Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to

harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System,
only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface is made up of the
ocean, dwarfing Earth's polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29% of Earth's
surface is land, consisting of continents and islands. Earth's surface layer is formed of
several slowly moving tectonic plates, interacting to produce mountain ranges,
volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's liquid outer core generates the magnetic field that
shapes Earth's magnetosphere, deflecting destructive solar winds.

Earth
🜨
Photograph of Earth, taken by the Apollo 17 mission. The Arabian peninsula, Africa and
Madagascar lie in the lower half of the disc, whereas Antarctica is at the top.
A photograph of Earth taken by the crew of Apollo 17 in 1972. A processed version
became widely known as The Blue Marble.[1][2]
Designations
Alternative names
Gaia, Terra, Tellus, the world, the globe
Adjectives
Earthly, terrestrial, terran, tellurian
Orbital characteristics
Epoch J2000[n 1]
Aphelion
152100000 km (94500000 mi)[n 2]
Perihelion
147095000 km (91401000 mi)[n 2]
Semi-major axis
149598023 km (92955902 mi)[3]
Eccentricity
0.0167086[3]
Orbital period (sidereal)
365.256363004 d[4]
(1.00001742096 aj)
Average orbital speed
29.78 km/s[5]
(107200 km/h; 66600 mph)
Mean anomaly
358.617°
Inclination
7.155° to the Sun's equator;
1.57869°[6] to invariable plane;
0.00005° to J2000 ecliptic
Longitude of ascending node
−11.26064°[5] to J2000 ecliptic
Time of perihelion
2022-Jan-04[7]
Argument of perihelion
114.20783°[5]
Satellites
1 natural satellite: the Moon
5 quasi-satellites
>4 500 operational artificial satellites[8]
>18 000 tracked space debris[n 3]
Physical characteristics
Mean radius
6371.0 km (3958.8 mi)[9]
Equatorial radius
6378.137 km (3963.191 mi)[10][11]
Polar radius
6356.752 km (3949.903 mi)[12]
Flattening
1/298.257222101 (ETRS89)[13]
Circumference
40075.017 km equatorial (24901.461 mi)[11]
40007.86 km meridional (24859.73 mi)[14][n 4]
Surface area
510072000 km2 (196940000 sq mi)[15][n 5]
148940000 km2 land (57510000 sq mi)
361132000 km2 ocean (139434000 sq mi)
Volume
1.08321×1012 km3 (2.59876×1011 cu mi)[5]
Mass
5.97237×1024 kg (1.31668×1025 lb)[16]

(3.0×10−6 M☉)
Mean density
5.514 g/cm3 (0.1992 lb/cu in)[5]
Surface gravity
9.80665 m/s2 (1 g; 32.1740 ft/s2)[17]
Moment of inertia factor
0.3307[18]
Escape velocity
11.186 km/s[5] (40270 km/h; 25020 mph)
Synodic rotation period
1.0 d
(24h 00m 00s)
Sidereal rotation period
0.99726968 d[19]
(23h 56m 4.100s)
Equatorial rotation velocity
0.4651 km/s[20]
(1674.4 km/h; 1040.4 mph)
Axial tilt
23.4392811°[4]
Albedo
0.367 geometric[5]
0.306 Bond[5]
Surface temp. min mean max
Celsius −89.2 °C[21] 14 °C (1961–90)[22] 56.7 °C[23]
Fahrenheit −128.5 °F 57 °F (1961–90) 134.0 °F
Surface equivalent dose rate
0.274 μSv/h[24]
Atmosphere
Surface pressure
101.325 kPa (at MSL)
Composition by volume
78.08% nitrogen (N2; dry air)[5]
20.95% oxygen (O2)
~ 1% water vapor (climate variable)
0.9340% argon
0.0413% carbon dioxide[25]
0.00182% neon[5]
0.00052% helium
0.00019% methane
0.00011% krypton
0.00006% hydrogen
Earth's atmosphere consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. More solar energy is
received by tropical regions than polar regions and is redistributed by atmospheric and
ocean circulation. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere and forms clouds
that cover most of the planet. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide
(CO2) trap a part of the energy from the Sun close to the surface. A region's climate is
governed by latitude, but also by elevation and proximity to moderating oceans.
Severe weather, such as tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, and heatwaves, occurs in
most areas and greatly impacts life.

Earth is an ellipsoid with a circumference of about 40,000 km. It is the densest planet in
the Solar System. Of the four rocky planets, it is the largest and most massive. Earth is
about eight light minutes away from the Sun and orbits it, taking a year (about 365.25
days) to complete one revolution. Earth rotates around its own axis in just 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. Earth is
orbited by one permanent natural satellite, the Moon, which orbits Earth at 380,000
km (1.3 light seconds) and is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth. The Moon always faces
the Earth with the same side through tidal locking and causes tides, stabilizes Earth's
axis, and gradually slows its rotation.

Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. During the first billion years of Earth's history,
the ocean formed and then life developed within it. Life spread globally and began to
affect Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to Earth's Great Oxidation Event two
billion years ago. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago, and have reached a population
of almost 8 billion today. Humans depend on Earth's biosphere and natural resources
for their survival, but have increasingly impacted Earth's environment. Today,
humanity's impact on Earth's climate, soils, waters, and ecosystems is unsustainable,
threatening people's lives and causing widespread extinction of other life.