm Extreme ultraviolet wavelength
50 nm Flying height of the head of a hard disk<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
10−7 100 nm 121.6 nm Wavelength of the Lyman-alpha line<ref name="ber">Cohn, J. University of California, Berkeley Lyman alpha systems and cosmology Template:Webarchive. Retrieved 21 February 2009.</ref>
120 nm Typical diameter of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
400–700 nm Approximate wavelength range of visible light<ref name="hyp">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cellular to human scale

Factor (m) Multiple Value Item
10−6Template:Anchor 1 micrometre (μm)

(also called 1 micron)

1–4 μm Typical length of a bacterium<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
4 μm Typical diameter of spider silk<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
7 μm Typical size of a red blood cell<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
10−5 10 μm 10 μm Typical size of a fog, mist, or cloud water droplet
10 μm Width of transistors in the Intel 4004, the world's first commercial microprocessor
12 μm Width of acrylic fiber
17–181 μm Width range of human hair<ref name="Physics Factbook">According to The Physics Factbook, the diametre of human hair ranges from 17 to 181 μmTemplate:Cite web</ref>
10−4 100 μm 340 μm Size of a pixel on a 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1024×768
560 μm Thickness of the central area of a human cornea<ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite journal</ref> or, diameter of a grain of salt.
750 μm Maximum diameter of Thiomargarita namibiensis, the second largest bacterium ever discovered
10−3Template:Anchor 1 millimetre (mm) ~5 mm Length of an average flea is 1–10 mm (usually <5 mm)<ref name=BugGuide>Order Siphonaptera – Fleas – BugGuide.Net Accessed 29 April 2014</ref>
2.54 mm One-tenth inch; distance between pins in DIP (dual-inline-package) electronic components
5.70 mm Approximate diameter of the projectile in 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition
10−2 1 centimetre (cm) 20 mm Approximate width of an adult human finger
54 mm × 86 mm Dimensions of a credit card, according to the ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard
73–75 mm diameter of a baseball, according to Major League Baseball guidelines<ref name="Official Rules">Template:Cite web</ref>
10−1 1 decimetre (dm) 120 mm diameter of a compact disc
660 mm Length of the longest pine cones, produced by the sugar pine<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
900 mm Average length of a rapier, a fencing sword<ref name="2-Clicks Swords">Template:Cite web</ref>

Human to astronomical scale

Planets of the Solar System to scale
Factor (m) Multiple Value Item
1 (100)Template:Anchor 1 metre (m) 1 m (exactly) Since 2019, defined as the length of the path travelled by light in a vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second, where the second is defined by a hyperfine transition frequency of caesium.
2.72 m Height of Robert Wadlow, tallest-known human.<ref name="Guinness">Template:Cite web</ref>
8.38 m Length of a London bus (AEC Routemaster)
101 1 decametre (dam) 33 m Length of the longest-known blue whale<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
52 m Height of the Niagara Falls<ref name="Niagara Parks Commission">Template:Cite web</ref>
93.47 m Height of the Statue of Liberty
102 1 hectometre (hm) 105 m Length of a typical football field
137 m (147 m) Height (present and original) of the Great Pyramid of Giza
300 m Height of the Eiffel Tower, one of the famous monuments of Paris
979 m Height of the Salto Angel, the world's highest free-falling waterfall (Venezuela)
103 1 kilometre (km) 2.3 km Length of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world<ref name="Three Gorges Dam">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
3.1 km Narrowest width of the Strait of Messina, separating Italy and Sicily
8.848 km Height of Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth
104 10 km 10.9 km Depth of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest-known point on Earth's surface
27 km Circumference of the Large Hadron Collider, Template:As of (and still as of November 2025)the largest and highest energy particle accelerator
42.195 km Length of a marathon
105 100 km 100 km The distance the IAU considers to be the limit to space, called the Karman line
163 km Length of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
491 km Length of the Pyrenees, the mountain range separating Spain and France
600 km Thermosphere height
974.6 km Greatest diameter of the dwarf planet Ceres.<ref name="ReferenceB">Template:Cite journal</ref>
106Template:Anchor 1 megametre (Mm) 2.38 Mm diameter of dwarf planet Pluto, formerly the smallest planet category<ref name="Asteroid-planet?" group=note>The exact category (asteroid, dwarf planet, or planet) to which particular Solar System objects belong, has been subject to some revision since the discovery of extrasolar planets and trans-Neptunian objects</ref> in the Solar System
3.48 Mm diameter of the Moon
5.2 Mm Typical distance covered by the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile endurance race
6.259 Mm Length of the Great Wall of China
6.371 Mm Average radius of Earth
6.378 Mm Equatorial radius of Earth
6.6 Mm Approximate length of the two longest rivers, the Nile and the Amazon
7.821 Mm Length of the Trans-Canada Highway
9.288 Mm Length of the Trans-Siberian Railway, longest in the world

