We never really think about Earth as having weight because in space, it is actually weightless.  Objects on Earth have weight and even mountains and oceans have weight. 

So what does Earth weigh?  Earth’s weight is  5.972 sextillion (1,000 trillion) metric tons, and it is actually gaining weight.  That’s 5,972,000,000,000,000, 000,000 tons and gaining! Scientists refer to this measurement as the Earth’s mass instead of weight since weight is the result of Earth’s gravitational pull on another object, and the Earth cannot pull on itself! As the Earth orbits the Sun, it is weightless. If the Earth were placed on the Sun, it would weigh more than if it were placed on Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system but much smaller than the sun. Yet, Earth (or any other object for that matter) would have the same mass regardless of where it is located.

Yet, Earth is gaining weight! At the present rate, Earth gains about 40,000 metric tons each year from space debris that bombard our planet; yet, it loses an amount so small (atmospheric gases, etc.) as to not really warrant any serious consideration.

Check out more details about our planet Earth and our planetary neighbors in the Earth at a Glance feature on ecology.com.  Tell us and ask others what other interesting facts you want to know or share about our planet by commenting to this blog.