Name: Five Facts About Earth, Our Home Planet
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Earth is the only known planet to harbor life.

Five Facts About Our Home Planet

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Earth is the only planet in our Solar System to harbor life. But what else makes Earth unique?

Getting to know the planet we inhabit.

Five Facts About Earth, Our Home Planet

Space & Flight

Five Facts About Our Home PlanetPublished: July 29, 2019Onscreen: Five facts about Earth.1. Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial planets.Diameter: 7918 milesDistance from the Sun: ~93 million miles2. Earth’s atmosphere protects us from incoming meteoroids—most of which break up before they reach the surface.3. Most of Earth’s volcanoes are hidden underwater. From base to summit, Hawai`i’s Mauna Kea volcano is taller than Mount Everest—most of Mauna Kea is underwater.4. As far as we know, Earth is the only place in our solar system with life.5. Earth is the only planet that has a single moon, which is fairly far away. Thirty Earth-sized planets could fit between the two celestial bodies.To learn more about Mercury, tune in or stream "The Planets: Inner Worlds"

United States

Northern Mariana Islands

Puerto Rico

American Samoa

Guam

U.S. Virgin Islands

U.S. Minor Outlying Islands

US & Territories

Colossal explosions shake a remote corner of the Siberian tundra, leaving behind massive craters. In Alaska, a huge lake erupts with bubbles of inflammable gas. Scientists are discovering that these mystifying phenomena add up to a ticking time bomb, as long-frozen permafrost melts and releases vast amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. What are the implications of these dramatic developments in the Arctic? Scientists and local communities alike are struggling to grasp the scale of the methane threat and what it means for our climate future. (Premiered February 2, 2022)

In the Arctic, enormous releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, threaten the climate.

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The top half of Jupiter in blue and green against a night sky

A composite image of Jupiter using images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.

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Four bright orange loops brand off of a dark blue blob

A transmission electron micrograph of HIV-1 virus particles (orange) replicating from the plasma membrane of an infected H9 T cell. Credit: NIAID, Flickr

Scientists have cured a handful of people of HIV by piggybacking on treatments they received for blood cancer. But does that bring a widespread cure any closer?

Five Facts About Our Home Planet

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Explore More

The Planets: Inner Worlds

Five Facts About Mercury, the Planet Closest to Our Sun

Five Facts About Hot, Volcanic Venus