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Earth: Location and Orbit
Facts in Brief
| Aphelion | 1.5210 x 108 km |
| Perihelion | 1.4709 x 108 km |
| Rotational Period | 23 Hr. 56 Min. 4.1 Sec |
| Orbital Period (Year) | 1 Year = 365.256 Days |
| Orbital Inclination | 0o |
| Eccentricity | 0.0167 |
| Axial Tilt | 23o 27" |
Relative Location
Formed approximately 4.65 billion years ago, Earth is a 5.98 x 1024 kg chunk of rock that measures approximately 12,756 km across. It revolves around the sun at a mean distance of 1.496 x 108 km in an almost perfectly circular orbit. One complete revolution about the Sun takes approximately 365.256 days. Since it is not practical to have a "quarter-day," leap years were introduced into the calendar. An extra day is added to the calendar as February 29 every leap year.Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest in the solar system. It completes one rotation about its axis every 23 hours 56 minutes 4.1 seconds. Earth has one satellite, the aptly-named Moon, which makes one complete revolution around its planet every 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes 11.5 seconds. The Moon exhibits phases which are the the subject of many old myths and stories.