 The Earth is the third planet in order of
distance from the Sun and the fifth one for dimensions.Seen from the space, the Earth appears as an ultramarine blue sphere, wound by thin discontinuous strips and white vortexes. Partly hidden from the clouds, the continents appear as orange areas, with reddish tones. The Earth has an atmosphere constituted essentially by nitrogen (78,08%), oxygen (20,95%), argon (0,93%) and carbonic dioxide (0,03%), with traces of other gases. The average temperature at the surface, around 22°C, allows water to persist broadly in the liquid state: about three quarters of the planet's surface is covered by waters, that constitute the hydrosphere. The Earth has a magnetic field, whose axis is slightly inclined in comparison with that of rotation: its influence is variously extended in the space (magnetosphere), for around 60.000 km in the direction of the Sun and 250.000 in that opposite. Around the Earth only a natural satellite rotates: the Moon. A peculiar characteristic of the planet Earth is the presence and the evolution of the life. |
Average distance from the Sun | 149.600.000 km |
|---|---|---|
| Longest distance from the Sun | 152.100.000 km | |
| Shortest distance from the Sun | 147.100.000 km | |
| Period of revolution | 365,26 days | |
| Period of rotation | 23 hours, 56' 4'' | |
| Average orbital velocity | 29,8 km/s | |
| Inclination of the axis | 23° 27' | |
| Inclination of the orbit compared to the ecliptic | 0° | |
| Eccentricity of the orbit | 0,017 | |
| Equatorial ray | 6.378 km | |
| Deflection | 0,0034 | |
| Mass | 5,97 x 10^24 kg | |
| Density | 5,52 kg/dm³ | |
| Albedo | 0,39 |
