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Earth radius (denoted as R 🜨 or R E) is the distance from the center of Earth to a point on or near its surface. Approximating the figure of Earth by an Earth spheroid (an oblate ellipsoid), the radius ranges from a maximum (equatorial radius, denoted a) of nearly 6,378 km (3,963 mi) to a minimum (polar radius, denoted b) of nearly 6,357 km (3,950 mi).
The Earth's radius is the distance from Earth's center to its surface, about 6,371 km (3,959 mi). While "radius" normally is a characteristic of perfect spheres, the Earth deviates from spherical by only a third of a percent, sufficiently close to treat it as a sphere in many contexts and justifying the term "the radius of the Earth".
Earth's circumference is the distance around Earth. Measured around the equator, it is 40,075.017 km (24,901.461 mi). Measured passing through the poles, the circumference is 40,007.863 km (24,859.734 mi). [1] Treating the Earth as a sphere, its circumference would be its single most important measurement. [2]
The Hill sphere, or the sphere of gravitational influence, of Earth is about 1.5 million km (930,000 mi) in radius. [165] [n 11] This is the maximum distance at which Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than that of the more distant Sun and planets.
Unless specified otherwise, the radius of the Earth for the calculations below is: R {\displaystyle R\,\!} = 6,371.009 kilometers = 3,958.761 statute miles = 3,440.069 nautical miles . D {\displaystyle D_{\,}\!} = Distance between the two points, as measured along the surface of the Earth and in the same units as the value used for radius ...
The planet Earth has a rather slight equatorial bulge; its equatorial diameter is about 43 km (27 mi) greater than its polar diameter, with a difference of about 1 ⁄ 298 of the equatorial diameter. If Earth were scaled down to a globe with an equatorial diameter of 1 metre (3.3 ft), that difference would be only 3 mm (0.12 in).
However, even during the asteroid’s closest pass to date on August 8 at about 352,300 miles (567,000 kilometers), it was nowhere near Earth’s Roche limit, said Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, a ...
One is invariably the equatorial radius, which is the semi-major axis, a. ... where R denotes the mean radius of the Earth. R is equal to 6,371 km or 3,959 miles.