# How big is the sun (in Gallons)?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 24, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312 "2009-09-24T00:45:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312/21 "2009-09-24T04:16:17Z")
by definition, 1 gallon = 231 cu in. Calculate the size of the sun in cubic inches and devide by 231.
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### Author:  [@Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pasta)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312/22 "2009-09-24T04:25:43Z")
Incidentally, Google calculator knows many astronomical quantities, so you can just drop this directly into the Google search box:
4/3_pi_(radius of sun)^3 in gallons
to produce the answer.
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### Author:  [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)
#### Post date: [September 24, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312/23 "2009-09-24T13:48:50Z")
Thanks everyone! I went with 372 Octillion, and when he asked what an octillion was, I told him we could write it when he got home. He said, “How MUCH is that” and I told him it was basically three million million million million million . I knew the was the place to ask!
Incidentally, in Little Dorky’s world, butter makes power spark and fizzle and sharks don’t like power because it makes their teeth feel funny 😃
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### Author:  [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312/24 "2009-09-25T18:56:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#):
>
> - What does power do to sharks?
> corrupts
Win.
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### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312/25 "2009-09-25T19:31:37Z")
> [@cainxinth](#):
>
> Even easier:
>
> [volume of the sun in gallons - Wolfram|Alpha](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=volume+of+the+sun+in+gallons)
Can i just say that site is fucking awesome? It’s gone straight in my bookmarks.
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### Author:  [@alterego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alterego)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312/26 "2009-09-25T19:47:07Z")
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> From Wikipedia the diameter of the sun is 1.392 \* 10^9 meters that is 1.13 \* 10^28 cubic meters. Using google with the phase:
> “1.13 \*10^28 cubic meters in gallons”
> yields the result
> 1.13 \* (10^28) (cubic meters) = 2.98514419 × 10[sup]30[/sup] US gallons
> google calculator rocks for units conversions.
google calculator is better than that (though not quite as easy as wolfram alpha): [diameter of the sun cubed in gallons](http://www.google.com/search?q=diameter+of+the+sun+cubed+in+gallons) returns 7.10997805 × 10[sup]29[/sup] US gallons
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### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [September 25, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-big-is-the-sun-in-gallons/511312/27 "2009-09-25T19:53:16Z")
> [@gazpacho](#):
>
> 1.13 \* (10^28) (cubic meters) = 2.98514419 × 10[sup]30[/sup] US gallons.
My 3 year-old son has a follow-up question:
Why?
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