Astronomical scale

Factor (m) Multiple Value Item
107Template:Anchor 10 Mm 12.756 Mm Equatorial diameter of Earth
20.004 Mm Length of a meridian on Earth (distance between Earth's poles along the surface)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
40.075 Mm Length of Earth's equator
108Template:Anchor 100 Mm 142.984 Mm diameter of Jupiter
299.792 Mm Distance traveled by light in vacuum in one second (a light-second, exactly 299,792,458 m by definition of the speed of light)
384.4 Mm Moon's orbital distance from Earth
109Template:Anchor 1 gigametre (Gm) 1.39 Gm diameter of the Sun
5.15 Gm Greatest mileage ever recorded by a car (3.2 million miles by a 1966 Volvo P-1800S)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1010Template:Anchor 10 Gm 18 Gm Approximately one light-minute
1011Template:Anchor 100 Gm 150 Gm 1 astronomical unit (au); mean distance between Earth and Sun
1012Template:Anchor 1 terametre (Tm) 1.3 Tm Optical diameter of Betelgeuse
1.4 Tm Orbital distance of Saturn from Sun
2 Tm Estimated optical diameter of VY Canis Majoris, one of the largest-known stars
5.9 Tm Orbital distance of Pluto from the Sun
~ 7.5 Tm Outer boundary of the Kuiper belt
1013Template:Anchor 10 Tm diameter of the Solar System as a whole<ref name="Burgess_and_Quevedo"/>
16.09 Tm Total length of DNA molecules in all cells of an adult human body<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
21.49 Tm Distance of the Voyager 1 spacecraft from Sun (Template:As of), the farthest man-made object so far<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
62.03 Tm Estimated radius of the event horizon of the supermassive black hole in NGC 4889, the largest-known black hole to date
1014Template:Anchor 100 Tm 180 Tm Size of the debris disk around the star 51 Ophiuchi<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1015Template:Anchor 1 petametre (Pm) ~7.5 Pm Supposed outer boundary of the Oort cloud (~ 50,000 au)
9.461 Pm Distance traveled by light in vacuum in one year; at its current speed, Voyager 1 would need 17,500 years to travel this distance
1016Template:Anchor 10 Pm 30.857 Pm 1 parsec
39.9 Pm Distance to nearest star (Proxima Centauri)
41.3 Pm As of March 2013, distance to nearest discovered extrasolar planet (Alpha Centauri Bc)
1017Template:Anchor 100 Pm 193 Pm As of October 2010, distance to nearest discovered extrasolar planet with potential to support life as presently defined by science (Gliese 581 d)
615 Pm Approximate radius of humanity's radio bubble, caused by high-power TV broadcasts leaking through the atmosphere into outer space
1018Template:Anchor 1 exametre (Em) 1.9 Em Distance to nearby solar twin (HIP 56948), a star with properties virtually identical to the Sun<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
1019Template:Anchor 10 Em 9.46 Em Average thickness of Milky Way Galaxy<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (1,000 to 3,000 ly by 21 cm observations<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>)
1020Template:Anchor 100 Em 113.5 Em Thickness of Milky Way Galaxy's gaseous disk<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
1021Template:Anchor 1 zettametre (Zm)
1.54 Zm Distance to SN 1987A, the most recent naked eye supernova
1.62 Zm Distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way)
1.66 Zm Distance to the Small Magellanic Cloud (another dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way)
1.9 Zm diameter of galactic disk of Milky Way Galaxy<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name="rpi2015">Template:Cite press release</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
6.15 Zm diameter of the low surface brightness disc halo of the giant spiral galaxy Malin 1
1022Template:Anchor 10 Zm 13.25 Zm Radius of the diffuse stellar halo of IC 1101, one of the largest-known galaxies
24 Zm Distance to Andromeda Galaxy
30.857 Zm 1 megaparsec
50 Zm diameter of Local Group of galaxies
1023Template:Anchor 100 Zm 300–600 Zm Distance to Virgo Cluster of galaxies
1024Template:Anchor 1 yottametre (Ym) 2.19 Ym diameter of the Local Supercluster and the largest voids and filaments
2.8 Ym End of Greatness
~5 Ym diameter of the Horologium Supercluster<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
9.461 YmTemplate:Anchor diameter of the Pisces–Cetus Supercluster Complex, the supercluster complex which includes Earth
1025 10 Ym 13 Ym Length of the Sloan Great Wall, a giant wall of galaxies (galactic filament)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
30.857 Ym 1 gigaparsec
37.84 Ym Length of the Huge-LQG, a group of 73 quasars
1026Template:Anchor 100 Ym 95 Ym Estimated light travel distance to certain quasars. Length of the Hercules–Corona Borealis Great Wall, a colossal wall of galaxies, the largest and the most massive structure in the observable universe as of 2014
127 Ym Estimated light travel distance to GN-z11, the most distant object ever observed
870 Ym Approximate diameter (comoving distance) of the visible universe<ref name="Burgess_and_Quevedo"/>
1027Template:Anchor 1 Rm 1.2 Rm Lower bound of the (possibly infinite) radius of the universe, if it is a 3-sphere, according to one estimate using the WMAP data at 95% confidence<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It equivalently implies that there are at minimum 21 particle horizon-sized volumes in the universe.
<math>10^{10^{115}}</math><ref name="exponents" group=note>10115 is 1 followed by 115 zeroes, or a googol multiplied by a quadrillion. 1010115 is 1 followed by a quadrillion googol zeroes. 101010122 is 1 followed by 1010122 (a googolplex10 sextillion) zeroes.</ref> <math>10^{10^{115}}</math> m <math>10^{10^{115}}</math> m According to the laws of probability, the distance one must travel until one encounters a volume of space identical to our observable universe with conditions identical to our own.<ref name="TegmarkPUstaple">Template:Cite journal</ref>
<math>10^{10^{10^{122}}}</math> <math>10^{10^{10^{122}}}</math> m <math>10^{10^{10^{122}}}</math> m Maximum size of universe after cosmological inflation, implied by one resolution of the No-Boundary Proposal<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

