 Earth and Moon Image
Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech |
Earth is the only planet in the entire universe that is known to support life naturally, and Earth is the only planet that we know of that contains all of the building blocks necessary to support it's wide variety of carbon based life forms which include Humans. Other planets in other galaxies come close, but we will have no way of knowing for sure until we can get closer to them.
Our atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other miscellaneous particles.
The earth is covered by water, and only 30% of the surface is made up of land masses such as the U.S.A. It was long believed that the continents of earth were stationary, but we now know that all land areas on earth are moving slowly but surely. This effect is called plate tectonics. Plate tectonics is responsible for the hight of mountains created by these large plates coming together, and large trenches created under the oceans where they are pulling apart.
We are constantly struggling to understand our environment, and the changes to it that affect life as we know it. Our push into space this century will greatly expand our knowledge of our own planet and the planets around us.
Discuss Earth in our forums: Earth
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Earth Statistics Table:
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Things to keep in mind:
- 1 A.U. is the distance from the Earth to the Sun, or 93 million miles ( 149.6 million km )
- Planets have elliptical orbits, and distances given are the average distance from the sun.
- Measurements given in earth terms. If read "days" or "years," earth days and earth years are implied
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Date of Discovery
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Known by the Ancients
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Average Distance from the Sun
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149,597,890 km
92,955,820 miles
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Equatorial Radius
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6,378.14 km
3,963.19 miles
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Equatorial Circumference
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40,075 km
24,901 miles
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Density
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5.515 g/cm3
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Surface Area
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510,065,700 km2
196,937,500 mi2
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Gravity
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9.766 m/s2
32.041 ft/s2
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Rotation Period (Length of Day)
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0.99726968 days
23.934 hours
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Orbit Period (Length of Year)
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1.0000174 years
365.24 days
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Orbital Velocity (avg)
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107,229 km/h
66,629 mph
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Orbital Circumference
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924,375,700 km
574,380,400 miles
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Min/Max Surface Temperature
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-88/58 C
-126/136 F
185/331 K
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Article written by IceCreamTruck and was compiled after extensive reading and study. This article is formatted to include information that isn't obvious from looking at most facts and figures sheets. Exact figures about the planet courtesy of JPL NASA and have been shortened to include only the most useful information. Please visit NASA's website for further detailed information on this planet NASA Earth Pages
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