Winton Eliott
Despite the fact that we barely notice it, planet Earth is moving relative to all other objects in the cosmos: through the Solar System, galaxy, and Universe as a whole.
At each scale, there’s a lot to discover about our movement throughout the cosmos, and we may even calculate what it totals up to at large.
When you ask how fast we’re traveling, make sure you clarify which object you’re talking about. We’ve now discovered the answer across all cosmic scales after centuries of astronomy advancements.
How fast is the Earth moving?
The answer really depends on what you’re measuring it against.
How fast does the earth move around the sun?
The Earth is moving fastest when measured against objects at rest within our own Solar System, like the Sun. Our planet completes one orbit around the Sun every 365.24 days or 365.26 days on leap years.
This means that the Earth moves at an average speed of 29.78 km/s (107,200 km/h) as it circles around the Sun. But this is just an average speed.
The Earth’s orbital speed varies depending on where it is in its orbit. It reaches its maximum speed at perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) when it speeds up to 30.29 km/s (108,700 km/h).
It slows down to 29.29 km/s (105,700 km/h) at aphelion (farthest distance from the Sun).
Read also: What Would Happen If The Sun Stops Shining
How fast does the earth move in the galaxy?
When measured against more distant objects like stars, we find that the Earth is actually moving quite slowly. Our planet takes one year to complete one orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy.
This means that the Earth moves at an average speed of 220 km/s (792,000 km/h) as it circles around the Milky Way. But once again, this is just an average speed.
The Earth’s speed varies depending on where it is in its orbit. It reaches its maximum speed at perigalacticon (closest approach to the center of the Milky Way) when it speeds up to 247 km/s (887,000 km/h).
It slows down to 200 km/s (720,000 km/h) at apogalacticon (farthest distance from the center of the Milky Way).
Read also: What Would Happen If the Sun Approaches Earth
How fast does the earth move in the universe?
When measured against all other objects in the Universe, the Earth is actually moving away from most of them. This is due to the fact that the Universe is expanding.
The further away an object is, the faster it is moving away from us.
So, when we measure the speed of the Earth against all other objects in the Universe, we find that it is moving away from most of them at a speed of approximately 68 km/s (244,000 km/h).
All of these speeds may seem very fast, but they are actually quite slow compared to the speed of light.
Light moves at a speed of 300,000 km/s (1,080,000 km/h) in a vacuum.
This means that the Earth is moving at just 0.023% of the speed of light when measured against objects within our own Solar System, 0.0073% of the speed of light when measured against objects within the Milky Way galaxy, and 0.022% of the speed of light when measured against all other objects in the Universe.
Even though the Earth is moving very slowly compared to the speed of light, it is still moving very fast compared to the speeds that we are used to experiencing in our everyday lives.
For example, the average speed of an airplane is just 870 km/h (265 m/s), which is less than 0.0003% of the speed of light.
This means that the Earth is moving more than 300,000 times faster than an airplane when measured against objects within our own Solar System, 1,000,000 times faster when measured against objects within the Milky Way galaxy, and 3,000,000 times faster when measured against all other objects in the Universe.
Read also: What would happen if the earth stops spinning
Why don’t we feel the Earth moving?
The answer has to do with inertia. Inertia is the property of an object that resists changes to its state of motion. An object in motion will continue moving in a straight line at a constant speed unless acted upon by an outside force.
The Earth has a lot of mass, which gives it a lot of inertia. It takes a lot of force to change the state of motion of an object with a lot of inertia.
The Earth is constantly being acted upon by outside forces, but most of these forces cancel each other out.
For example, the Sun exerts a gravitational force on the Earth that is trying to pull the Earth towards the Sun.
But at the same time, the Earth is exerting a gravitational force on the Sun that is trying to pull the Sun towards the Earth. These two forces cancel each other out, so the net force on the Earth is zero.
The only outside force that doesn’t cancel out is the force exerted by the Sun on the Earth’s orbit.
This force is what keeps the Earth moving in its orbit. It is also what keeps the Moon moving in its orbit around the Earth. And it is what keeps the planets moving in their orbits around the Sun.
The force exerted by the Sun on the Earth’s orbit is not strong enough to overcome the Earth’s inertia, so the Earth doesn’t speed up or slow down.
It just keeps moving in a straight line at a constant speed. This is why we don’t feel the Earth moving.
Even though we can’t feel the Earth moving, we can see the effects of its motion. For example, the changing position of the Sun in the sky is due to the Earth’s motion around the Sun.
The seasons are also caused by the Earth’s motion around the Sun. And the Moon appears to move across the sky because of the Earth’s motion around the Sun.
Read also: What happens if a particle goes faster than light
Summary
The earth is moving at a constant speed around the sun, galaxy, or universe. The speed is so high that it cannot be comprehended by our human brains.
Nevertheless, the force of inertia is so strong that we don’t feel the movement. The only proof we have that the earth is constantly moving is the observable changes in the position of celestial bodies.
Even though we can’t feel it, the Earth’s motion affects everything on it. The changing position of the Sun in the sky is due to the Earth’s motion around the Sun.
The seasons are also caused by the Earth’s motion around the Sun. And the Moon appears to move across the sky because of the Earth’s motion around the Sun.
All of these examples show how the Earth’s motion affects everything on it, even though we can’t feel the Earth moving.
