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3 days ago · Earth, third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest planet in the solar system in terms of size and mass. Its single most outstanding feature is that its near-surface environments are the only places in the universe known to harbour life. It is designated by the symbol ♁.
- Planetary Differentiation
Earth - Differentiation, Formation, Structure: Once hot,...
- The Atmosphere
Earth - Atmosphere, Climate, Ozone: Earth is surrounded by a...
- The Interior
Earth - Core, Mantle, Crust: More than 90 percent of Earth’s...
- Basic Planetary Data
Earth - Planet, Atmosphere, Geology: The mean distance of...
- The Outer Shell
Earth - Core, Crust, Mantle: Earth’s outermost, rigid, rocky...
- Impacts, Planetesimals, Craters
Earth - Impacts, Planetesimals, Craters: During its...
- Accretion, Formation, Core
Earth - Accretion, Formation, Core: As the gas making up the...
- Structure, Composition, Development
Earth - Structure, Composition, Development: The origin of...
- Planetary Differentiation
- Namesake. The name Earth is at least 1,000 years old. All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. However, the name Earth is a Germanic word, which simply means “the ground.”
- Potential for Life. Earth has a very hospitable temperature and mix of chemicals that have made life abundant here. Most notably, Earth is unique in that most of our planet is covered in liquid water, since the temperature allows liquid water to exist for extended periods of time.
- Size and Distance. With an equatorial diameter of 7926 miles (12,760 kilometers), Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial planets and the fifth largest planet in our solar system.
- Orbit and Rotation. As Earth orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 23.9 hours. It takes 365.25 days to complete one trip around the Sun. That extra quarter of a day presents a challenge to our calendar system, which counts one year as 365 days.
Earth rotates around its own axis in slightly less than a day (in about 23 hours and 56 minutes). Earth's axis of rotation is tilted with respect to the perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun, producing seasons.
Dec 6, 2019 · The surface area of Earth is about 197 million square miles / 510 million square kilometers. Around 71% of the surface is covered by water and 29% by land. The water is 3% fresh and 97% salted. Of that 3% freshwater, over 2% is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers meaning that less than 1% is freshwater found in lakes, rivers, and the underground.
Numbers do not add up to exactly 100% due to roundoff and uncertainty. Water is highly variable, typically makes up about 1%. Note that the acceleration values given are for the equator and pole. The standard acceleration of gravity for Earth is defined (CODATA 2018) as 9.80665 m/s 2 (exact).
The outermost layer, Earth's crust, goes about 19 miles (30 kilometers) deep on average on land. At the bottom of the ocean, the crust is thinner and extends about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the seafloor to the top of the mantle. Surface. Surface. Like Mars and Venus, Earth has volcanoes, mountains, and valleys.
The Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago. Find out about the speed it spins and how it orbits the Sun in this Bitesize Primary KS2 Science guide.