By rocket to the Sun: about 100 days
By rocket (61,000 km/h) it would take about 100 days to get to the Sun – at the average distance of 149,600,000 km, non-stop and in a straight line.
Because the distance keeps changing, the travel time ranges from 100 days (closest) to 100 days (farthest).
For comparison
About as long as Napoleon's "Hundred Days" in 1815.
How it is calculated
- Closest distance
- 147,100,000 km
- Average distance
- 149,600,000 km
- Farthest distance
- 152,100,000 km
- Speed
- 61,000 km/h (speed of the Voyager 1 probe)
- Formula
- Travel time = distance ÷ speed
- Result
- 149,600,000 km ÷ 61,000 km/h ≈ 100 days
Assumption: constant speed in a straight line, with no stops, acceleration or braking. Real spacecraft fly curved paths and use the gravity of planets.
Good to know: Sun
Earth orbits the Sun on an almost circular ellipse. It is closest in early January (perihelion, about 147 million km) and farthest in early July (aphelion, about 152 million km). The average distance of 149.6 million km is called the astronomical unit (AU) and is the yardstick of the solar system. You couldn't land anyway: the Sun has no solid surface.
→ Fact sheet: SunSun: travel time by every vehicle
| Vehicle | Speed | Travel time | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 100 km/h | 170 years | 170 years – 170 years |
| Airplane | 900 km/h | 19 years | 18.6 years – 19.3 years |
| Rocket | 61,000 km/h | 100 days | 100 days – 100 days |
| Speed of light | 1,079,252,849 km/h | 8.3 minutes | 8.2 minutes – 8.5 minutes |