1 quectometre and less

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap. To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths shorter than 10−30 m (1 qm).

  • 0 quectometres (0 meters) — gravitational singularity
  • 1.6 × 10−5 quectometres (1.6 × 10−35 metres) – the Planck length (Measures of distance shorter than this do not make physical sense, according to current theories of physics.)
  • 1 qm – 1 quectometre, the smallest named subdivision of the metre in the SI base unit of length, one nonillionth of a metre.<ref name="bipm.org"/>

1 rontometre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap.

10 rontometres

1 yoctometre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap.

1 zeptometre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap. To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−21 m and 10−20 m (1 zm and 10 zm).

10 zeptometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−20 m and 10−19 m (10 zm and 100 zm).

100 zeptometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−19 m and 10−18 m (100 zm and 1 am).

1 attometre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap. To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−18 m and 10−17 m (1 am and 10 am).

10 attometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−17 m and 10−16 m (10 am and 100 am).

100 attometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−16 m and 10−15 m (100 am and 1 fm).

1 femtometre (or 1 fermi)

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap. In particle physics, this unit is sometimes called a [[fermi (unit)|Template:Vanchor]], also with abbreviation "fm". To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−15 metres and 10−14 metres (1 femtometre and 10 fm).

10 femtometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−14 m and 10−13 m (10 fm and 100 fm).

100 femtometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−13 m and 10−12 m (100 fm and 1 pm).

  • 570 fm – typical distance from the atomic nucleus of the two innermost electrons (electrons in the 1s shell) in the uranium atom, the heaviest naturally occurring atom

1 picometre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: pm) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap (Template:Nowrap). To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−12 and 10−11 m (1 pm and 10 pm).

10 picometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−11 and 10−10 m (10 pm and 100 pm).

100 picometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−10 and 10−9 m (100 pm and 1 nm; 1 Å and 10 Å).

1 nanometre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap (Template:Nowrap). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−9 and 10−8 m (1 nm and 10 nm).

10 nanometres

Comparison of sizes of semiconductor manufacturing process nodes with some microscopic objects and visible light wavelengths. At this scale, the width of a human hair is about 10 times that of the image.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−8 and 10−7 m (10 nm and 100 nm).

100 nanometres

Comparison of sizes of semiconductor manufacturing process nodes with some microscopic objects and visible light wavelengths. At this scale, the width of a human hair is about 10 times that of the image.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−7 and 10−6 m (100 nm and 1 μm).

1 micrometre (or 1 micron)

The silk for a spider's web is Template:Cvt wide.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap (Template:Nowrap). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists some items with lengths between 10−6 and 10−5 m (between 1 and 10 micrometres, or μm).

10 micrometres

Fog particles are around Template:Cvt long.

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−5 m and 10−4 m (10 μm and 100 μm).

100 micrometres

A paramecium is around Template:Cvt long.

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−4 m and 10−3 m (100 μm and 1 mm). The term myriometre (abbr. mom, equivalent to 100 micrometres; frequently confused with the myriametre, 10 kilometres)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is deprecated; the decimal metric prefix myrio-<ref name="fr"/> is obsolete<ref name="Procès-Verbaux_1935"/><ref name="Roberts_1975"/><ref name="Judson_1976"/> and was not included among the prefixes when the International System of Units was introduced in 1960.

