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You can really shine with some expert knowledge, for example if you know the weight of the Earth. You can find out exactly how heavy our planet is and how it compares to some other planets here.
Weight of the Earth – this is what our planet weighs
Our planet is heavy, but it’s a lightweight compared to other planets in the solar system.
- Our Earth weighs a total of 5.972 quadrillion tonnes. This is a number with 21 zeros. Since this number is very difficult to imagine, you can use the moon as a comparison. It is 81 times lighter than our Earth. Accordingly, 81 moons in the sky would represent the weight of our Earth.
- Our Earth seems tiny and light when compared to the Sun. Only 330,000 earths would equal the weight of the sun.
- Our neighbouring planets Venus and Mars are also only light planets compared to the Sun. In comparison with the Earth as well: Venus has only 80 per cent of the Earth’s mass, Mars comes to only 10 per cent of the Earth’s mass.
- The heaviest planet in our solar system is Jupiter. Its mass is as great as that of 318 Earths. While Jupiter as a planet is by far the largest and heaviest, it still seems tiny compared to the Sun. 1,048 planets weighing the same as Jupiter would add up to the mass of the Sun.
- The other gas planets Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are also heavier than our Earth. Only Mercury, as the innermost planet of the solar system, has a lower mass than Earth, Mars and Venus.
- Because the weight of our Earth cannot be measured, it is determined through experiments and calculations. Newton’s law of gravity was mainly used for the experiments and calculations. Our Earth is also getting heavier by tonnes every day, mainly due to new comet dust or impacting meteorites. But compared to the total mass, the extra tonnes each day are not noticeable.
