Orders of magnitude (length)


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

Overview

Detailed list

To help compare different orders of magnitude, the following list describes various lengths between metres and metres. Metres are used in these tables to provide a common reference point, but metric prefixes above "k" are not commonly used with metres. So for example, 1.21 Gm would more commonly be written as 1.21 million km or 1.21 × 106 km. Interplanetary distances are also commonly measured in astronomical units. Distances on the interstellar or larger scale are typically measured in light-years or parsecs.

Subatomic scale

Atomic to cellular scale

Factor MultipleValueItem
10−151 femtometre 1 fmApproximate limit of the gluon-mediated color force between quarks
10−151 femtometre 1.5 fmEffective cross section radius of an 11 MeV proton
10−151 femtometre 2.81794 fmClassical [electron radius]
10−151 femtometre 3 fmApproximate limit of the meson-mediated nuclear binding force
10−151 femtometre 750 to 822.25 fmLongest wavelength of gamma rays
10−121 picometre 1.75 to 15 fmdiameter range of the atomic nucleus
10−121 picometre 1 pmDistance between atomic nuclei in a white dwarf
10−121 picometre 2.4 pmCompton wavelength of electron
10−121 picometre 5 pmWavelength of shortest X-rays
10−1110 pm28 pmRadius of helium atom
10−1110 pm53 pmBohr radius
10−10100 pm100 pm1 ångström
10−10100 pm154 pmLength of a typical covalent bond
10−10100 pm280 pmAverage size of the water molecule
10−10100 pm500 pmWidth of protein α helix
10−91 nanometre 1 nmdiameter of a carbon nanotube diameter of smallest transistor gate
10−91 nanometre 2 nmdiameter of the DNA helix
10−91 nanometre 2.5 nmSmallest microprocessor transistor gate oxide thickness
10−91 nanometre 3.4 nmLength of a DNA turn
10−91 nanometre 6–10 nmThickness of cell membrane
10−810 nm10 nmUpper range of thickness of cell wall in Gram-negative bacteria
10−810 nm10 nm, the 10 nanometre was the smallest semiconductor device fabrication node
10−810 nm40 nmExtreme ultraviolet wavelength
10−810 nm50 nmFlying height of the head of a hard disk
10−7100 nm121.6 nmWavelength of the Lyman-alpha line
10−7100 nm120 nmTypical diameter of the human immunodeficiency virus
10−7100 nm400–700 nmApproximate wavelength range of visible light

Cellular to human scale

Factor MultipleValueItem
10−61 micrometre
1–4 μmTypical length of a bacterium
10−61 micrometre
4 μmTypical diameter of spider silk
10−61 micrometre
7 μmTypical size of a red blood cell
10−510 μm10 μmTypical size of a fog, mist, or cloud water droplet
10−510 μm10 μmWidth of transistors in the Intel 4004, the world's first commercial microprocessor
10−510 μm12 μmWidth of acrylic fiber
10−510 μm17–181 μmWidth range of human hair
10−4100 μm340 μmSize of a pixel on a 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1024×768
10−4100 μm560 μmThickness of the central area of a human cornea or, diameter of a grain of salt.
10−4100 μm750 μmMaximum diameter of Thiomargarita namibiensis, the second largest bacterium ever discovered
10−31 millimetre ~5 mmLength of an average flea is 1–10 mm
10−31 millimetre 2.54 mmOne-tenth inch; distance between pins in DIP electronic components
10−31 millimetre 5.70 mmApproximate diameter of the projectile in 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition
10−21 centimetre 20 mmApproximate width of an adult human finger
10−21 centimetre 54 mm × 86 mmDimensions of a credit card, according to the ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 standard
10−21 centimetre 73–75 mmdiameter of a baseball, according to Major League Baseball guidelines
10−11 decimetre 120 mmdiameter of a compact disc
10−11 decimetre 660 mmLength of the longest pine cones, produced by the sugar pine
10−11 decimetre 900 mmAverage length of a rapier, a fencing sword

