Astronomy:List of Solar System extremes

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This article describes extreme locations of the Solar System. Entries listed in bold are Solar System-wide extremes.

By feature

Record Data Feature Ref.
Largest canyon 4000 km long, 200 km wide Valles Marineris, Mars [1]
Tallest mountain 22 km (13.6 mi) Rheasilvia central peak, Vesta [2][3]
Tallest volcano 25 km (15.5 mi) Olympus Mons, Mars [4]
Tallest cliff 20 km (12.4 mi) Verona Rupes, Miranda, Uranus [5]
Largest impact crater 2,700 km (1,700 mi) North Polar Basin, Mars [6]

By class

Type Average density Average temperature Average surface gravity
Lowest Highest Lowest Highest Lowest Highest
Star 1.4 g/cm3

Sun[7][8]

5778 K

Sun[9][10]

274 m/s2

Sun[11]

Major planet 0.7 g/cm3Saturn[12][13] 5.51 g/cm3
Earth

[14][15]

73 K

Neptune[16][17][18]

733 K

Venus[19]

3.70 m/s2
Mercury

[18]

23.1 m/s2
Jupiter

[18]

Dwarf planet 1.4 ±0.2 g/cm3 Orcus[20][NB 1] 2.52 ±0.05 g/cm3 Eris[21] 30 K

Makemake

167 K

Ceres

≈0.2 m/s2 Orcus 0.8 m/s2Eris
Major moon of major or dwarf planet [NB 2] 0.98 g/cm3
Tethys
3.53 g/cm3
Io
[22][23]
38 K
Triton
[24]
250 K
Moon
[25]
0.064 m/s2Mimas 1.796 m/s2Io
Type Escape velocity Mass Volume
(radius)
Lowest Highest Lowest Highest Lowest Highest
Star 617.7 km/s
Sun

[11]

332,830 MEarth
Sun

[26][27]

695,000 km
Sun

[27]

Major planet 4.3 km/s
Mercury
[18]
59.5 km/s
Jupiter
[18]
0.055 MEarth
Mercury
[28]
318 MEarth
Jupiter
[26]
2500 km
Mercury
[29]
69911 km
Jupiter
[28]
Dwarf planet ≈0.43 km/s
Orcus
1.3 km/s
Eris
0.0000916 MEarth
Orcus[20][NB 3]
0.0028 MEarth
Eris
487.3 km
Ceres
1187 km
Pluto
Major moon of major or dwarf planet [NB 2] 0.16 km/s
Mimas
2.74 km/s
Ganymede
0.000006 MEarth
Mimas
0.0250 MEarth
Ganymede
[30]
198 km
Mimas
2634 km
Ganymede
[22][30]
Extreme characteristic Major planet Dwarf planet Major moon
(of a major or dwarf planet) [NB 2]
Densest atmosphere Venus[NB 4]
[31][32]
Pluto Titan[31]

By object

Astronomical body Elevation
(height above/below datum)
Elevation
(height above/below base)
Surface temperature
Highest Lowest Highest Lowest Highest Lowest
Sun N/A 5,000,000 K
In a solar flare

[33]

1240 K
In a sunspot

[34]

Mercury 3 kilometres (1.9 mi)
Caloris Montes, northwest Caloris Basin rim mountains

[35][36]

723 K
Dayside of Mercury

[37]

89 K
Permanently shaded polar craters

[38]

Venus 11 kilometres (6.8 mi)
Maxwell Montes, Ishtar Terra

[39][40][41][42]

3 kilometres (1.9 mi)
Diana Chasma, Aphrodite Terra

[42][43]

755 K
lowlands of Venus

[38]

644 K
Maxwell Montes, Ishtar Terra

[38]

Earth 8,848 metres (29,029 ft)
Mount Everest, Nepal - Tibet, China

[44]

10,971 metres (35,994 ft)
Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean

[45]

10,200 metres (33,500 ft)
Mauna Kea, Hawaii, United States of America

[44]

7 kilometres (4.3 mi)
Marianas Trench, Pacific Ocean

[46]

330 K
Furnace Creek Ranch,
Death Valley, United States
(more info)
184 K
Vostok Station, Antarctica
(more info)
Mars 27 kilometres (17 mi)
Olympus Mons, Tharsis
[44]
6 kilometres (3.7 mi)
Hellas Planitia

[47]

24 kilometres (15 mi)
Olympus Mons, Tharsis
[48]
9 kilometres (5.6 mi)
Melas Chasma, Valles Marineris

[49]

293 K
Martian equator in midsummer day

[50]

120 K
Martian poles in the depths of winter night

[50]

Jupiter N/A 152 K

[51]

110 K

[51]

Saturn N/A 143 K

[52]

82 K

[52]

Uranus N/A 68 K

[53]

59 K

[53]

Neptune N/A 53 K
[54]
50 K
[54]
Moon 10,786 metres (35,387 ft)
5.4125°, 201.3665°
[55][56]
9.06 kilometres (5.63 mi)
Antoniadi Crater (-172.58°E, 70.38°S)
400 K
midday on the equator
[57]
26 K
Permanently shadowed southwestern edge of the northern polar zone Hermite Crater in winter solstice
[57]
Io 17.3 kilometres (10.7 mi)
Boosaule Montes
[58][59]
Europa 2 kilometres (1.2 mi)
conical mountain (34.5N, 169.5W)
[60]
132 K
Subsolar temperature
[61]
Ganymede 156 K
Subsolar temperature
[61]
80 K
Nighttime temperature
[62]
Callisto 168 K
Subsolar temperature
[61]
80 K
Predawn nighttime temperature
[63]
Titan 2 km (1.2 mi)
Mithrim Montes, Xanadu[64]
Mimas
Enceladus 110 K
Tiger Stripes
[65]
Tethys
Dione
Rhea
Iapetus 20 kilometres (12 mi)Voyager Mountains, equatorial ridge and bulge

[66][67][68]

Ariel
Umbriel
Titania
Oberon
Miranda 20 kilometers (12 mi)

Verona Rupes[5]

Triton
Nereid
Proteus
Charon
Ceres 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi)
Ahuna Mons

[69][70]

235 K

[71]

Pluto 3.4 km (2.1 mi)
Norgay Montes, Tombaugh Regio[72]
45 K

[73]

35 K

[73]
Eris 41 K

[74]

30 K

[74]

Makemake
Haumea
The bodies included in this table are: (1) planemos; (2) major planets, dwarf planets, or moons of major or dwarf planets, or stars; (3) hydrostatically round so as to be able to provide a geodetic datum line.

By distance

  • List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun

See also

  • Solar System
  • Lists of geological features of the Solar System
  • List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System

Notes

  1. Though astronomers generally accept Orcus as a dwarf planet, some doubt remains
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 A major moon is a moon that is hydrostatically round.
  3. Mass calculated using Vanth's estimated mass
  4. As the transition from atmosphere to other is unclear for the giant planets, they are not included in this

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External links

See also