Our home, Earth, is the third planet from the sun and the only world known to support an atmosphere with free oxygen, oceans of liquid water on the surface and life.
9
EARTH IS SQUASHED
Earth is not a perfect sphere. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)(opens in new tab), as Earth spins, gravity points toward the center of our planet
8
THE PLANET HAS A WAISTLINE
Gravity pushes extra masses of water and earth into a bulge, or "spare tire" around our planet. At the equator, the circumference of the globe is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers), according to Space.com(opens in new tab).
7
EARTH IS ON THE MOVE
You may feel like you're standing still, but you're constantly moving — fast. Depending on where you are on the globe, you could be spinning with the planet at just over 1,000 miles per hour, according to Space.com
6
THE PLANET MOVES AROUND THE SUN
The Earth isn't just spinning: It's also moving around the sun at 67,000 miles (107,826 km) per hour, according to the American Physical Society
5
EARTH IS BILLIONS OF YEARS OLD
Researchers calculate the age of the Earth by dating both the oldest rocks on the planet and meteorites that have been discovered on Earth (meteorites and Earth formed at the same time, when the solar system was forming).
4
THE PLANET IS RECYCLED
The ground you're walking on is recycled. Earth's rock cycle transforms igneous rocks to sedimentary rocks to metamorphic rocks and back again.
3
OUR MOON QUAKES
Earth's moon looks rather dead and inactive. But in fact, moonquakes, or "earthquakes" on the moon, keep things just a bit shaken up.
2
CHILE HAD THE LARGEST EARTHQUAKE
As of March 2016, the largest earthquake to shake the United States was a magnitude-9.2 temblor that struck Prince William Sound, Alaska, on Good Friday, March 28, 1964.
1
THE HOTTEST SPOT IS IN LIBYA
The fiery award for Earth’s hottest spot goes to El Azizia, Libya, where temperature records from weather stations reveal it hit 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 degrees Celsius) on Sept. 13, 1922