Earth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the planet itself. For its human aspects, see World. For other uses, see Earth
(disambiguation).
Earth

The Blue Marble photograph of Earth, taken during

the Apollo 17 lunar mission in 1972
Orbital characteristics
Epoch J2000[n 1]
Aphelion 152100000 km[n 2]
(94500000 mi; 1.017 AU)

Perihelion 147095000 km[n 2]

(91401000 mi; 0.98327 AU)
km[1]
Semi-major axis 149598023
(92955902 mi; 1.00000102 AU)
Eccentricity 0.0167086[1]
[2]
Orbital period 365.256363004 d
(1.00001742096 yr)
Average orbital 29.78 km/s[3]
speed (107200 km/h; 66600 mph)
Mean anomaly 358.617
Inclination
7.155 to the Sun's
equator;

1.57869[4] to invariable
plane;
 0.00005 to J2000
ecliptic

Longitude of
11.26064[3] to J2000 ecliptic
ascending node
Argument of
114.20783[3]
perihelion

1 natural satellite: the

Moon

5 quasi-satellites
Satellites
>1400 operational
artificial satellites[5]

>16000 space debris[n 3]

Physical characteristics
Mean radius 6371.0 km (3958.8 mi)[6]
Equatorial radius 6378.1 km (3963.2 mi)[7][8]
Polar radius 6356.8 km (3949.9 mi)[9]
0.0033528[10]
Flattening
1/298.257222101 (ETRS89)

40075.017 km equatorial
(24901.461 mi)[8]
Circumference
40007.86 km meridional
(24859.73 mi)[11][12]

510072000 km2
(196940000 sq mi)[13][14][n 4]

Surface area 148940000 km2 land

(57510000 sq mi; 29.2%)

361132000 km2 water

(139434000 sq mi; 70.8%)

1.083211012 km3 (2.598761011 cu

Volume
mi)[3]
 5.972371024 kg (1.316681025 lb)
Mass [15]

(3.0106 M)
Mean density 5.514 g/cm3 (0.1992 lb/cu in)[3]
Surface gravity 9.807 m/s2 (1 g; 32.18 ft/s2)[16]
Moment of inertia
0.3307[17]
factor
[3]
Escape velocity 11.186 km/s
(40270 km/h; 25020 mph)
Sidereal rotation 0.99726968 d[18]
period (23h 56m 4.100s)
Equatorial 0.4651 km/s[19]
rotation velocity (1674.4 km/h; 1040.4 mph)
Axial tilt 23.4392811[2]

0.367 geometric[3]
Albedo
0.306 Bond[3]

Surface temp. min mean max

[20] [21]
Kelvin 184 K 288 K 330 K[22]
Celsius 89.2 C 15 C 56.7 C
Fahrenheit 128.5 F 59 F 134 F
Atmosphere
Surface pressure 101.325 kPa (at MSL)

78.08% nitrogen (N2; dry

air)[3]

20.95% oxygen (O2)

Composition by 0.930% argon

volume
0.0402% carbon
dioxide[23]

~ 1% water vapor (climate-

variable)

Earth (from Old English: Eore; Greek: Gaia;[n 5] Latin: Terra[25]), otherwise known as the
World (especially in geopolitics and geography),[n 6] or the Globe, is the third planet from the
Sun and the only object in the Universe known to harbor life. It is the densest planet in the Solar
System and the largest of the four terrestrial planets.

According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed about 4.54 billion
years ago.[27][28][29] Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the
Moon, Earth's only natural satellite. During one orbit around the Sun, Earth rotates about its axis
over 365 times; thus, an Earth year is about 365.26 days long.[n 7] Earth's axis of rotation is tilted,
producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface.[30] The gravitational interaction between the
Earth and Moon causes ocean tides, stabilizes the Earth's orientation on its axis, and gradually
slows its rotation.[31]