1 millimetre

An average red ant is about Template:Cvt long.

Template:Redirect

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap (Template:Nowrap). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−3 m and 10−2 m (1 mm and 1 cm).

1 centimetre

An average human fingernail is Template:Cvt wide

Template:Redirect

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap (Template:Nowrap). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−2 m and 10−1 m (1 cm and 1 dm).

  • 1 cm – 10 millimetres
  • 1 cm – 0.39 inches
  • 1 cm – edge of a square of area 1 cm2
  • 1 cm – edge of a cube of volume 1 mL
  • 1 cm – length of a coffee bean
  • 1 cm – approximate width of average fingernail
  • 1.2 cm – length of a bee
  • 1.2 cm – diameter of a die
  • 1.5 cm – length of a very large mosquito
  • 1.6 cm – length of a Jaragua Sphaero, a very small reptile
  • 1.7 cm – length of a Thorius arboreus, the smallest salamander<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • 1.77 cm – approximate diameter of a Black Hole the mass of earth.
  • 2 cm – approximate width of an adult human finger
  • 2.54 cm – 1 inch
  • 3.08568 cm – 1 attoparsec
  • 3.4 cm – length of a quail egg<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • 3.5 cm – width of film commonly used in motion pictures and still photography
  • 3.78 cm – amount of distance the Moon moves away from Earth each year<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
  • 4.3 cm – minimum diameter of a golf ball<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 5 cm – usual diameter of a chicken egg
  • 5 cm – height of a hummingbird, the smallest-known bird
  • 5.08 cm – 2 inches,
  • 5.5 × 5.5 × 5.5 cm – dimensions of a standard 3x3x3 Rubik's cube
  • 6.1 cm – average height of an apple
  • 7.3–7.5 cm – diameter of a baseball<ref name="Official Rules"/>
  • 8.6 cm × 5.4 cm – dimensions of a standard credit card (also called CR80)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 9 cm – length of a speckled padloper, the smallest-known turtle

1 decimetre

Template:Redirect

An adult human foot is about Template:Cvt long.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Nowrap (Template:Nowrap). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 centimetres and 100 centimetres (10−1 metre and 1 metre).

Conversions

10 centimetres (abbreviated to 10 cm) is equal to:

Wavelengths

Human-defined scales and structures

  • 10 cm = 1 dm — length of a kazoo instrument
  • 10.16 cm = 1.016 dm – 1 hand used in measuring height of horses (4 inches)
  • 12 cm = 1.2 dm – diameter of a compact disc (CD) (= 120 mm)
  • 9-12 cm = 0.9-1.2dm — height of a soda can
  • 15 cm = 1.5 dm – length of a Bic pen with cap on
  • 20 cm = 2 dm — height of a water bottle
  • 22 cm = 2.2 dm – diameter of a typical association football (soccer ball)
  • 30 cm = 3 dm – typical school-use ruler length (= 300 mm)
  • 30.48 cm = 3.048 dm – 1 foot (measure)
  • 60 cm = 6 dm – standard depth (front to back) of a domestic kitchen worktop in Europe (= 600 mm)
  • 60 cm = 6 dm — diameter of the LAGEOS satellite
  • 90 cm = 9 dm – average length of a rapier, a fencing sword<ref name="2-Clicks Swords"/>
  • 90 cm = 9 dm — length of a capybara, the largest rodent
  • 91 cm = 9.1 dm — length of a shopping cart
  • 91.44 cm = 9.144 dm – one yard (measure)

Nature

  • 10 cm = 1 dm – diameter of the human cervix upon entering the second stage of labour
  • 11 cm = 1.1 dm – length of an average potato in the U.S.
  • 13 cm = 1.3 dm – body length of a Goliath birdeater
  • 15 cm = 1.5 dm – approximate size of largest beetle species
  • 19 cm = 1.9 dm – length of a banana
  • 20 cm = 2 dm — diameter of the Syringammina, one of the largest single called organisms
  • 20 cm = 2 dm - average height of the Venus flytrap
  • 26.3 cm = 2.6 dm – length of average male human foot
  • 29.98 cm = 2.998 dm – distance light in vacuum travels in one nanosecond
  • 30 cm = 3.0 dm – maximum leg length of a Goliath birdeater
  • 31 cm = 3.1 dm – wingspan of largest butterfly species Ornithoptera alexandrae
  • 32 cm – length of the Goliath frog, the world's largest frog
  • 46 cm = 4.6 dm – length of an average domestic cat
  • 50 to 65 cm = 5–6.5 dm – a coati's tail
  • 66 cm = 6.6 dm – length of the longest pine cones (produced by the sugar pine<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>)

Astronomical

  • 84 cm = 8.4 dm – approximate diameter of 2008 TS26, a meteoroid

1 metre

Template:Redirect

Leonardo da Vinci drew the Vitruvian Man within a square of side Template:Cvt and a circle about Template:Cvt in radius.

