Shape and Size of the Earth Geodesy is the science that studies the shape and size of the Earth. As discussed in Voyagers, the shape of the earth was long known to be round. Aristotle and Pythagoras both argued that the earth was a sphere from the curved shadow it cast during lunar eclipses. About two thousand years later, Sir Isaac newton suggested that the earth was not a perfect sphere, but rather somewhat flattened at its poles. From mathematical considerations of the combined gravitational and centrifugal forces which the earth experiences, Newton computed that the Earth's shape should be an oblate spheroid, a solid formed when an ellipse is rotated about its axis (see Figure 14). Expeditions to Peru in 1735 and to Lapland in 1736 confirmed this theory. The difference in axes is about 1 part in 300. This means the earth's equatorial diameter is 7,926 miles, while its polar diameter is 7,900 miles. Although the difference between equatorial and polar diameters is only 26 miles, the oblate shape of the earth complicates geographical matters. 1.) How does the weight of a 10-lb bag of rice compare at the equator and at the North Pole? Solution Since the bag of rice is farther from the earth's center at the equator, it weighs less at the equator than at the North Pole. 2.) Which mountain is the tallest on earth: Mt. Everest, Mauna Kea or Chimborazo? Have the class consider the following information before answering. ¥ Mount Everestrises in the eastern Himalayas between Nepal and Tibet (latitude: 27.6oN). This young, limestone mountain has two peaks, one of which reaches 29,108 ft above sea level This height was confirmed in December 1983 during a surveillance mission by the space shuttle Columbia. Everest is covered with snow except for its bare, gale-swept summits. The Tibetan name Qomolangma means "goddess mother of the world." ¥ Mauna Kea is a large dormant volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii (latitude: 19.5oN). It was last active over 4,000 years ago. Its summit is covered in winter by snow, giving its name Mauna Kea or White Mountain. Measuring 13,796 ft high above sea level, it extends an additional 18,200 ft to the ocean floor. Several major astronomical observatories are now in operation at its summit. ¥ Chimborazo is a volcanic peak in the Andes of Ecuador (latitude: 1.3oS). Its crater is buried under a thick ice cap. Tributaries of the Amazon River run down its eastern slopes. Chimborazo measures 20,561 ft above sea level. Solution
The answer depends upon how height is defined. a.) When height is measured from the base of the mountain, Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain. Its total height as measured from the ocean bottom is 31,996 ft. b.) When height is measured from sea level, Mt. Everest is the tallest. Its peak reaches higher into the atmosphere than any other mountain. c.) When height is measured from the center of the earth, Chimborazo is tallest since it is located nearly on the equator, where the earth bulges the most (see Figure 3). Voyagers details how the earth's size was computed at the Royal Library of Alexandria. This famous library, which was founded by Alexander the great (a student of Aristotle, who proved the earth was round), had a collection of a half million scrolls. As the primary center of learning in ancient times, the Royal Library lured many great scholars to its halls. Besides Eratosthenes and Ptolemy, who measured the earth's size, there were other famous researchers, like Euclid, Archimedes and Hypatia (a famous female mathematician). Eratosthenes became head librarian at the Royal Library around 235 BC. There, he made the first accurate measurement of the earth's circumference. His value (based on the altitude of the noontime sun as seen from Alexandria and Syene on the first day of summer) was approximately 25,000 miles. The actual equatorial circumference is 24,902 miles. In 150 AD, Claudius Ptolemy recomputed this measurement based on the altitude shift of Canopus, second brightest star in the sky. His figure equaled 18,000 miles. === ===
As far as a rocky planet goes, it's quite large. It could be a bit larger without any problems, but after that gravitational forces will try to pull the surface inwards.
Compared to a gas or ice giant, it is tiny.
in our system, Jupiter is the biggest planet. but the biggest planet ever recorded is called "TReS-4B"
The mass of planet Earth is: 5.972E24 kg. Believe it or not, Earth is only the 5th largest planet in our solar system. It is the densest planet in our solar system.
the number of in terms of size the earth is 4th number .
Pluto. It is the 9th planet from the sun and it is very different then Earth in size and temperature
Venus is the closest in size but it is a very different planet in all other respects. The atmosphere is very thick and almost completely made of carbon dioxide. Venus suffers from severe global warming with surface temperatures of 400-500 degrees C.Venus is the closest to Earth in terms of size comparison, it is a little smaller.venus is closest, and then mars is half the size. (of earth)Venus is closest to Earth's size.Venus is 81.5% the mass of Earth. It's the closest in size to Earth.Venus is roughly the same size as Earth.Venus is very close to the size of the Earth, only about 5% smaller.Venus is the closest size to Earth and is sometimes called "Earth's sister planet." Its diameter is 95% of Earth's but its mass is only 81% as much.It is also often the closest planet to Earth, except when it is on the opposite side of the Sun, when either Mars or Mercury may be the closest in distance. The density of Venus is the closest to the Earth's density of the major planets.Venus, which is called the "sister planet" because of it being almost equal in size as the EarthVenus is the planet closest in size to the Earth's size.The equatorial diameter of Venus is about 95% the size of the earth's equatorial diameter. Venus also happens to be the planet whose: -- orbit is closest to the size of earth's orbit -- minimum distance from earth is the least -- appearance in our sky is brighter than any other object except the sun and moon -- mass is closest to the earth's mass -- density is closest to the earth's densityVenus
the size of a basketball
It doesn't
That would be Jupiter. The Great Red Spot is a storm more than twice the size of Earth.
Earth
The circumference of the Earth is about 40,000 kilometers or 24,900 miles.The total surface area of the Earth is about 500,000,000 square kilometers.
If the moon were appreciably further from Earth than it is, its apparent size in the sky would be smaller than the sun's apparent size, and a total solar eclipse would be impossible.
With a radius of 3396km, the planet Mars is about the same size as the inner and outer core of the earth (which is around 3490km radius in total).
my guess is earth is the same size as earth
The total area of the Earth is approximately 510 million square kilometers and the oceans cover about 71 percent of the Earth's surface, which is about 360 million square kilometers.. the diameter of earth is 12,756.3 kilometres
No planet is exactly the size of Earth. Venus is close to Earth's size but slightly smaller.
asteroids vary in size from rock size to earth size and bigger.
According to NASA the size of Mercury is 2440 km radius. And it is almost a half the size of the Earth. Because Earth size is 6372 km radius. Meaning the Mercury is about 1/3 the size of the Earth.
The moon is smaller than the Earth. Its diameter is just over one quarter that of Earths, but its total mass is only around 1.23% of Earths mass.
earth is 5th number in term of size
Mars' diameter is about half that of the Earth and it's mass is only 10% of the Earth's.The total surface area of Mars is about the same as the total land area of the Earth.