", "Curious Kids: Why is the moon called the moon? Circumference Measured at the equator, the circumference of the Earth is 24,901.55 miles. Earth has a dynamic atmosphere, which sustains Earth's surface conditions and protects it from most meteoroids and UV-light at entry. [233] The leakage of hydrogen into space contributes to the shifting of Earth's atmosphere and surface from an initially reducing state to its current oxidizing one. To break it down, the Earth is not a perfect. [132][50] The most common rock constituents of the crust are oxides. How big is Earth? | Space Carl Sagan demonstrates how Eratosthenes determined that the Earth was round and the approximate circumference, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earth%27s_circumference&oldid=1156653234, Cleomedes assumes that the distance between Syene and Alexandria was 5,000, He assumes the simplified (but inaccurate) hypothesis that Syene was precisely on the. Approximating the figure of Earth by an Earth spheroid, the radius ranges from a maximum of nearly 6,378 km (3,963 mi) (equatorial radius, denoted a) to a minimum of nearly 6,357 km (3,950 mi) (polar radius, denoted b).. A nominal Earth radius is sometimes used as a unit of . Earth is slightly smaller when measured between the North and South Poles which gives a diameter of 7,907 miles (12,725 kilometers). The water vapor acts as a greenhouse gas and, together with other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), creates the conditions for both liquid surface water and water vapor to persist via the capturing of energy from the Sun's light. The field extends outwards from the core, through the mantle, and up to Earth's surface, where it is, approximately, a dipole. [161] Earth, along with the Solar System, is situated in the Milky Way and orbits about 28,000light-years from its center. Earth's polar circumference is very near to 21,600 nautical miles because the nautical mile was intended to express one minute of latitude (see meridian arc), which is 21,600 partitions of the polar circumference (that is 60 minutes 360 degrees). [259] These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production. 00:03 12:50 Brought to you by Sciencing Earth's rotation in this direction toward uncertain destinations played havoc with the cartographers, or mapmakers, of the day. Mathematics Geometry Circumference Angles Earth's equator Introduction If you wanted to measure the circumference of Earth, how long would your tape measure have to be? (Table 8o-1)", "Estimation of the absolute surface air temperature of the Earth", "Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: Recent Global CO, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved", "Ag Isotopic Evolution of the Mantle During Accretion: New Constraints from Pd and Ag MetalSilicate Partitioning", "Constraining the Evolutionary History of the Moon and the Inner Solar System: A Case for New Returned Lunar Samples", "Controversial Moon Origin Theory Rewrites History", "Organic haze on Titan and the early Earth", "Source regions and time scales for the delivery of water to Earth", "Earth's water may have been inherited from material similar to enstatite chondrite meteorites", "Oldest measurement of Earth's magnetic field reveals battle between Sun and Earth for our atmosphere", "Heterogeneous Hadean hafnium: evidence of continental crust at 4.4 to 4.5 ga", "Early formation and long-term stability of continents resulting from decompression melting in a convecting mantle", "Rates of generation and destruction of the continental crust: implications for continental growth", "When and how did the ice age end? Soil is crucial for land to be arable. Earth orbits the Sun every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. [270][271] As of 2018, no country meets the basic needs of its population without transgressing planetary boundaries. This accumulated snow and ice eventually forms into glaciers, bodies of ice that flow under the influence of their own gravity. The circumference of the Earth would then be 50 times the overland distance between Alexandria and Syene. [3], The Moon and Earth orbit a common barycenter every 27.32days relative to the background stars. [210] Each layer has a different lapse rate, defining the rate of change in temperature with height. Earth | Definition, Size, Composition, Temperature, Mass, & Facts This was the number used by Christopher Columbus in order to underestimate the distance to India as 70,000 stades.[7]. [161][n 10] This is the maximum distance at which Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than the more distant Sun and planets. From Earth itself comes earthly. Why the Two Measurements? More recently, the name is sometimes simply given as Earth, by analogy with the names of the other planets, though earth and forms with the remain common. ", "Atmospheric pressure as a natural climate regulator for a terrestrial planet with a biosphere", "The end of life on Earth is not the end of the world: converging to an estimate of life span of the biosphere? How to Calculate the Circumference of Earth (Step by Step) - Tutors.com Although Chimaborazo is about 10,000 feet (3,048 m) shorter (relative to sea level) than Everest, this mountain is about 6,800 feet (2,073 m) farther into space because of the equatorial bulge. Mount Everest is the highest place on Earth above sea level, at 29,032 feet (8,849 meters), but it is not the highest point on Earth that is, the place most distant from the center of the Earth. Earth: By the Numbers - NASA Over the period of hundreds of millions of years, tectonic forces have caused areas of continental crust to group together to form supercontinents that have subsequently broken apart. [3] Furthermore, the fact that Eratosthenes' measure corresponds precisely to 252,000 stadia (according to Pliny) might be intentional, since it is a number that can be divided by all natural numbers from 1 to 10: some historians believe that Eratosthenes changed from the 250,000 value written by Cleomedes to this new value to simplify