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between one metre and ten metres. Light, in vacuum, travels 1 metre in Template:Frac, or {{#expr:1/299792458}} of a second.

Conversions

1 metre is:

Human-defined scales and structures

  • 1 m – approximate height of the top part of a doorknob on a door
  • 1 m – diameter of a very large beach ball
  • 1 m — height of a typical washing machine
  • 1.29 m – length of the Cross Island Chapel, the smallest church in the world
  • 1.4 m – length of a Peel P50, the world's smallest car
  • 1.4 m — length of a pool noodle
  • 1.435 m – standard gauge of railway track used by about 60% of railways in the world = 4 ft 8Template:Frac in
  • 1.5 m — height of the Lasko pedestal fan
  • 1.8 m — height of an average refrigerator
  • 1.9 m — height of a vending machine
  • 2 m — typical height of an average door
  • 2.5 m – distance from the floor to the ceiling in an average residential house<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 2.7 m – length of the Starr Bumble Bee II, the smallest plane
  • 2.77–3.44 m – wavelength of the broadcast radio FM band 87–108 MHz
  • 2.8 m — height of a telephone booth
  • 3.05 m – the length of an old Mini
  • 6 m — height of an average typical house
  • 8 m – length of the Tsar Bomba, the largest bomb ever detonated
  • 8.38 m – the length of a London Bus (AEC Routemaster)

Sports

  • 2.44 m – height of an association football goal<ref name=fifa>Template:Citation</ref>
  • 2.45 m – highest high jump by a human (Javier Sotomayor)<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
  • 3.05 m – (10 feet) height of the basket in basketball
  • 8.95 m – longest long jump by a human (Mike Powell)<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Nature

Astronomical

  • 3–6 m – approximate diameter of Template:Mpl, a meteoroid
  • 4.1 m – diameter of 2008 TC3, a small asteroid that flew into the Earth's atmosphere on 7 October 2008<ref name="discovermagazine">Template:Cite web</ref>

1 decametre

A blue whale has been measured as Template:Cvt long; this drawing compares its length to that of a human diver and a dolphin.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10 metres (101 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 and 100 metres.

Conversions

10 metres (very rarely termed a decametre which is abbreviated as dam) is equal to:

Human-defined scales and structures

Sports

  • 11 metres – approximate width of a doubles tennis court
  • 15 metres – width of a standard FIBA basketball court
  • 15.24 metres – width of an NBA basketball court (50 feet)
  • 18.44 metres – distance between the front of the pitcher's rubber and the rear point of home plate on a baseball field (60 feet, 6 inches)<ref>Template:Cite web See especially Diagram No. 1, page 3.</ref>
  • 20 metres – length of cricket pitch (22 yards)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 27.43 metres – distance between bases on a baseball field (90 feet)
  • 28 metres – length of a standard FIBA basketball court
  • 28.65 metres – length of an NBA basketball court (94 feet)
  • 49 metres – width of an American football field (53Template:Frac yards)
  • 59.436 metres – width of a Canadian football field (65 yards)
  • 70 metres – typical width of an association football field
  • 91 metres – length of an American football field (100 yards, measured between the goal lines)

Nature

  • 10 metres – average length of human digestive tractTemplate:Citation needed
  • 12 metres – height of a standard saguaro cactus
  • 12 metres – length of a whale shark, largest living fish
  • 12 metres – wingspan of a Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur
  • 12.8 metres – length of a Titanoboa, the largest snake to have ever lived
  • 13 metres – approximate length of a giant squid and colossal squid, the largest living invertebrates
  • 15 metres – approximate distance the tropical circles of latitude are moving towards the equator and the polar circles are moving towards the poles each year due to a natural, gradual decrease in the Earth's axial tilt
  • 16 metres – length of a sperm whale, the largest toothed whale
  • 17 metres – length of an average-sized Megalodon, widely considered to be the largest shark to ever roam the waters
  • 18 metres – height of a Sauroposeidon, the tallest-known dinosaur
  • 20 metres – length of a Leedsichthys, the largest-known fish to have lived
  • 21 metres – height of High Force waterfall in England
  • 30.5 metres – length of the lion's mane jellyfish, the largest jellyfish in the world
  • 33 metres – length of a blue whale,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the largest animal on earth, living or extinct, in terms of mass
  • 39 metres – length of a Supersaurus, the longest-known dinosaur and longest vertebrate<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 52 metres – height of Niagara Falls<ref name="Niagara Parks Commission"/>
  • 55 metres – length of a bootlace worm, the longest-known animal<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 66 metres – highest possible sea level rise due to a complete melting of all ice on Earth
  • 83 metres – height of a western hemlock
  • 84 metres – height of General Sherman, the largest tree in the world

