Ballpark — October 24, 2026
Answers to that day's 5 daily estimation questions.
How many gallons of water does a washing machine use per load?
~20 gal/load
Laundry loads can use on the order of tens of gallons of water.
What is the diameter of the Sun, in miles?
~865,000 miles
The Sun accounts for more than 99.8% of all the mass in the solar system.
How tall is Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, measured on Mars?
~69,850 feet
Olympus Mons is a shield volcano roughly the size of the state of Arizona at its base.
How many Earth years does it take Neptune to complete one orbit of the Sun?
165 years
Neptune orbits nearly 2.8 billion miles from the Sun, moving far slower than Earth.
How long is the Panama Canal, from deep water in the Atlantic to deep water in the Pacific, in miles?
~50 miles
A ship transiting the canal is raised and lowered nearly 85 feet through a series of locks along the way.