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Gallery of the major terrestrial bodies Below is a "family portrait" of the largest terrestrial bodies in the Solar System. All are viewed from the same distance (about 53,000 km) so that the pictures reflect their relative sizes correctly. First, we have the really big ones: clockwise from upper left, Earth, Mercury, Mars and Venus.
- Namesake. The name Earth is at least 1,000 years old. All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. However, the name Earth is a Germanic word, which simply means “the ground.”
- Potential for Life. Earth has a very hospitable temperature and mix of chemicals that have made life abundant here. Most notably, Earth is unique in that most of our planet is covered in liquid water, since the temperature allows liquid water to exist for extended periods of time.
- Size and Distance. With an equatorial diameter of 7926 miles (12,760 kilometers), Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial planets and the fifth largest planet in our solar system.
- Orbit and Rotation. As Earth orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 23.9 hours. It takes 365.25 days to complete one trip around the Sun. That extra quarter of a day presents a challenge to our calendar system, which counts one year as 365 days.
1 day ago · Earth’s surface is traditionally subdivided into seven continental masses: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. These continents are surrounded by five major bodies of water: the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern oceans. However, it is convenient to consider separate parts of Earth in ...
Terrestrial biomes are classified by the climate and their biodiversity, especially the types of primary producers. The world map in Figure below shows where 13 major terrestrial biomes are found. Worldwide Distribution of Terrestrial Biomes. This map shows the locations of Earth’s major terrestrial biomes. The following figures summarize the ...
Earth is the only known place that has ever been habitable for life. Earth's life developed in Earth's early bodies of water some hundred million years after Earth formed. Earth's life has been shaping and inhabiting many particular ecosystems on Earth and has eventually expanded globally forming an overarching biosphere. [241]
With a radius of 3,959 miles (6,371 kilometers), Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial planets and the fifth largest planet overall. From an average distance of 93 million miles (150 million kilometers), Earth is exactly one astronomical unit away from the Sun because one astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the distance from the Sun to Earth.
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Mar 22, 2024 · Author/Curator: Dr. David R. Williams, dave.williams@nasa.gov NSSDCA, Mail Code 690.1 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771 +1-301-286-1258