Statistics:
Mass (kg) 5.976e+24
Mass (Earth = 1) 1.0000e+00
Equatorial radius (km) 6,378.14
Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) 1.0000e+00
Mean density (gm/cm^3) 5.515
Mean distance from the Sun (km) 149,600,000
Mean distance from the Sun (Earth = 1) 1.0000
Rotational period (days) 0.99727
Rotational period (hours) 23.9345
Orbital period (days) 365.256
Mean orbital velocity (km/sec) 29.79
Orbital eccentricity 0.0167
Tilt of axis (degrees) 23.45
Orbital inclination (degrees) 0.000
Equatorial escape velocity (km/sec) 11.18
Equatorial surface gravity (m/sec^2) 9.78
Visual geometric albedo 0.37
Mean surface temperature 15°C
Atmospheric pressure (bars) 1.013
Atmospheric composition:
Nitrogen,
Oxygen, other.
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest..
Earth Motion
In common with the entire solar system, the earth is moving through space
at the rate of approximately 20.1 km/sec or 72,360 km/h (approximately
12.5 mi/sec or 45,000 mph) toward the constellation of Hercules. The
Milky Way galaxy as a whole, however, is moving toward the constellation
Leo at about 600 km/sec (about 375 mi/sec). The earth and its satellite,
the moon, also move together in an elliptical orbit about the sun. The
eccentricity of the orbit is slight, so that the orbit is virtually a
circle. The approximate length of the earth's orbit is 938,900,000 km
(583,400,000 mi), and the earth travels along it at a velocity of about
106,000 km/h (about 66,000 mph). The earth rotates on its axis once every
23 hr 56 min 4.1 sec (based on the solar year). A point on the equator
therefore rotates at a rate of a little more than 1600 km/h (about 1000
mph), and a point on the earth at the latitude of Portland, Oregon (45° north),
rotates at about 1073 km/h (about 667 mph).
Facts
The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. Fossil records show that life began
on Earth at least 3.5 billion years ago.
The equatorial diameter of the
Earth is 12,756 km (7,926 mi).
The Earth is inclined on it's axis at
an angle of 23.45 deg.
The Earth
orbits the Sun at an average speed of 29.79 km/s (18.51 miles/sec,
or 67,000 miles/hour).
One year on Earth is 365.26 days long.
One
day on Earth is 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds long. One of
the common theory of the Earth came to be is that the Earth developed
form a swirling mass of rock and gas.
The temperatures on Earth
range from -88 deg to 58 deg Celsius. The Earth's temperature has
fluctuated
over time.
100 million years ago it was 6 to 12 degrees hotter
than it is today. Today 71% of the Earth is covered with water, 29%
by
the continents. The percentage covered by water will increase as
the Earth continues to warm and polar ice caps melt. The Pacific
Ocean is one of the largest features on the face of the Earth,
with an area of more than 181 million square kilometers (approximately
70 million sq mi.) It contains half of the world's water. It takes
light 8 min. 20 sec to travel from the sun to the Earth. (Light
travels
at a speed of 3X10^5 km/sec.) The velocity required to escape Earth's
gravity is 11.2 km/sec.
The Earth is the densest major body in the solar system.
The Earth is divided into several layers which have distinct chemical
and seismic properties (depths in km):
0- 40 Crust
40- 400 Upper mantle
400- 650 Transition region
650-2700 Lower mantle
2700-2890 D'' layer
2890-5150 Outer core
5150-6378 Inner core
Atmosphere
The Earth's atmosphere is 77% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with traces
of argon, carbon dioxide and water. There was probably a very much
larger amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere when the
Earth was first formed, but it has since been almost all incorporated
into carbonate rocks and to a lesser extent dissolved into the oceans
and consumed by living plants. Plate tectonics and biological processes
now maintain a continual flow of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
to these various "sinks" and back again. The tiny amount
of carbon dioxide resident in the atmosphere at any time is extremely
important to the maintenance of the Earth's surface temperature via
the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect raises the average surface
temperature about 35 degrees C above what it would otherwise be (from
a frigid -21 C to a comfortable +14 C); without it the oceans would
freeze and life as we know it would be impossible.
Earth Moon Interaction
The interaction of the Earth and the Moon slows
the Earth's rotation by about 2 milliseconds per century. Current research
indicates that
about 900 million years ago there were 481 18-hour days in a year.
How to remember the order of the planets:
My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.
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