Astronomical

  • 30 metres – diameter of Template:Mpl, a rapidly spinning meteoroid
  • 30.8568 metres – 1 femtoparsec
  • 32 metres – approximate diameter of 2008 HJ, a small meteoroid

1 hectometre

The Great Pyramid of Giza is Template:Cvt high.
British driver location sign and location marker post on the M27 in Hampshire. The location marker posts are installed at 100-metre intervals.<ref name=faq>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 100 metres (102 m). To compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 100 metres and 1,000 metres (1 kilometre).

Conversions

100 metres (sometimes termed a hectometre) is equal to:

  • one side of a 1 hectare square
  • a fifth of a modern li, a Chinese unit of measurement
  • the approximate distance travelled by light in 300 nanoseconds

Human-defined scales and structures

Sports

  • 100 metres – the distance a very fast human can run in about 10 seconds
  • 100.584 metres – length of a Canadian football field between the goal lines (110 yards)
  • 91.5 metres – 137 metres – length of a soccer field<ref name=fifa/>
  • 105 metres – length of football pitch (UEFA stadium categories 3 and 4)
  • 105 metres – length of a typical football field
  • 109.73 metres – total length of an American football field (120 yards, including the end zones)
  • 110–150 metres – the width of an Australian football field
  • 135–185 metres – the length of an Australian football field
  • 137.16 metres – total length of a Canadian football field, including the end zones (150 yards)

Nature

  • 115.5 metres – height of the world's tallest tree in 2007, the Hyperion sequoia<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 310 metres – maximum depth of Lake Geneva
  • 340 metres – distance sound travels in air at sea level in one second; see Speed of sound
  • 947 metres – height of the Tugela Falls, the highest waterfall in Africa
  • 979 metres – height of the Angel Falls, the world's highest free-falling waterfall (Venezuela)

Astronomical

1 kilometre

Mount Fuji is Template:Convert high.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Gaps metres (103 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometres (103 and 104 metres).

Conversions

1 kilometre (unit symbol km) is equal to:

Human-defined scales and structures

Nature

  • 1.5 km – distance sound travels in water in one second

Geographical

Template:More citations needed section Template:See also

Astronomical

Template:Anchor10 kilometres (1 myriametre)

The Strait of Gibraltar is Template:Cvt wide.

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 and 100 kilometres (104 to 105 metres). The myriametre<ref name="Appell_2009">Template:Cite web (Website based on Alte Meß- und Währungssysteme aus dem deutschen Sprachgebiet, Template:ISBN)</ref> (sometimes also spelled myriometre; 10,000 metres) is a deprecated unit name; the decimal metric prefix myria-<ref name="fr">Template:Cite web</ref> (sometimes also written as myrio-<ref name="Brewster_1830">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Brewster_1832">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Dingler_1823">Template:Cite book</ref>) is obsolete<ref name="Procès-Verbaux_1935">Template:Citation</ref><ref name="Roberts_1975">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Judson_1976">Template:Cite book</ref> and was not included among the prefixes when the International System of Units was introduced in 1960.

Conversions

10 kilometres is equal to:

Distance marker on the Rhine: 36 (XXXVI) myriametres from Basel. The stated distance is Template:Cvt; the comma is the decimal separator in Germany.

Sports

Human-defined scales and structures

Geographical

Astronomical

100 kilometres

The Suez Canal is Template:Cvt long.

A length of 100 kilometres (about 62 miles), as a rough amount, is relatively common in measurements on Earth and for some astronomical objects. It is the altitude at which the FAI defines spaceflight to begin.

To help compare orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 100 and 1,000 kilometres (105 and 106 metres).

Conversions

A distance of 100 kilometres is equal to about 62 miles (or Template:Convert).

Human-defined scales and structures

Geographical

Astronomical

1 megametre

Small planets, the Moon and dwarf planets in the Solar System have diameters from one to ten million metres. Top row: Mars (left), Mercury (right); bottom row: Moon (left), Pluto (center), and Haumea (right), to scale.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Gaps metres (106 m). To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 106 m (1 Mm or 1,000 km).

Conversions

1 megametre is equal to:

Human-defined scales and structures

Sports

Geographical

Astronomical

10 megametres

Planets from Venus up to Uranus have diameters from ten to one hundred million metres. Top row: Uranus (left), Neptune (right); middle row: Earth (left), Sirius B (center), and Venus (right), to scale.

