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    Our home planet is the third planet from the Sun, and the only place we know of so far that’s inhabited by living things.While Earth is only the fifth largest planet in the solar system, it is the only world in our solar system with liquid water on the surface. Just slightly larger than nearby Venus, Earth is the biggest of the four planets closest to the Sun, all of which are made of rock and metal

    Planet Earth is dynamic with a surface that is always changing. Rocks can be converted into another type of rock, for example igneous to metamorphic. Several information describes the ways in which rocks are slowly recycled over millions of years and transformed between the three rock types: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks.

    The structure of the earth is divided into four major components: the crust, the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. Each layer has a unique chemical composition, physical state, and can impact life on Earth's surface.

    10 Need-To-Know Things About Earth

    MEASURING UP

    If the Sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a nickel.

    THIRD ROCK

    Earth orbits our Sun, a star. Earth is the third planet from the Sun at a distance of about 93 million miles (150 million km)

    AS THE WORLD TURNS

    A day on Earth is 24 hours. Earth makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in Earth time) in about 365 days.

    WE'RE ON IT

    Earth is a rocky planet with a solid and dynamic surface of mountains, canyons, plains and more. Most of our planet is covered in water.

    BREATHE EASY

    Earth's atmosphere is 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other ingredients—the perfect balance to breathe and live.

    OUR COSMIC COMPANION

    Earth has one moon.

    RINGLESS

    Earth has no rings.

    ORBITAL SCIENCE

    Many orbiting spacecraft study the Earth from above as a whole system—observing the atmosphere, ocean, glaciers, and the solid earth.

    HOME, SWEET HOME

    Earth is the perfect place for life as we know it.

    PROTECTIVE SHIELD

    Our atmosphere protects us from incoming meteoroids, most of which break up in our atmosphere before they can strike the surface.