calculations;[17] other historians of science, on the other side, believe that Eratosthenes introduced a new length unit based on the length of the meridian, as stated by Pliny, who writes about the stadion "according to Eratosthenes' ratio". For other uses, see, Due to natural fluctuations, ambiguities surrounding, The ultimate source of these figures, uses the term "seconds of UT1" instead of "seconds of mean solar time".. [116][117], Earth's mechanically rigid outer layer of Earth's crust and upper mantle, the lithosphere, is divided into tectonic plates. [82][83], The Sun will evolve to become a red giant in about 5billion years. If we accept the account of Strabo that Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the earth as 252,000 stadia, the circumference would be 24,662 miles, and the polar diameter 7,850 miles-only 50 . The measure of Earth's circumference is the most famous among the results obtained by Eratosthenes,[8] who estimated that the meridian has a length of 252,000 stadia, with an error on the real value between 2.4% and +0.8% (assuming a value for the stadion between 155 and 160 metres;[3] the exact value of the stadion remains a subject of debate to this day; see stadion). [180][181], Viewed from Earth, the Moon is just far enough away to have almost the same apparent-sized disk as the Sun. Humans depend on Earth's biosphere and natural resources for their survival, but have increasingly impacted the planet's environment. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole, but the true halfway point is 16.0 km (9.9 mi) north of it (approximately between 4508'36" and 4508'37") because Earth . Its diameter (the distance from one side to the other through Earth's center) is 7,926 miles (about 12,756 kilometers). How to Determine the Earth's Circumference - dummies [222] Places close to oceans typically have colder summers and warmer winters, due to the fact that oceans can store large amounts of heat. Earth's land covers 29.2%, or 149millionkm2 (58millionsqmi) of Earth's surface. [24], The Modern English word Earth developed, via Middle English, from an Old English noun most often spelled eore. Its axial tilt does undergo nutation; a slight, irregular motion with a main period of 18.6years. The calculator below calculates Earth radius at a given latitude. The Latinate form Ga or Gaea (English: /di./) of the Greek poetic name Gaia (; Ancient Greek:[i.a] or [j.ja]) is rare, though the alternative spelling Gaia has become common due to the Gaia hypothesis, in which case its pronunciation is /a./ rather than the more classical English /e./. [37] The bodies in the Solar System formed and evolved with the Sun. [220] Earth's surface can be subdivided into specific latitudinal belts of approximately homogeneous climate. At approximately 750Ma, one of the earliest known supercontinents, Rodinia, began to break apart. Beyond these, the exosphere thins out into the magnetosphere, where the geomagnetic fields interact with the solar wind. Circumference and Diameter of the Earth - Universe Today Circumference = 2R or D, where 'R' is the radius of the sphere and 'D' is the diameter of the sphere (if the circular cross-section is taken at the exact center of the sphere). Viewed from a vantage point above the Sun and Earth's north poles, Earth orbits in a counterclockwise direction about the Sun. [216] The Kppen system rates regions based on observed temperature and precipitation. Eratosthenes - Measuring the Circumference of the Earth in 240 BC The diameter of a circle is twice the radius, giving us a diameter for Earth of 12,756 km. (October 17 -21) Did you know that . New York, What happened? [12] Using the length of the rod, and the length of the shadow, as the legs of a triangle, he calculated the angle of the sun's rays. Earth's density is 5.513 grams per cubic centimeter, according to NASA. Earth, the third planet from the sun, is the fifth-largest planet in the solar system; only the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are bigger. He has a journalism degree from the University of Kansas. This effect is much less significant than the total energy change due to the axial tilt, and most of the excess energy is absorbed by the higher proportion of water in the Southern Hemisphere. ", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, "Hope dims that Earth will survive Sun's death", "I've always wondered: why are the stars, planets and moons round, when comets and asteroids aren't? [155][156], Earth's rotation period relative to the fixed stars, called its stellar day by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), is 86,164.0989 seconds of mean solar time (UT1), or 23h 56m 4.0989s. Did It Supply the 5000 Stades Arc for Eratosthenes' Experiment? Firsov, which would give an even better precision, but is plagued by calculation errors and false assumptions. [231] Within the stratosphere is the ozone layer, a component that partially shields the surface from ultraviolet light and thus is important for life on Earth. [183][184] A trojan asteroid companion, 2010 TK7, is librating around the leading Lagrange triangular point, L4, in Earth's orbit around the Sun. Land: 148940000km2(57510000sqmi) 29.2%. [14] A value for the stadion of 157.7metres has even been posited by L.V. [287][288], "Planet Earth" redirects here. Flat vs. Round Earth Calculator [210] This last phenomenon is the greenhouse effect: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to capture thermal energy emitted from the surface, thereby raising the average temperature. Models predict that the Sun will expand to roughly 1AU (150millionkm; 93millionmi), about 250 times its present radius. [18] Another gives 15,360km (9,540mi), too large by 20%. From 1980 to 2000, these events caused an average of 11,800 human deaths per year. [144][145], The extent of Earth's magnetic field in space defines the magnetosphere. At the same time, the upwelling of mantle material at divergent boundaries creates mid-ocean ridges. Measurement of Earth's circumference has been important to navigation since ancient times.