Human to astronomical scale

Factor MultipleValueItem
1 1 metre 1 m 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.
1 1 metre 2.72 mHeight of Robert Wadlow, tallest-known human.
1 1 metre 8.38 mLength of a London bus
1011 decametre 33 mLength of the longest-known blue whale
1011 decametre 52 mHeight of the Niagara Falls
1011 decametre 93.47 mHeight of the Statue of Liberty
1021 hectometre 105 mLength of a typical football field
1021 hectometre 137 m Height of the Great Pyramid of Giza
1021 hectometre 300 mHeight of the Eiffel Tower, one of the famous monuments of Paris
1021 hectometre 979 mHeight of the Salto Angel, the world's highest free-falling waterfall
1031 kilometre 2.3 kmLength of the Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world
1031 kilometre 3.1 kmNarrowest width of the Strait of Messina, separating Italy and Sicily
1031 kilometre 8.848 kmHeight of Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth
10410 km10.9 kmDepth of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, the deepest-known point on Earth's surface
10410 km27 kmCircumference of the Large Hadron Collider, the largest and highest energy particle accelerator
10410 km42.195 kmLength of a marathon
105100 km100 kmThe distance the IAU considers to be the limit to space, called the Karman line
105100 km163 kmLength of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
105100 km491 kmLength of the Pyrenees, the mountain range separating Spain and France
105100 km600 kmThermosphere height
105100 km974.6 kmGreatest diameter of the dwarf planet Ceres.
1061 megametre 2.38 Mmdiameter of dwarf planet Pluto, formerly the smallest planet category in the Solar System
1061 megametre 3.48 Mmdiameter of the Moon
1061 megametre 5.2 MmTypical distance covered by the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans automobile endurance race
1061 megametre 6.259 MmLength of the Great Wall of China
1061 megametre 6.371 MmAverage radius of Earth
1061 megametre 6.378 MmEquatorial radius of Earth
1061 megametre 6.6 MmApproximate length of the two longest rivers, the Nile and the Amazon
1061 megametre 7.821 MmLength of the Trans-Canada Highway
1061 megametre 9.288 MmLength of the Trans-Siberian Railway, longest in the world

Astronomical scale

1 quectometre and less

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths shorter than 10−30 m.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to.

10 rontometres

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−21 m and 10−20 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−20 m and 10−19 m.

100 zeptometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−19 m and 10−18 m.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−18 m and 10−17 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−17 m and 10−16 m.
  • 10–100 am – range of the weak force
  • 86 am – charge radius of a Bottom eta meson

    100 attometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−16 m and 10−15 m.
  • 831 am – approximate proton radius

    1 femtometre (or 1 fermi)

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to.
In particle physics, this unit is sometimes called a fermi |, also with abbreviation "fm". To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−15 metres and 10−14 metres.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−14 m and 10−13 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−13 m and 10−12 m.
  • 570 fm – typical distance from the atomic nucleus of the two innermost electrons in the uranium atom, the heaviest naturally occurring atom

    1 picometre

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to .
To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−12 and 10−11 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−11 and 10−10 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−10 and 10−9 m.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to .
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−9 and 10−8 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 10−8 and 10−7 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−7 and 10−6 m.
  • 100 nm – greatest particle size that can fit through a surgical mask
  • 100 nm – 90% of particles in wood smoke are smaller than this.
  • 120 nm – greatest particle size that can fit through a ULPA filter
  • 120 nm – diameter of a human immunodeficiency virus
  • 120 nm – approximate diameter of SARS-CoV-2
  • 125 nm – standard depth of pits on compact discs
  • 180 nm – typical length of the rabies virus
  • 200 nm — typical diameter of the chickenpox virus
  • 200 nm – typical size of a Mycoplasma bacterium, among the smallest bacteria
  • 300 nm – greatest particle size that can fit through a HEPA filter
  • 300–400 nm – near ultraviolet wavelength
  • 400–420 nm – wavelength of violet light
  • 420–440 nm – wavelength of indigo light
  • 440–500 nm – wavelength of blue light
  • 500–520 nm – wavelength of cyan light
  • 520–565 nm – wavelength of green light
  • 565–590 nm – wavelength of yellow light
  • 590–625 nm – wavelength of orange light
  • 625–700 nm – wavelength of red light
  • 700 nm–1.4 μm – wavelength of near-infrared radiation

