Gentu

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Gentu
Gentu and Cynthia.jpg
Gentu and its moon, photo taken from the Xenophus 2 Mission in 2005.
Designations
Gentǔ, Terra, The World
Orbital characteristics
Epoch XXX
Aphelion152100000 km (94500000 mi)
Perihelion147095000 km (91401000 mi)
149598023 km (92955902 mi)
Eccentricity~0.0167086
365 d (12.0 months)
29.78 km/s (18.50 mi/s)
358.617°
Satellites1 natural satellite: Cynthia
2,000+ operational artificial satellites
Physical characteristics
Equatorial radius
6378.1 km (3963.2 mi)
Polar radius
6356.8 km (3949.9 mi)
Flattening0.0033528
Circumference40075.017 km (24901.461 mi) (equatorial)
40007.86 km (24859.73 mi) (meridional)
510,072,000km2
(316,944,000 mi2)
Volume1.08321 × 1012km3
Mass5.97237 x 1024 kg
Mean density
5.514 g/cm3
9.807 m/s2
0.3307
11.186 km/s (6.951 mi/s)
0.99726968 d (23.934472 h)
Equatorial rotation velocity
0.4651 km/s (0.2890 mi/s)
23.4392811°
Albedo0.367 geometric
0.306 Bond
Surface temp. min mean max
Celsius −89.2 °C 14.9 °C 56.9 °C
Fahrenheit −128 °F 58.7 °F 134.3 °F
Atmosphere
Surface pressure
101.325 kPa (at MSL)
Composition by volume78.08% nitrogen (N2) (dry air)
20.95% oxygen (O2)
0.930% argon
0.039% carbon dioxide (climate-variable)

Gentu, also known as Gentǔ, or Terra, is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour life. While large amounts of water can be found throughout the Gentu System, only Gentu sustains liquid surface water. About 67% of Gentu's surface is made up of the ocean. The remaining 33% of Gentu's surface is land, consisting of continents and islands. Gentu's surface layer is formed of several slowly moving tectonic plates, interacting to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes and earthquakes.

Gentu formed over 4.5 billion years ago. During the first billion years of Gentu's history, the ocean formed and then life developed within it. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago and have reached a population of almost 12 billion today. Humans depend on Gentu's biosphere and natural resources for their survival, but have increasingly impacted Gentu's environment. Today, humanity's impact on Gentu's climate, soils, waters and ecosystems is unsustainable, threatening people's lives and causing widespread extinction of other life.