Earth
The third planet
from the Sun, Earth is our home planet. The Earth year is about 365 days.
The day is 24 hours. Earth is the only planet with liquid water. About three-fourths
of the planet is under water. It is the densest planet in the solar system,
with a crust made of free moving plates that move over hot mantle. Our planet
is about 4 billion years old, which is young compared to the rest of the universe.
On average, Earth is 93 million miles from the sun. Its diameter is 7,926
miles.
Earth is the only planet that is not named for a Greek or Roman mythical character.
There are many names for Earth like Gaia (Greek), Terre (French), and Jeegoo
(Korean).
Interesting Facts
· Earth's surface
is constantly changing. Large pieces of its thin crust slide on a layer of
partly melted rock which lies beneath the crust.
· Earth is home to many kinds of life, including human life. Every
day, nearly 400,000 people are born on the planet.
· A large satellite-the moon-orbits Earth. The two bodies are sometimes
called a double planet.
The
Moon
The Earth does not have rings, but it has one moon that was first visited
by humans in July 1969. The Galileo spacecraft took this picture of the moon.
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1 Orbit of Sun
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365.3 Days
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1 Rotation
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23 Hours 56 Minutes
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Distance From Sun
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93 Million Miles
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Average Temperature
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45°
F
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Atmosphere
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Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon
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Diameter
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7926 Miles
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Other Sites
· The
Nine Planets (http://www.planets4kids.com/earth.htm)
· Kids Astronomy.com
(http://www.kidsastronomy.com/earth.htm)
· Introduction to
the Nine Planets (http://www.seds.org/billa/tnp/earth.html)
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