    1 micrometre (or 1 micron)

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to .
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists some items with lengths between 10−6 and 10−5 m.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−5 m and 10−4 m.
  • 10 μm – width of cotton fibre
  • 10 μm – tolerance of the mold used to manufacture a Lego brick
  • 10 μm – transistor width of the Intel 4004, the world's first commercial microprocessor
  • 10 μm – mean longest dimension of a human red blood cell
  • 5–20 μm – dust mite excreta
  • 10.6 μm – wavelength of light emitted by a carbon dioxide laser
  • 15 μm – width of silk fibre
  • 17 μm – minimum width of a strand of human hair
  • 17.6 μm – one twip, a unit of length in typography
  • 10 to 55 μm – width of wool fibre
  • 20 μm — diameter of a cloud droplet
  • 25 μm — diameter of grass pollen
  • 25.4 μm – 1/1,000 inch, commonly referred to as 1 mil in the U.S. and 1 thou in the U.K.
  • 30 μm – length of a human skin cell
  • 30.8568 μm – 1 zeptoparsec
  • 50 μm – typical length of Euglena gracilis, a flagellate protist
  • 50 μm – typical length of a human liver cell, an average-sized body cell
  • 50 μm – length of a silt particle
  • 60 μm – length of a sperm cell
  • 78 μm — width of a pixel on the display of the iPhone 4, marketed as Retina Display
  • 70 to 180 μm – thickness of paper

    100 micrometres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−4 m and 10−3 m. The term myriometre is deprecated; the decimal metric prefix myrio- is obsolete and was not included among the prefixes when the International System of Units was introduced in 1960.
  • 100 μm – 1/10 of a millimetre
  • 100 μm – 0.00394 inches
  • 100 μm – smallest distance that can be seen with the naked eye
  • 100 μm – average diameter of a strand of human hair
  • 100 μm – thickness of a coat of paint
  • 100 μm – length of a dust particle
  • 120 μm – the geometric mean of the Planck length and the diameter of the observable universe:
  • 120 μm – diameter of a human ovum
  • 170 μm – length of the largest mammalian sperm cell
  • 170 μm – length of the largest sperm cell in nature, belonging to the Drosophila bifurca fruit fly
  • 181 μm – maximum width of a strand of human hair
  • 100–400 μm – length of Demodex mites living in human hair follicles
  • 175–200 μm – typical thickness of a solar cell.
  • 200 μm – typical length of Paramecium caudatum, a ciliate protist
  • 200 μm – nominal width of the smallest commonly available mechanical pencil lead
  • 250–300 μm – length of a dust mite
  • 340 μm – length of a pixel on a 17-inch monitor with a resolution of 1024×768
  • 500 μm – typical length of Amoeba proteus, an amoeboid protist
  • 500 μm — length of a tardigrade
  • 500 μm – MEMS micro-engine
  • 500 μm – average length of a grain of sand
  • 500 μm – average length of a grain of salt
  • 500 μm – average length of a grain of sugar
  • 560 μm – thickness of the central area of a human cornea
  • 750 μm – diameter of a Thiomargarita namibiensis, which used to be considered the largest bacteria known
  • 760 μm – thickness of an identification card

    1 millimetre

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to .
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−3 m and 10−2 m.
  • 1.0 mm – 1/1,000 of a metre
  • 1.0 mm – 0.03937 inches or 5/127
  • 1.0 mm – side of a square of area 1 mm²
  • 1.0 mm – diameter of a pinhead
  • 1.5 mm – average length of a flea
  • 2 mm — diameter of a rain droplet
  • 2.54 mm – distance between pins on old dual in-line package electronic components
  • 5 mm – length of an average red ant
  • 5 mm – diameter of an average grain of rice
  • 5.56×45mm NATO – standard ammunition size
  • 6 mm – approximate width of a pencil
  • 7 mm – length of a Paedophryne amauensis, the smallest-known vertebrate
  • 7 mm – length of a human tooth
  • 7.1 mm – length of a sunflower seed
  • 7.62×51mm NATO – common military ammunition size
  • 8 mm – width of old-format home movie film
  • 8 mm – length of a Paedocypris progenetica, the smallest-known fish

