Yes, today is Earth day. One day out of the year to concern ourselves with the condition and preservation of our planet. That's not asking much, now is it? Just one day of appreciation? <Pfft, yes, that is sarcasm. We should appreciate it every day...at least until we find another habitable one. And why else do you think we continue to search? Is there something our leaders are not telling us? Is it just for the sake of curiosity, or is there another reason, like what to do with the excess population growth, dwindling resources and pollution?
Anyway, let's not pay any attention to that and just celebrate the day. Tomorrow we can go back to our old ways of just concerning ourselves with our own species.
Earth Day 2014! (hey, we can at least celebrate that most of us are still here, and can breathe the air naturally, still have filtered water to drink, fuel for our multi-vehicles...oh, never mind!)
Anyway, let's not pay any attention to that and just celebrate the day. Tomorrow we can go back to our old ways of just concerning ourselves with our own species.
Earth Day 2014! (hey, we can at least celebrate that most of us are still here, and can breathe the air naturally, still have filtered water to drink, fuel for our multi-vehicles...oh, never mind!)
and in case we run out of Earth (and have nothing to celebrate), here's some scrap of hope-
Kepler-186f
(If we should have to move there, I think it needs a better name, don't you? And not 'Earth 2', that's been so overdone. Hmm, I wonder what the 'f' stands for? Like is it the past tense of how it will be once we move in?)
Kepler-186f
(If we should have to move there, I think it needs a better name, don't you? And not 'Earth 2', that's been so overdone. Hmm, I wonder what the 'f' stands for? Like is it the past tense of how it will be once we move in?)
K, so maybe it's not earth's twin, and more like a sista from another mista?
And maybe we need to stop looking and start seriously taking better care of this beautiful planet we were lucky enough to have evolved on!
And maybe we need to stop looking and start seriously taking better care of this beautiful planet we were lucky enough to have evolved on!
From NASA, 10 things (you should already know) about Earth-
Also from NASA, Earths Facts and Figures
(Stuff that we really don't need to know, unless just visiting?)
Discovered By: Known by the Ancients
Date of Discovery: Unknown
Orbit Size Around Sun (semi-major axis)
Metric: 149,598,262 km
English: 92,956,050 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.4959826 x 108 km (1.000 A.U.)
Perihelion (closest)
Metric: 147,098,291 km
English: 91,402,640 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.47098 x 108 km (9.833 x 10-1 A.U.)
Aphelion (farthest)
Metric: 152,098,233 km
English: 94,509,460 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.52098 x 108 km (1.017 A.U.)
Orbit Circumference
Metric: 939,887,974 km
English: 584,019,311 miles
Scientific Notation: 9.399 x 108 km
Average Orbit Velocity
Metric: 107,218 km/h
English: 66,622 mph
Scientific Notation: 2.9783 x 104 m/s
Orbit Eccentricity
0.01671123
Orbit Inclination
0.00005 degrees
Equatorial Inclination to Orbit
23.4393 degrees
Mean Radius
Metric: 6,371.00 km
English: 3,958.8 miles
Scientific Notation: 6.3710 x 103 km
Equatorial Circumference
Metric: 40,030.2 km
English: 24,873.6 miles
Scientific Notation: 4.00302 x 104 km
Volume
Metric: 1,083,206,916,846 km3
English: 259,875,159,532 mi3
Scientific Notation: 1.08321 x 1012 km3
Mass
Metric: 5,972,190,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg
Scientific Notation: 5.9722 x 1024 kg
(1.3 x 1025 pounds or 13,200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 avoirdupois lbs. or
or 13 septillion)
(Sheesh! My brain can only handle the millions and maybe billions *sigh*)
Density
Metric: 5.513 g/cm3
(why, oh, why did the US not embrace metrics? Meh, doesn't really matter, I don't have a firm grasp on our current weights and measurement system!)
Surface Area
Metric: 510,064,472 km2
English: 196,936,994 square miles
Scientific Notation: 5.1006 x 108 km2
Surface Gravity
Metric: 9.80665 m/s2
English: 32.041 ft/s2
Escape Velocity
Metric: 40,284 km/h
English: 25,031 mph
Scientific Notation: 1.119 x 104 m/s
Sidereal Rotation Period (Length of Day)
0.99726968 Earth days
23.934 hours
Minimum/Maximum Surface Temperature
Metric: -88/58 (min/max) °C
English: -126/136 (min/max) °F
Scientific Notation: 185/331 (min/max) K
Atmospheric Constituents
Nitrogen, Oxygen
Scientific Notation: N2, O2
By Comparison: N2 is 80% of Earth's air and is a crucial element in DNA.
(damn, I wish I were smarter! *another deep sigh* K, i'm gonna end this post since my brain is ready to freeze-up and then I'll have to reboot [as in 'kick to the head'] it, which is very painful.)
- If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a nickel.
