|
|
|
|
Earth is special in our solar system. Currently, our planet is the only known location which supports life. The temperature, atmosphere, and many other components make Earth a very comfortable place for life. Hopefully scientists will learn more about the "secrets of life", which will help us better understand life and the rest of the universe. In the mean time, here are some cool facts about our home:
Mass -- 5.9737 x 1024 kg
Radius -- 3,963 mi (6,378 km)
Distance from the sun (average) -- 92,955,820 mi (149,597,890 km or 1.0 AU) The average distance from the sun to the Earth, 1.0 astronomical unit (AU), is a common measure when talking about lengths in our solar system.
Gravity -- 32 ft/sq. sec (9.8 m/sq. sec) An adult weighing 140 lbs on Earth is stuck with their weight, unless they travel to another planet!
Maximum surface temperature -- 136 °F
Minimum surface temperature -- -126 °F (below zero)
Orbital velocity -- 66,629 mph (107,229 km/hr)
Orbital eccentricity -- 0.0167 This is how off-circular the Earth's orbit around the sun is. An eccentricity of 0.00 would be a perfect circle. An eccentricity of nearly 1 would be a very flattened oval. For a fun project on ellipses and eccentricity, click here.
Sidereal rotation -- 24 hr This means the length of time it takes Earth to spin once: a day.
Sidereal orbit -- 8,765.76 hr (365.24 earth days) This means the length of time it takes Earth to orbit the sun once: a year.
Moons -- one, click to go to our moon's page
For more information on Earth, please visit SEDS' website http://www.nineplanets.org/earth.html and NASA's website http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Earth&Display=Overview (from which the image on this page was taken). Both websites are wonderful resources.
|
|
|
Website last updated March 16, 2006. Hosted by Anthony Watts, KMXI Radio. Webmasters Tiara Norris and Brendan Diamond. |
