World Facts
Description
Our world, also referred to as Earth, Terra, Gaia or Blue Planet, is the third planet from the Sun,
and the fifth-largest of the eight planets
in the Solar System. The sun is one of estimated 200 to 400 billion stars in a minor spiral galaxy, known
to the locals as Milky Way. In the Milky Way our planet is positioned at the inner rim of the Orion Arm.
The Milky Way itself is a galaxy part of the Virgo Supercluster, a group of galaxies in our known Universe.
Key Facts
Location: |
Local Universe -> Virgo Supercluster -> Milky Way -> Orion Arm -> Solar System |
Mean distance to sun: |
149.6 million km |
Closest stars next to the sun: |
Proxima Centauri, Rigil Kentaurus and Alpha Centauri B (all in a distance of about 4.3 light years) |
Nearest planetary neighbors: |
Venus and Mars |
Mean radius: |
6,371 km |
Mean diameter: |
12,742 km |
Equatorial perimeter: |
40,075,017 km |
Age: |
Appr. 4.54 billion years |
Surface area: |
510,072,000 km² total (100%) |
| 148,940,000 km² land (29.2%) | |
| 361,132,000 km² water (70.8%) | |
Continents: |
7 (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia & Oceania, Antarctica) |
Highest point on surface: |
Mount Everest (8,850 m) |
Longest river: |
Nile (6,650 km) |
Life on Earth: |
Appr. 30 million different species including animals, plants, fungi and bacteria, 1.5 million animal species |
Population: |
7 billion |
Population density: |
46.9/km² considering only land surface area |
Most densely populated country: |
Monaco with 15,142/km² |
Least densely populated country: |
Mongolia 1.76/km² |
Biggest city: |
Tokyo-Yokohama (population urban area 37,239,000) |
Souvereign states: |
206 (recognized by the United Nations) |
Earth Symbol: |
|
Notes: |
Decimal mark is a dot ("."), thousands separator is comma (",")! |
| Numbers are valid for year 2012! |