- Earth is the third planet from the sun at a distance of about 150 million km (93 million miles) or one AU.Spacecraft study Earth from above.
- One day on Earth takes 24 hours (this is the time it takes the Earth to rotate or spin once). Earth makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in Earth time) in about 365 days.
- Earth is a rocky planet, also known as a terrestrial planet, with a solid and dynamic surface of mountains, valleys, canyons, plains and so much more. What makes Earth different from the other terrestrial planets is that it is also an ocean planet: 70 percent of the Earth's surface is covered in oceans. (which is where most of our oxygen is produced, too. If we keep polluting our oceans, we are dead. I like to breathe. How about you? <(Yes, that is my addition, as is anything else in italics.)
- The Earth's atmosphere is made up of 78 percent nitrogen (N2), 21 percent oxygen (O2) and 1 percent other ingredients -- the perfect balance for us to breathe and live. Many planets have atmospheres, but only Earth's is breathable. (it's all about balance!)
- Earth has one moon. Another name for a moon is satellite. (but it has been confirmed that we have transitory 'moons' visiting, then moving on.)
- Earth has no rings. (Well, I’ve read of an (invisible) anti-proton ring along with positron cloud that circles the Earth kinda like a shield. And there was that US military's West Ford ‘Project Needles’ thing that didn’t work out, but Earth doesn’t have observable rings like some of the other planets in our solar system.)
- Many orbiting spacecraft study the Earth from above as a whole system and together aid in understanding our home planet.
- Earth is the perfect place for life. (Wow, they really needed to tell us that?)
- Earth's atmosphere protects us from incoming meteoroids, most of which break up in our atmosphere before they can strike the surface as meteorites. (Yeah, most. And what of asteroids!?! Aren't we about due for another extinction episode? Anyway, HERE is an explanation of the different NEOs.)
Also from NASA, Earths Facts and Figures
(Stuff that we really don't need to know, unless just visiting?)
Discovered By: Known by the Ancients
Date of Discovery: Unknown
Orbit Size Around Sun (semi-major axis)
Metric: 149,598,262 km
English: 92,956,050 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.4959826 x 108 km (1.000 A.U.)
Perihelion (closest)
Metric: 147,098,291 km
English: 91,402,640 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.47098 x 108 km (9.833 x 10-1 A.U.)
Aphelion (farthest)
Metric: 152,098,233 km
English: 94,509,460 miles
Scientific Notation: 1.52098 x 108 km (1.017 A.U.)
Orbit Circumference
Metric: 939,887,974 km
English: 584,019,311 miles
Scientific Notation: 9.399 x 108 km
Average Orbit Velocity
Metric: 107,218 km/h
English: 66,622 mph
Scientific Notation: 2.9783 x 104 m/s
Orbit Eccentricity
0.01671123
Orbit Inclination
0.00005 degrees
Equatorial Inclination to Orbit
23.4393 degrees
Mean Radius
Metric: 6,371.00 km
English: 3,958.8 miles
Scientific Notation: 6.3710 x 103 km
Equatorial Circumference
Metric: 40,030.2 km
English: 24,873.6 miles
Scientific Notation: 4.00302 x 104 km
Volume
Metric: 1,083,206,916,846 km3
English: 259,875,159,532 mi3
Scientific Notation: 1.08321 x 1012 km3
Mass
Metric: 5,972,190,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg
Scientific Notation: 5.9722 x 1024 kg
(1.3 x 1025 pounds or 13,200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 avoirdupois lbs. or
or 13 septillion)
(Sheesh! My brain can only handle the millions and maybe billions *sigh*)
Density
Metric: 5.513 g/cm3
(why, oh, why did the US not embrace metrics? Meh, doesn't really matter, I don't have a firm grasp on our current weights and measurement system!)
Surface Area
Metric: 510,064,472 km2
English: 196,936,994 square miles
Scientific Notation: 5.1006 x 108 km2
Surface Gravity
Metric: 9.80665 m/s2
English: 32.041 ft/s2
Escape Velocity
Metric: 40,284 km/h
English: 25,031 mph
Scientific Notation: 1.119 x 104 m/s
Sidereal Rotation Period (Length of Day)
0.99726968 Earth days
23.934 hours
Minimum/Maximum Surface Temperature
Metric: -88/58 (min/max) °C
English: -126/136 (min/max) °F
Scientific Notation: 185/331 (min/max) K
Atmospheric Constituents
Nitrogen, Oxygen
Scientific Notation: N2, O2
By Comparison: N2 is 80% of Earth's air and is a crucial element in DNA.
(damn, I wish I were smarter! *another deep sigh* K, i'm gonna end this post since my brain is ready to freeze-up and then I'll have to reboot [as in 'kick to the head'] it, which is very painful.)
(PS- Save the whales, but first and foremost, save the oceans...and the forests, etc. etc. etc. In doing so, we are saving ourselves, duh!)