    1 centimetre

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to .
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10−2 m and 10−1 m.
  • 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
  • 1.77 cm – approximate diameter of a Black Hole the mass of earth.
  • 2 cm – approximate width of an adult human finger
  • 2.4 cm – diameter of a human eye
  • 2.54 cm – 1 inch
  • 3.08568 cm – 1 attoparsec
  • 3.4 cm – length of a quail egg
  • 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
  • 4.3 cm – minimum diameter of a golf ball
  • 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
  • 8.6 cm × 5.4 cm – dimensions of a standard credit card
  • 9 cm – length of a speckled padloper, the smallest-known turtle

    1 decimetre

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to .
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 centimetres and 100 centimetres.

Conversions

10 centimetres is equal to:
  • 1 decimetre, a term not in common use
  • 100 millimetres
  • 3.9 inches
  • a side of a square of area 0.01 m2
  • the edge of a cube with a volume of m3

    Wavelengths

  • 10 cm = 1.0 dm – wavelength of the highest UHF radio frequency, 3 GHz
  • 12 cm = 1.2 dm – wavelength of the 2.45 GHz ISM radio band
  • 21 cm = 2.1 dm – wavelength of the 1.4 GHz hydrogen emission line, a hyperfine transition of the hydrogen atom
  • 100 cm = 10 dm – wavelength of the lowest UHF radio frequency, 300 MHz

    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
  • 12 cm = 1.2 dm – diameter of a compact disc
  • 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
  • 30 cm = 3 dm – typical school-use ruler length
  • 30.48 cm = 3.048 dm – 1 foot
  • 60 cm = 6 dm – standard depth of a domestic kitchen worktop in Europe
  • 60 cm = 6 dm — diameter of the LAGEOS satellite
  • 90 cm = 9 dm – average length of a rapier, a fencing sword
  • 91 cm = 9.1 dm — length of a shopping cart
  • 91.44 cm = 9.144 dm – one yard

    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
  • 18.1 cm = 1.81 dm – Maximum overall length of the Hercules beetle, one of the largest beetle species
  • 19 cm = 1.9 dm — length of an average male human hand
  • 19 cm = 1.9 dm – length of a banana
  • 20 cm = 2 dm — diameter of the Syringammina, one of the largest single-celled organisms
  • 20 cm = 2 dm - average height of the Venus flytrap
  • 26.3 cm = 2.6 dm – length of an 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
  • 80 cm = 8 dm - height of a chimpanzee
  • 90 cm = 9 dm — length of a capybara, the largest rodent

    Astronomical

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

    1 metre

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between one metre and ten metres.
Light, in vacuum, travels 1 metre in, or of a second.

Conversions

1 metre is:
  • 10 decimetres
  • 100 centimetres
  • 1,000 millimetres
  • 39.37 inches
  • 3.28 feet
  • 1.1 yards
  • side of square with area 1 m2
  • edge of cube with surface area 6 m2 and volume 1 m3
  • radius of circle with area π m2
  • radius of sphere with surface area 4π m2 and volume 4/3π m3

    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 8 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
  • 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

    Sports

  • 2.44 m – height of an association football goal
  • 2.45 m – highest high jump by a human
  • 3.05 m – height of the basket in basketball
  • 8.95 m – longest long jump by a human

