Our
Planet Earth
Third Planet from the Sun in our Solar System.
Approximately 4 and 1/2 Billion years old. (4,500,000,000)
Spins on its axis from "west to east" once every 23hours, 56minutes, 4seconds which makes ONE DAY.
The axis of the Earth is tilted 231/2 degrees to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun and this is the reason we have "SEASONS".
The Earth revolves around the Sun once every 365days, 5hours, 48minutes, 46 seconds (365.242199 days, rounded up to 365 1/4 days) which makes ONE "Tropical" YEAR. This is the time it takes the Earth to return to the Vernal Equinox and the first day of Spring.
The extra 1/4
day each year adds up to 1/4
+ 1/4+ 1/4+1/4
= 1
and so Every
4 years the we add one extra day to the year which will have 366 days and
this year is called a LEAP
YEAR. The extra day is added to the
month of February. 1996 and 2000 were the last two leap years and
the next one will be the year 2004.
About 75% of the surface of the Earth is covered by liquid water. The water is frozen in both the north and south polar regions. Many scientist believe the abundance of water on Earth may have come from comets which hit the earth in the past and deposited their icy waters on impact.
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