How mountainous is Earth?

Earth, the third planet from the solar, is the fifth-ideal planet within the solar system; finest the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are bigger. Earth is the ideal of the terrestrial planets of the inner solar system, bigger than Mercury, Venus and Mars. But how mountainous is Earth, precisely?

Radius, diameter and circumference

The radius of Earth on the equator is 3,963 miles (6,378 kilometers), according to NASA’s Goddard Role Flight Heart in Greenbelt, Maryland. Nonetheless, Earth is rarely any longer rather a sphere. The planet’s rotation causes it to bulge on the equator. Earth’s polar radius is 3,950 miles (6,356 km) — a difference of 13 miles (22 km).

Utilizing these measurements, the equatorial circumference of Earth is ready 24,901 miles (40,075 km). Nonetheless, from pole to pole — the meridional circumference — Earth is finest 24,860 miles (40,008 km) spherical. Our planet’s form, triggered by the knocking down on the poles, is named an oblate spheroid.

Those numbers produce Earth factual rather bigger than Venus, whose equatorial radius is about 3,761 miles (6,052 km). Mars is a lot smaller than both Earth and Venus, with an equatorial radius of factual 2,110 miles (3,396 km).

But Earth and the diversified rocky planets are powerful smaller than the gas giants. Shall we embrace, bigger than 1,300 Earths might well perchance match inner Jupiter.

Linked: What’s the tempo of Earth spherical the solar?

Density, mass and volume

Earth’s density is 5.513 grams per cubic centimeter, according to NASA. Earth is the densest planet within the solar system because of its steel core and rocky mantle. Jupiter, which is 318 extra massive than Earth, is much less dense because it is made basically of gases, honest like hydrogen.

Earth’s mass is 6.6 sextillion heaps (5.9722 x 10²⁴ kilograms). Its volume is ready 260 billion cubic miles (1 trillion cubic kilometers).

The total surface disaster of Earth is ready 197 million square miles (510 million square km). About 71% of our planet is lined by water and 29% by land. For comparability, the overall surface disaster of Venus is roughly 178 million square miles (460 million square km) , and that of Mars is ready 56 million square miles (144 million square km)

Absolute top and lowest aspects

Mount Everest is the top disaster on Earth above sea level, at 29,032 feet (8,849 meters), however it is no longer the top level on Earth — that is, the disaster most a ways a ways from the center of the Earth. That distinction belongs to Mount Chimaborazo within the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, according to the U.S. Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Even though Chimaborazo is ready 10,000 feet (3,048 m) shorter (relative to sea level) than Everest, this mountain is ready 6,800 feet (2,073 m) farther into disaster because of the the equatorial bulge.

Everest and Chimborazo are nowhere advance the tallest mountains within the solar system, alternatively. The height rising from Rheasilvia Crater on the asteroid Vesta, as an illustration, is ready 14 miles (22.5 km) substantial. Mars’ sizable Olympus Mons volcano is nearly as high, at 13.6 miles (21.9 km), and it covers an disaster the dimensions of the boom of Arizona.

The lowest level on Earth is Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench within the western Pacific Ocean, according to NOAA. It reaches down about 36,200 feet (11,034 m) under sea level.

Tim Appealing is the Reference Editor for Role.com. He manages articles that stamp scientific ideas, portray natural phenomena and outline technical terms. Beforehand, he was a Technology Editor at The New York Occasions and the Online Editor on the Des Moines Register. He was furthermore a copy editor at quite a lot of newspapers. Before becoming a member of Purch, Tim was a developmental editor on the Hazelden Foundation. He has a journalism stage from the University of Kansas. Follow Tim on Google+ and @therealtimsharp