The question of how long it would take for a jet plane to reach the Sun highlights the immense distances in our solar system and the remarkable engineering feats required for space travel. Imagining such a journey underscores the extraordinary scale of the cosmos. This thought experiment reveals the profound differences between terrestrial flight and the challenges of deep space exploration.
Calculating the Hypothetical Journey Time
To determine how long a jet plane might theoretically take to reach the Sun, one must consider the average distance between Earth and our star and a typical jet’s cruising speed. Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of approximately 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). A commercial jet plane typically cruises at 550 to 600 miles per hour (900 to 1000 kilometers per hour). Using an average speed of 575 miles per hour provides a reasonable basis for this calculation.
Dividing the average distance by the average speed reveals the purely theoretical travel time. A journey of 93,000,000 miles at 575 miles per hour would hypothetically take approximately 161,739 hours. Converting this into more understandable units, this equates to roughly 6,739 days, or about 18.45 years of continuous flight. This calculation assumes constant speed and a direct path, ignoring all practical limitations.
Why a Jet Plane Cannot Reach the Sun
While the calculation provides a hypothetical duration, a jet plane is fundamentally unsuited for space travel and cannot reach the Sun. Jet engines operate by drawing in atmospheric air, compressing it, mixing it with fuel, and igniting the mixture to create thrust. Space is a vacuum, devoid of the oxygen required for combustion, meaning a jet engine would cease to function shortly after leaving Earth’s atmosphere. The absence of air also eliminates the aerodynamic lift necessary for a plane to fly.
Beyond the lack of atmosphere, a journey towards the Sun presents extreme environmental conditions that no jet plane is designed to endure. Temperatures in the vacuum of space drop to hundreds of degrees below freezing, while approaching the Sun, temperatures can soar to thousands of degrees, far exceeding the melting points of aircraft materials. Intense solar radiation, including harmful X-rays and gamma rays, would bombard the aircraft and its contents, posing significant hazards to electronics and any biological occupants. The sheer amount of fuel needed to propel a jet plane for over 18 years would also far exceed the capacity of any aircraft.
Realities of Interplanetary Travel
Achieving interplanetary travel requires entirely different technologies and design principles than those found in a jet plane. Spacecraft like the Parker Solar Probe or New Horizons are built to operate in the vacuum of space. They utilize rocket propulsion that carries its own oxidizer, or rely on other methods like ion thrusters. These specialized probes are engineered to withstand extreme temperatures, radiation, and the rigorous demands of deep space environments.
The speeds achieved by these spacecraft far surpass those of conventional aircraft. The Parker Solar Probe, designed to study the Sun’s outer corona, has reached speeds exceeding 635,266 kilometers per hour (394,736 miles per hour) relative to the Sun, making it the fastest human-made object. The New Horizons probe, which journeyed to Pluto, launched from Earth at about 58,500 kilometers per hour (36,400 miles per hour) and accelerated further with gravitational assists from planets. These speeds, orders of magnitude greater than a jet plane’s, underscore the specialized capabilities required for missions that venture beyond Earth’s protective atmospheric and gravitational influence.