Template:More citations needed section To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 107 metres (10 megametres or 10,000 kilometres).

Conversions

10 megametres (10 Mm) is

Human-defined scales and structures

Geographical

Astronomical

100 megametres

The Earth-Moon orbit, Saturn, OGLE-TR-122b, Jupiter, and other objects, to scale. Click on image for detailed view and links to other length scales.
Scale model at megametres of the main Solar System bodies

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 108 metres (100 megametres or 100,000 kilometres or 62,150 miles).

1 gigametre

13 things in the gigametre group
Upper part: Gamma Orionis, Algol B, the Sun (centre), and other objects to scale.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Gaps metres (109 m). To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 109 metres (1 gigametre (Gm) or 1 billion metres).

10 gigametres

Rigel and Aldebaran (top left and right) compared to smaller stars, the Sun (very small dot in lower middle, with orbit of Mercury as yellow ellipse) and transparent sphere with radius of one light-minute

To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1010 metres (10 gigametres (Gm) or 10 million kilometres, or 0.07 astronomical units).

100 gigametres

From largest to smallest: Jupiter's orbit, red supergiant star Betelgeuse, Mars' orbit, Earth's orbit, star R Doradus, and orbits of Venus, Mercury. Inside R Doradus's depiction are the blue supergiant star Rigel and red giant star Aldebaran. The faint yellow glow around the Sun represents one light-minute. Click image to see more details and links to their scales.

To help compare distances at different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths starting at 1011 metres (100 gigametre or 100 million kilometres or 0.7 astronomical units).

1 terametre

Eight things in the terametre group
Comparison of size of the Kuiper belt (large faint torus) with the star VY Canis Majoris (within Saturn's orbit), Betelgeuse (inside Jupiter's orbit) and R Doradus (small central red sphere) together with the orbits of Neptune and Uranus, to scale. The yellow ellipses represent the orbits of each planet and the dwarf planet Pluto.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to Template:Gaps metres (1012 m). To help compare different distances, this section lists lengths starting at 1012 m (1 Tm or 1 billion km or 6.7 astronomical units).

10 terametres

Sedna's orbit (left) is longer than 100 Tm, but other lengths are between 10 and 100 Tm: Comet Hale-Bopp's orbit (lower, faint orange); one light-day (yellow spherical shell with yellow Vernal point arrow as radius); the heliosphere's termination shock (blue shell); and other arrows show positions of Voyager 1 (red) and Pioneer 10 (green). Click on image for larger view and links to other scales.

To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1013 m (10 Tm or 10 billion km or 67 astronomical units).

  • 10 Tm – 67 AU – diameter of a hypothetical quasi-star
  • 11.1 Tm – 74.2 AU – distance that Voyager 1 began detecting returning particles from termination shock
  • 11.4 Tm – 76.2 AU – perihelion distance of 90377 Sedna
  • 12.1 Tm – 70 to 90 AU – distance to termination shock (Voyager 1 crossed at 94 AU)
  • 12.9 Tm – 86.3 AU – distance to 90377 Sedna in March 2014
  • 13.2 Tm – 88.6 AU – distance to Pioneer 11 in March 2014
  • 14.1 Tm – 94.3 AU – estimated radius of the Solar System
  • 14.4 Tm – 96.4 AU – distance to Eris in March 2014 (now near its aphelion)
  • 15.1 Tm – 101 AU – distance to heliosheath
  • 16.5 Tm – 111 AU – distance to Pioneer 10 as of March 2014
  • 16.6 Tm – 111.2 AU – distance to Voyager 2 as of May 2016
  • 18 Tm – 123.5 AU – distance between the Sun to the farthest dwarf planet in the Solar System, the Farout 2018 VG18
  • 19.5 Tm – 132.7 AU – distance between the Sun to one of the farthest known objects in the solar system, 2018 AG37 (FarFarOut)
  • 20.0 Tm – 135 AU – distance to Voyager 1 as of May 2016
  • 20.6 Tm – 138 AU – distance to Voyager 1 as of late February 2017
  • 21 Tm – 140 AU – distance to Voyager 2 as of August 2025<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • 21.1 Tm – 141 AU – distance to Voyager 1 as of November 2017
  • 25.1 Tm – 168 AU – distance to Voyager 1 as of August 2025<ref name=":1" />
  • 25.9 Tm – 173 AU – one light-day
  • 30.8568 Tm – 206.3 AU – 1 milliparsec
  • 55.7 Tm – 371 AU – aphelion distance of the comet Hale-Bopp

100 terametres

The largest yellow sphere indicates one light month distance from the Sun. Click the image for larger view, more details and links to other scales.

Template:Incomplete list To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1014 m (100 Tm or 100 billion km or 670 astronomical units).

