However, the weight of an average adult varies far more dramatically once you leave Earth and travel around the solar system. For example, the average adult weighs far less on the Moon than they do on Earth. So if you want to lose weight in a hurry, the quickest way to do so is to live on the Moon!
Here's what an average adult would weight on various planets and other universal objects, based on an average weight of 70 Kg.
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| Pluto, the dwarf planet. |
Pluto - 4.6 Kg
As I'm sure everyone is aware now, Pluto is no longer a planet and in 2006 was reclassified by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as a dwarf planet. However, although the IAU had the power to take away Pluto's planetary status, they didn't have the power to take away it's gravity!
What little gravity it has, that is, because on the dwarf planet of Pluto, due to its low gravity an average adult would weigh a mere 4.6 Kg!
Equivalent object on Earth = That's a little heavier than a newborn baby.
The Moon - 11.6 Kg
As you may have noticed from the videos of the Moon landings, people are very 'floaty' on the Moon, because the Moon also has a low gravity compared to Earth. In fact on the Moon the average adult would weigh only 11.6 Kg!
Equivalent object on Earth = The amount of pizza an average American eats in a year.
Mars and Mercury
Despite being very different sizes, Mars and Mercury have very similar gravities, so a typical adult would weigh almost the same on Mars as they would on Mercury.
Mars - 26.3 Kg
Equivalent object on Earth = A barbell weighing 26.3 Kg
Mercury - 26.4 Kg
Equivalent object on Earth = A barbell weighing 26.4 Kg
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| The Solar System. (Note for stupid people: Not to scale.) |
Uranus, Venus, Saturn and Neptune
Surprisingly, on many of the planets in the Solar System you would weigh almost the same as you weighed on Earth. Here's what a typical adult weighing 70 Kg on Earth, would weigh on Uranus, Venus, Saturn and Neptune:
Uranus - 62.2 Kg
Equivalent object on Earth = The Complete Oxford Dictionary (All 20 volumes of it!)*
* http://public.oed.com/history-of-the-oed/dictionary-facts/
Venus - 63.4 Kg
Equivalent object on Earth = The amount of refined sugar an average American eats in a year.
Earth = 70 Kg!
Equivalent object on Earth = An average adult!
Saturn - 74.4 Kg
Equivalent object on Earth = An average adult holding a medium bowling ball
Neptune - 78.7 Kg
Equivalent object on Earth = Keg of beer
Jupiter - 176.9 Kg
Jupiter has the strongest gravity of all the planets in the Solar System, so on Jupiter an average adult would weigh 176.9 Kg.
Equivalent object on Earth = A full grown male lion.
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| Does this really need a caption? |
The Sun
If you want to lose weight then whatever you do, don't go and live on the Sun! That's because on the Sun, a typical adult would weigh 1,895 Kg!*
Also, one other reason not to live on the Sun is because you would be immediately burnt alive due to the intense heat. In fact, that's probably a more compelling reason that the weight issue.
Equivalent object on Earth = A large car
* Although I suspect your weight would quickly reduce to zero once you were burnt to a crisp.
A white dwarf
If you found yourself on the surface of a white dwarf, you'd be extremely heavy indeed, as an average adult would weigh a very weighty 91,000,000 Kg!
Equivalent object on Earth = 573 blue whales!
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| A neutron. Not to be confused with the star of the same name. |
A neutron star
However, your weight on a white dwarf would pale in comparison to your weight on a neutron star, where an average adult would weigh an incredible 9,800,000,000,000 Kg! For anyone who can't be bothered to count all the zeroes, that's 9.8 trillion Kg!
Equivalent object on Earth = 35 million Airbus A380 aeroplanes!
The explanation:
The simple reason why your weight varies on different planets, moons and stars, is because of gravity. To get scientific, weight is the force gravity exerts on an object due to its mass. And of course, because gravity varies from planet to planet, so therefore does your weight! Or to put it another way, your mass remains constant no matter where you are in the universe, but your weight changes depending on the gravitational forces acting on you, which vary from planet to planet.
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On the theme of gravity, here's a plug for my latest short story, coincidentally entitled 'Gravity'.
Editor's note: "I didn't realise it was a coincidence. I thought you deliberately wrote a blog post about gravity in order to specifically promote your latest short story."
Charles: "Shush! Don't give the game away!"
Here's the blurb:
"Police psychologist Roger Bennett arrives on the roof of the Mercury Building with the goal of persuading a man considering suicide from jumping. However, Roger soon discovers that all is not quite what it seems..."
'Gravity' takes place on the roof of a multi-storey building. Well, most of it takes place on the roof of a multi-storey building, but as you might have guessed from the title, as the story develops, gravity features in the equation.
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