    Nature

  • 1 m – length of Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest flower in the world
  • 1 m – height of Homo floresiensis
  • 1 m — length of an ocelot, a type of cat
  • 1.15 m – a pizote
  • 1.5 m – height of an okapi
  • 1.5 m — height of an orangutan
  • 1.63 m – – height of average U.S. female human
  • 1.75 m – – height of average U.S. male human
  • 1.8 m — height of a gorilla
  • 2 m — height of a kangaroo
  • 2.1 m - average height of a moose, the largest living deer
  • 2.4 m – wingspan of a mute swan
  • 2.5 m – height of a sunflower
  • 2.5 m - average length of a black mamba, the second longest venomous snake and the longest venomous snake in Africa
  • 2.7 m – length of a leatherback sea turtle, the largest living turtle
  • 2.72 m – – tallest-known human
  • 3 m – length of a giant Gippsland earthworm
  • 3 m – length of an Komodo dragon, the largest living lizard
  • 3.3 m - wingspan of an Andean condor
  • 3.63 m – the record wingspan for living birds
  • 3.7 m – leg span of a Japanese spider crab
  • 3.7 m – length of a southern [elephant seal], the largest living pinniped
  • 4 m - average length of an king cobra, the longest venomous snake
  • 4 m - length of a hippopotamus
  • 5 m – length of an elephant
  • 5.2 m – height of a giraffe
  • 5.21 m - length of a green anaconda, the largest living snake
  • 5.5 m – height of a Baluchitherium, the largest land mammal ever lived
  • 6.5 m - length of an reticulated python, the longest living snake
  • 6.5 m – wingspan of Argentavis, the largest flying bird known
  • 6.7 m – length of a Microchaetus rappi
  • 7.4 m – wingspan of Pelagornis, the bird with longest wingspan ever.
  • 7.5 m – approximate length of the human gastrointestinal tract

    Astronomical

  • 3–6 m – approximate diameter of, a meteoroid
  • 4.1 m – diameter of 2008 TC3, a small asteroid that flew into the Earth's atmosphere on 7 October 2008

    1 decametre

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 10 metres.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 and 100 metres.

Conversions

10 metres is equal to:
  • 10 metres
  • 100 decimetres
  • 1,000 centimetres
  • 10,000 millimetres
  • 10,000,000 micrometres
  • 32.8 feet
  • 11 yards
  • side of a square with area 100 m²

    Human-defined scales and structures

  • 10 metres – wavelength of the highest shortwave radio frequency, 30 MHz
  • 10.2 metres – length of the Panzer VIII Maus, the world's largest tank
  • 12 metres – height of the Newby-McMahon Building, the world's littlest skyscraper
  • 12 metres — length of a school bus and city bus
  • 16 metres — length of a semi-truck
  • 23 metres – height of Luxor Obelisk, located in the Place de la Concorde, Paris, France
  • 25 metres – wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 12 MHz
  • 29 metres – height of the Savudrija Lighthouse
  • 30 metres – height of Christ the Redeemer
  • 31 metres – wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 9.7 MHz
  • 32 metres – length of one arcsecond of latitude on the surface of the Earth
  • 33.3 metres – height of the De Noord, the tallest windmill in the world
  • 34 metres – height of the Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet, Victoria, Australia
  • 40 metres – wingspan of the Mil Mi-26, the largest helicopter
  • 40 metres – average depth beneath the seabed of the Channel tunnel
  • 49 metres – wavelength of the broadcast radio shortwave band at 6.1 MHz
  • 50 metres – length of a road train
  • 50 metres – height of the Arc de Triomphe
  • 55 metres – height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
  • 18-55 metres — height of a Transmission tower
  • 56 metres — height of the Space Shuttle
  • 62 metres – wingspan of Concorde
  • 62.5 metres – height of Pyramid of Djoser
  • 64 metres – wingspan of a Boeing 747-400
  • 69 metres – wingspan of an Antonov An-124 Ruslan
  • 70 metres – length of the Bayeux Tapestry
  • 70 metres – width of a typical association football field
  • 73 metres – wingspan of a Airbus A380
  • 73 metres – height of the Taj Mahal
  • 77 metres – wingspan of a Boeing 747-8
  • 88.4 metres – wingspan of an Antonov An-225 Mriya transport aircraft
  • 93 metres – height of the Statue of Liberty
  • 96 metres – height of Big Ben
  • 100 metres – wavelength of the lowest shortwave radio frequency, 3 MHz

