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| 3rd planet from the Sun, the fifth largest planet in the solar system — our home | |
| Average distance from the Sun | 149,600,000 km / 1.00 AU |
| Diameter | 12,756.3 km |
| Mass | 5.972e24 kg |
| Orbital period around the Sun | 1 year / 365 days |
| Number of moons | 1, the Moon |
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| Earth is the only planet to have liquid water on its surface. Liquid water covers 71% of the surface. Its atmosphere is 77% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with traces of other gases. From sky, white clouds of water vapor hide much of Earth’s surface. It was not until the 16th century that the idea began to spread and be accepted that the Earth was a planet in the same sense as the other planets that orbit the Sun. And it wasn’t until the 20th century that we had maps of the entire planet. Pictures taken from space are of considerable importance—they are an enormous help in weather prediction and especially in tracking and predicting hurricanes. Earth has only one moon, which is unlike any of the other satellite bodies in the solar system. | |
Our Solar System
Our solar system is located on the edge of a spiral arm called Orion’s Arm, and is one-half to two-thirds of the way (28,000 light-years) from the center of our Milky Way galaxy.The Sun, Sol
The Inner Planets
Mercury
Venus
Earth
The Moon
Mars
The Asteroid Belt
Dwarf planet, Ceres
Asteroid, Ida
Asteroid, Vesta
Asteroid, Eros
The Outer Planets
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
The Kuiper Belt
Dwarf planet, Pluto
Dwarf planet, Eris
The Oort Cloud
Dwarf planet, Sedna
Comet Halley
Comet Hale-Bopp
Glossary of Terms