1 petametre

Largest circle with yellow arrow indicates one light-year from Sun; Cat's Eye Nebula on left and Barnard 68 in middle are depicted in front of Comet 1910 A1's orbit. Click image for larger view, details and links to other scales.

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1015 metres. To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1015 m (1 Pm or 1 trillion km or 6685 astronomical units (AU) or 0.11 light-years).

10 petametres

Objects with size order of magnitude 1e16m: Ten light-years (94.6 Pm) radius circle with yellow Vernal Point arrow; Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635), left; Dumbbell Nebula (NGC 6853), right; one light-year shell lower right with the smaller Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC_6543) and Barnard 68 adjacent.
1e16m lengths: Ten light-years (94.6 Pm) yellow shell; Sirius below right; BL Ceti below left; Proxima and Alpha Centauri upper right; light-year shell with Comet 1910 A1's orbit inside top right

To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1016 m (10 Pm or 66,800 AU, 1.06 light-years).

100 petametres

Lengths with order of magnitude 1e17m: yellow Vernal Point arrow traces hundred light-year radius circle with smaller ten light-year circle at right; globular cluster Messier 5 in background; 12 light-year radius Orion Nebula middle right; 50-light-year-wide view of the Carina Nebula bottom left; Pleiades cluster and Bubble nebula with similar diameters each around 10 light-years bottom right; grey arrows show distances from Sun to stars Aldebaran (65 light-years) and Vega (25 light-years)

To help compare different distances this section lists lengths between 1017 m (100 Pm or 11 light-years) and 1018 m (106 light-years).

  • 110 Pm – 12 light-years – Distance to Tau Ceti
  • 230 Pm – 24 light-years – diameter of the Orion Nebula<ref name=apj667>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>diametre=sin(65 arcminutes)*1270 light-years=24; where "65.00 × 60.0 (arcmin)" sourced from Revised NGC Data for NGC 1976Template:Cbignore</ref>
  • 240 Pm – 25 light-years – Distance to Vega
  • 260 Pm – 27 light-years – Distance to Chara, a star approximately as bright as the Sun. Its faintness gives an idea how the Sun would appear when viewed from this distance.
  • 308.568 Tm – 32.6 light-years – 1 dekaparsec
  • 350 Pm – 37 light-years – distance to Arcturus
  • 373.1 Pm – 39.44 light-years – distance to TRAPPIST-1, a star recently discovered to have 7 planets around it
  • 400 Pm – 42 light-years – distance to Capella
  • 620 Pm – 65 light-years – distance to Aldebaran
  • 750 Pm – 79.36 light-years – distance to Regulus
  • 900 Pm – 92.73 light-years – distance to Algol
  • 946 Pm – 1 light-century

1 exametre

Lengths with order of magnitude 1e18m: thousand light-year radius circle with yellow arrow and 100 light-year circle at right with globular cluster Messier 5 within and Carina Nebula in front; globular cluster Omega Centauri to left of both; part of the 1,400-light-year-wide Tarantula Nebula fills the background

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1018 metres. To help compare different distances this section lists lengths between 1018 m (1 Em or 105.7 light-years) and 1019 m (10 Em or 1,057 light-years).

10 exametres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Em (1019 m or 1,100 light-years).

  • 10.6 Em – 1,120 light-years – distance to WASP-96b
  • 13 Em – 1,300 light-years – distance to the Orion Nebula<ref>

Template:Cite journal</ref>

100 exametres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Em (1020 m or 11,000 light-years).

1 zettametre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1021 metres.<ref name="bipm.org">Template:Cite web</ref> To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Zm (1021 m or 110,000 light-years).

10 zettametres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Zm (1022 m or 1.1 million light-years).

100 zettametres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Zm (1023 m or 11 million light-years).

1 yottametre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1024 metres.<ref name="bipm.org"/>

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Ym (1024 m or 105.702 million light-years).

10 yottametres

The universe within one billion light-years of Earth

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Ym (1025 m or 1.1 billion light-years). At this scale, expansion of the universe becomes significant. Distance of these objects are derived from their measured redshifts, which depends on the cosmological models used.

100 yottametres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Ym (1026 m or 11 billion light-years). At this scale, expansion of the universe becomes significant. Distance of these objects are derived from their measured redshifts, which depend on the cosmological models used.

1 ronnametre

The Template:Vanchor (SI symbol: Template:Vanchor) is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1027 metres.<ref name="bipm.org"/>

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Rm (1027 m or 105.7 billion light-years). At this scale, expansion of the universe becomes significant. Distance of these objects are derived from their measured redshifts, which depend on the cosmological models used.

See also

Notes

Template:Reflist

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Metric units of length Template:Orders of magnitude Template:Units of length used in Astronomy Template:Portal bar