    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
  • 18.44 metres – distance between the front of the pitcher's rubber and the rear point of home plate on a baseball field
  • 20 metres – length of cricket pitch
  • 27.43 metres – distance between bases on a baseball field
  • 28 metres – length of a standard FIBA basketball court
  • 28.65 metres – length of an NBA basketball court
  • 49 metres – width of an American football field
  • 59.436 metres – width of a Canadian football field
  • 70 metres – typical width of an association football field
  • 91 metres – length of an American football field

    Nature

  • 10 metres – average length of human digestive tract
  • 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, 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
  • 52 metres – height of Niagara Falls
  • 55 metres – length of a bootlace worm, the longest-known animal
  • 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, a rapidly spinning meteoroid
  • 30.8568 metres – 1 femtoparsec
  • 32 metres – approximate diameter of 2008 HJ, a small meteoroid

    1 hectometre

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 100 metres.
To compare different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths between 100 metres and 1,000 metres.

Conversions

100 metres is equal to:
  • 327.9 feet
  • 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

  • 100 metres – wavelength of the highest medium wave radio frequency, 3 MHz
  • 100 metres – spacing of location marker posts on British motorways
  • 103 metres — length of the Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport
  • 109 metres — width of the International Space Station
  • 110 metres – height of the Saturn V
  • 122 metres – height of the Starship, the tallest rocket currently under development by SpaceX
  • 138.8 metres – height of the Great Pyramid of Giza
  • 139 metres – height of the world's tallest roller coaster, Kingda Ka
  • 157 metres – height of the Cologne Cathedral
  • 162 metres – height of the Ulm Minster, the tallest church building in the world
  • 165 metres – height of the Dushanbe Flagpole, the tallest flagpole from May 2011 to September 2014
  • 169 metres – height of the Washington Monument
  • 171 metres – height of the Jeddah Flagpole, the tallest flagpole from September 2014 to December 2021
  • 182 metres – height of the Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue
  • 187 metres – shortest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 1600 kHz
  • 192 metres – height of the Gateway Arch
  • 200 metres — length of a high speed train
  • 202 metres – height of the Cairo Flagpole, the tallest flagpole as of December 2021
  • 202 metres – length of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge connecting Buda and Pest
  • 220 metres – height of the Hoover Dam
  • 225 metres — length of the Bagger 293
  • 245 metres – length of the LZ 129 Hindenburg
  • 270 metres – length of the Titanic
  • 300 metres — length of an Aircraft carrier
  • 318 metres – height of The New York Times Building
  • 318.9 metres – height of the Chrysler Building
  • 328 metres – height of Auckland's Sky Tower, the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere
  • 330 metres – height of the Eiffel Tower
  • 336 metres – height of the world's tallest bridge as of October 2023, the Millau Viaduct
  • 364.75 metres – length of the Icon of the Seas
  • 390 metres – height of the Empire State Building
  • 400–800 metres – approximate heights of the world's tallest skyscrapers from 1931 to 2010
  • 458 metres – length of the Knock Nevis, the world's largest supertanker
  • 502 metres — length of the Overburden Conveyor Bridge F60
  • 553.33 metres – height of the CN Tower, the tallest structure in North America
  • 555 metres – longest wavelength of the broadcast radio AM band, 540 kHz
  • 630 metres – height of the KVLY-TV mast, one of the tallest structures in the world
  • 646 metres – height of the Warsaw radio mast, the world's tallest structure until its collapse in 1991
  • 679 metres – height of Merdeka 118, the second tallest structure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 828 metres – height of Burj Khalifa, world's tallest structure since 17 January 2009
  • 1,000 metres – wavelength of the lowest mediumwave radio frequency, 300 kHz

    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
  • 91.5 metres – 137 metres – length of a soccer field
  • 105 metres – length of football pitch
  • 105 metres – length of a typical football field
  • 109.73 metres – total length of an American football field
  • 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

    Nature

  • 115.5 metres – height of the world's tallest tree in 2007, the Hyperion sequoia
  • 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

    Astronomical

  • 270 metres – length of 99942 Apophis
  • 535 metres – length of 25143 Itokawa, a small asteroid visited by a spacecraft

    1 kilometre

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to metres.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 1 kilometre and 10 kilometres.

