How fast is earth travelling

Perhaps that seems a bit sluggish -- after all, Mars Pathfinder journeyed to Mars at nearly 75, miles per hour. Buckle your seat belts, friends. The Sun, Earth, and the entire solar system also are in motion, orbiting the center of the Milky Way at a blazing miles a second. Even at this great speed, though, our planetary neighborhood still takes about million years to make one complete orbit -- a testament to the vast size of our home galaxy. Dizzy yet? To go even further, how fast is the solar system orbiting the Milky Way galaxy?

Now that your head is spinning just like Earth, let's start with the planet itself. Earth turns on its own axis about once every 24 hours or, to be precise, every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. Related: What if Earth started spinning backward? Scientists know that by taking the distance Earth travels around the sun and dividing it by the length of time Earth takes to complete one orbit about days. Ask an Astronomer explains the math: To calculate Earth's distance around the sun, all scientists need to do is to determine the circumference of a circle.

We know that the Earth is, on average, about 93 million miles That distance between the sun and Earth is the radius of the circle.

Once the circumference the distance Earth travels around the sun in one orbit is calculated, its orbital speed can be determined. The solar system, which includes our sun and all of the objects that orbit it, is also moving; it's located within the Milky Way, which orbits around the galaxy's center.

Scientists know that the Milky Way is orbiting a galactic center based on observations of other stars, said Katie Mack, a theoretical astrophysicist at North Carolina State University. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. Support science journalism.

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