Earth Facts for Kids

Planet Name: Earth
Type of Planet: Terrestrial planet
Solar System Region: Inner Solar System
Distance from the Sun: 91,000,000 miles (perihelion) to 94,500,000 miles (aphelion)
Time to Orbit Around the Sun: 1 Earth year (365.256 days)
Moons (natural satellites): 1
Total Surface Area: 196,940,000 square miles

17 Earth Facts for Kids

The planet Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
The planet Earth is the third closest planet to the Sun.
Earth is a terrestrial planet.
Earth is the fifth largest planet in our Solar System.
The radius of the planet Earth is 3,959 miles.
Earth’s perihelion (closest) distance to the Sun is 91 million miles.
Earth’s aphelion (farthest) distance to the Sun is 94.5 million miles.
Light from our Solar System’s Sun takes only eight minutes to reach Earth.
It takes Earth one year (365.256 days) to complete an orbit around the sun.
The Earth has one moon (natural satellite).
The Earth’s moon is over 238 thousand miles away.
Earth’s shape is an oval-shaped ellipse.
The planet Earth has no rings.
Earth has four main layers. The curst, mantle, outer core and inner core.
The atmosphere of Earth contains nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and the last 1% is made up of argon, carbon dioxide and neon.
Earth is the only planet in our Solar System known to harbor life now or in the past.
About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, however only 3% of it is fresh water.

A picture of the planet Earth taken during the 1972 Apollo 17 mission.Credit: NASA

A picture of the planet Earth taken from the surface of the moon.Credit: NASA

The first photograph of the planet Earth from space taken in 1946.Credit: U.S. Army

Planet Earth: Facts About Its Orbit, Atmosphere & Size – Find more Earth facts for kids on the Space.com website.
Overview | Earth – NASA Solar System Exploration – Learn more about the planet Earth on the NASA website.
10 Interesting Facts About Earth – Explore ten interesting facts about Earth on the Universe Today website.