Earth

The third rock from the Sun, the Earth is the only celestial body we know that supports life. Our world is an amazing place.

Earth

Diameter: 12,756 km
Mass: 5,974,200,000,000,000,000,000 tonnes
Composition: Rocky: silicates & metals
Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon dioxide
Surface Temperature: -89 to 58 °C
Year length: 365.25 days
Day length: 24 hours

The Earth from space

The Earth from space

  • Earth is one of the four terrestrial planets.
  • The name Earth comes from the Old English “eorthe”.
  • The mean distance between the Sun and Earth is approximately 149,600,000 km.
  • Light travels the distance from the Sun to Earth in about 8 minutes and 19 seconds.
  • Earth is made up of a surface of rigid tectonic plates which move relative to each other along boundaries and forming the geological definition for the Earth's continents.
  • These tectonic plates build up mountains, create ridges visible on land and underwater, and whose movement results in volcanic and seismic activity.
  • The Earth was formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago, with life arising within one billion years of its formation.
  • Life on Earth, in some form or another, is expected to continue for another 500 million to 2.3 billion years before being consumed by the heat of the dying Sun.