Your weight on other planets

Mass is not weight

A classic mix-up: a regular scale shows kg, which is a unit of mass. But technically what it measures is weight — the force with which the Earth pulls on you.

The weight formula

P = m · g

Where P is the weight (in newtons), m is the mass (in kg) and g is the local acceleration of gravity.

Why does gravity change?

According to Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation:

g = G · M / R²

Where M is the mass of the planet and R its radius. More massive or denser planets → stronger gravity. That is why the Moon (small mass) has g ≈ 1.62 m/s² while Jupiter (enormous mass) has ≈ 24.8 m/s².

Fun facts

• Moon: you weigh only 1/6 of your Earth weight — that is why the Apollo astronauts could take such big leaps
• Jupiter: 2.5× your Earth weight — a 70 kg person would “weigh” 177 kgf, crushing
• Sun: 28× Earth’s gravity! You would “weigh” almost 2 tonnes (and be crushed)
• Pluto and Ceres: gravity so low that you could jump tens of meters high

Gravity table in the Solar System