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== Secular Earth Information ==

== Scientific Data on the Earth ==

The '''Earth''' is the third planet from the Sun. Its equatorial circumference (measured around the equator) is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers), and the polar circumference is slightly less at 24,809 miles (40,008 km).[http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzcircumference.htm] The reason its metric circumference is so close to the "round number" of 40,000 is that the French defined the [[kilometer]] as 1/10,000th the distance from the equator to the [[North Pole]].  

The '''Earth''' is the third planet from the Sun. Its equatorial circumference (measured around the equator) is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers), and the polar circumference is slightly less at 24,809 miles (40,008 km).[http://geography.about.com/library/faq/blqzcircumference.htm] The reason its metric circumference is so close to the "round number" of 40,000 is that the French defined the [[kilometer]] as 1/10,000th the distance from the equator to the [[North Pole]].