How much does the Earth Weight?

Have you been worried about your ever persistent weight that is just not ready to leave your body and find a home somewhere else? If you are, then welcome to the family of selfish Homo sapiens who does not even give a little consideration to the poor earth who has been for millenniums bearing the weight of all our giant bodies.

We are sure you might have never wondered how much does the earth weigh. Or has the question of ‘How much does the earth weigh’ bothered you once while you were attending your astronomy class? We are glad if it did.

Although the earth just like other planets appears to not to be too large, it does have its own weight.

Talking in numbers the Earth’s weight is 5.972 sextillion (1,000 trillion) metric tons which is just 5,972,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons. And our little planet is gaining weight these days!! Yes, it is gaining weight at a rate of 40,000 metric tons each year from space debris that attacked our planet.

(Image Courtesy: Earth-mass-ask-marilyn-ftr)

In scientific terms, the measurement is calculated as Earth’s mass instead of Earth’s weight because its weight is the result of its gravitational pull on other object and Earth cannot pull itself. While revolving around the sun, the Earth is surprisingly weightless. The objects on Earth; be it the oceans or the mountains have weight but not the planet.

Earth has been one of the favorite research spaces for the scientists, and therefore in addition to understanding its diameter, circumference, and surface area, they have also paid attention to observe the planet’s weight.

When compared to other planets, Earth classifies as the largest and the densest amongst the rocky planets. In fact, it is said that if Earth were placed over the Sun, it would weigh way more than if it is placed over Jupiter, as Earth would have the same mass irrespective of its location.

(Image Courtesy: www.see.leeds.ac.uk)

Earth is the undoubtedly the largest terrestrial planet in our Solar System. It is mostly composed of silicate rocks and metals which are differentiated in the inner core, a molten outer core and a mantle and crust made out of silicate materials.

Modern scientists discovered that the mass of the Earth can be calculated by observing the things that fall towards it. Mass generates gravity, therefore more the mass, more the gravitational pull. By calculating the acceleration with which the object is pulled towards the Earth, one can calculate its mass.

So do you now agree that our World isn’t that small after all? Let us know in the comment section below.

(Featured Image Courtesy: IESB)