Conversions

1 kilometre is equal to:
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths between 10 and 100 kilometres. The myriametre is a deprecated unit name; the decimal metric prefix myria- is obsolete and was not included among the prefixes when the International System of Units was introduced in 1960.

Conversions

10 kilometres is equal to:
File:Myriameterstein36RüdesheimRhein.JPG|thumb|Distance marker on the Rhine: 36 myriametres from Basel. The stated distance is ; the comma is the decimal separator in Germany.
A length of 100 kilometres, 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.

Conversions

A distance of 100 kilometres is equal to about 62 miles.

Human-defined scales and structures

The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to metres.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 106 m.

Conversions

1 megametre is equal to:
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 107 metres.

Conversions

10 megametres is
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists lengths starting at 108 metres.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to metres.
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 109 metres.
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1010 metres.
To help compare distances at different orders of magnitude this section lists lengths starting at 1011 metres.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to metres.
To help compare different distances, this section lists lengths starting at 1012 m.
To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1013 m.
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1014 m.
The 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.
  • 1.0 [|Pm] = 0.105702341 light-years
  • 1.9 Pm ± 0.5 Pm = 12,000 AU = 0.2 light-year radius of Cat's Eye Nebula's inner core
  • 3.08568 Pm = 20,626 AU = 1 deciparsec
  • 4.7 Pm = 30,000 AU = half-light-year diameter of Bok globule Barnard 68
  • 7.5 Pm – 50,000 AU – possible outer boundary of Oort cloud
  • 9.5 Pm – 63,241.1 AU – one light-year, the distance light travels in one year
  • 9.9 Pm – 66,000 AU – aphelion distance of the C/1999 F1

    10 petametres

To help compare different distances this section lists lengths starting at 1016 m.
  • 15 Pm – 1.59 light-years – possible outer radius of Oort cloud
  • 20 Pm – 2.11 light-years – maximum extent of influence of the Sun's gravitational field
  • 30.9 Pm – 3.26 light-years – 1 parsec
  • 39.9 Pm – 4.22 light-years – distance to Proxima Centauri
  • 81.3 Pm – 8.59 light-years – distance to Sirius
  • 94.6 Pm – 1 light-decade

    100 petametres

To help compare different distances this section lists lengths between 1017 m and 1018 m.
  • 110 Pm – 12 light-years – Distance to Tau Ceti
  • 230 Pm – 24 light-years – diameter of the Orion Nebula
  • 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

The 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 and 1019 m.
  • 1.2 Em – 129 light-years – diameter of Messier 13
  • 1.6 Em – 172 ± 12.5 light-years – diameter of Omega Centauri
  • 3.08568 Em – 326.1 light-years – 1 hectoparsec
  • 3.1 Em – 310 light-years – distance to Canopus according to Hipparcos
  • 3.9 Em – 410 light-years – distance to Betelgeuse according to Hipparcos
  • 6.2 Em – 650 light-years – distance to the Helix Nebula, located in the constellation Aquarius
  • 8.2 Em – 860 light-years – distance to Rigel according to Hipparcos
  • 9.4 Em — 1 light-millennium – 1000 light-years

    10 exametres

To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Em.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Em.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1021 metres.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Zm.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Zm.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Zm.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1024 metres.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Ym.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 10 Ym. 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.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 100 Ym. 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.
The is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1027 metres.
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this section lists distances starting at 1 Rm. 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 Rm – >105.7 billion light-years – size of universe beyond the cosmic light horizon, depending on its curvature; if the curvature is zero, the value can be infinite as previously mentioned.
  • 2.764 Rm - 292.2 billion light-years – circumference of the observable universe, as it is in the shape of a sphere.

    Upper limits

  • ≈101010122light-years – the possible size of the universe after cosmological inflation.
  • ≈∞ light-years – theoretical size of the multiverse if it exists.
  • ≈∞+ light-years - theoretical size of the omniverse if it exists, with all universes combined to an infinite amount of multiverses.