The view of the Earth from space makes our planet very distinguishable from the others. The blue oceans, green and brown land masses, and wispy white clouds makes our planet an oasis of life in the Solar System. Earth is the only planet in the Solar System to harbor life and sustain water on the surface. An extensive magnetic field, created by the rapid spin of the planet and the iron-nickel core, shields us from most of the solar radiation along with the atmosphere. The atmosphere also protects us from meterors, burning them up before they have a chance to hit the ground.

The equatorial radius of Earth is 6,378.14 kilometers, making it slighly larger than Venus. The mean distance from the Sun is 149,600,000 kilometers. An Earth day last 23.9345 hours, and there is exactly 365.256 days in an Earth year. The mean orbital velocity is 29.79 kilometers per second and the average surface temperature is 15 degrees Celsius. The first humans to see the Earth as a globe was the crew of the Apollo 8 mission to the Moon.

Images of Earth

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Apollo 17 image of the Earth

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Another image of Earth from Apollo 17

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Earth from the Clemintine spacecraft

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Earth from the Galileo spacecraft

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Anartica

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Apollo 8 Earthrise on the Moon

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Earth and the Moon from Galileo

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Earth and the Moon from Voyager

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View of the Earth at the start of re-entry from Gemini 3

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The United States at night

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New York City at night from the Space Shuttle

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Australia

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New Orleans, Louisiana

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Washington, D.C.

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Mississippi River delta in Louisiana

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Mississippi River in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi

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Mount Rainier, Washington

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Smoke from the oilfield fires in Kuwait

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Imapct on Earth

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Grand Canyon, Arizona