SOLAR SYSTEM

Earth the water planet

Earth is the third planet of our solar system. It has one natural moon, 5 natural quasi-satellites, two space stations, a couple dozen space telescopes, and ~5,000 operational satellites (Starlink, OneWeb, Iridium, GPS, etc.) that orbit around it. Earth is the densest planet (and object) in the solar system.


Earth 4K image

Pan, zoom, or go full-screen with this megapixel image of Earth.

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  Original image: NASA


Earth facts

CHARACTERISTIC VALUE
Mass: 5.9 x 1024 kg
Radius: 6,378 km
Density: 5.52 gm/cm3
Distance from Sun: 149.6 million km
Rotational period: 23.93 days
Orbital period: 365.26 days
Orbital velocity: 29.79 km/sec
Eccentricity of orbit: 0.017
Tilt of axis: 23.45 °
Inclination of orbit: 0.0 °
Surface gravity: 9.78 m/sec2
Escape velocity: 11.2 km/sec
Albedo: 0.37
Surface temperature: 14°C mean
Atmosphere: N2 = 78%
O2 = 21%
water vapor = 1%
CO2 = 0.04%
Moons: 1


Earth features from space



Here are the major surface features that can be seen from space without magnification:

FEATURE TYPE
Amazon River South America
Chernobyl cooling pond Ukraine
Ganges River India
Grand Canyon USA
Great Barrier Reef Australia
Great Pyramids of Giza Egypt
Greenhouses of Almeria
Himalayas Asia
Kennecott Copper Mine USA
Palm Island Dubai
River Thames United Kingdom
Cities at night worldwide


Earth vs. Moon ratios

Planet sizes are to relative scale.






Two things are infinite - the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.

- Albert Einstein