The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. Its diameter is about one-quarter of Earth's, making it the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet. It is larger than all known dwarf planets in the Solar System. The Moon is a planetary-mass object with a differentiated rocky body, making it a satellite planet under the geophysical definitions of the term. It lacks any significant atmosphere, hydrosphere, or magnetic field. Its surface gravity is about one-sixth of Earth's at 0.1654 g—Jupiter's moon Io is the only satellite in the Solar System known to have a higher surface gravity and density.
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.
Lunar Laser Ranging (LLR) is the practice of measuring the distance between the surfaces of the Earth and the Moon using laser ranging. The distance can be calculated from the round-trip time of laser light pulses travelling at the speed of light, which are reflected back to Earth by the Moon's surface or by one of several retroreflectors installed on the Moon. Three were placed by the United States' Apollo program, two by the Soviet Lunokhod 1 and 2 missions, and one by India's Chandrayaan-3 mission.
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven traditional continents. Climbing to the summit of all of them was first done on 30 April 1985 by Richard Bass. Once considered a mountaineering challenge, in January 2023, Climbing said "Today, the Seven Summits are a relatively common—almost cliché—tour of each continent's highest peak", and that the real challenge was the Explorer's Grand Slam, the Seven Summits with the North and South poles.
In lunar astronomy, libration is the wagging or wavering of the Moon perceived by Earth-bound observers and caused by changes in their perspective. It permits an observer to see slightly different hemispheres of the surface at different times. It is similar in both cause and effect to the changes in the Moon's apparent size due to changes in distance. It is caused by three mechanisms detailed below, two of which cause a relatively tiny physical libration via tidal forces exerted by the Earth. Such true librations are known as well for other moons with locked rotation.
Kala Patthar is a notable landmark located on the south ridge of Pumori in the Nepali Himalayas above Gorakshep. Although not a proper mountain, with a prominence of only 10 m (33 ft), the ascent of Kala Patthar is very popular with trekkers in the region of Mount Everest since it provides the most accessible closeup view of Everest. Due to the structure of the Everest Massif, its high summit is blocked by Nuptse from much of the surrounding region.
This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or countries are not listed.
In topography, prominence measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contour line encircling it but containing no higher summit within it. It is a measure of the independence of a summit. The key col ("saddle") around the peak is a unique point on this contour line and the parent peak is some higher mountain, selected according to various criteria.
The Apache Point Observatory Lunar Laser-ranging Operation, or APOLLO, is a project at the Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico. It is an extension and advancement of previous Lunar Laser Ranging experiments, which use retroreflectors on the Moon to track changes in lunar orbital distance and motion.
The instantaneous Earth–Moon distance, or distance to the Moon, is the distance from the center of Earth to the center of the Moon. Lunar distance, or Earth–Moon characteristic distance, is a unit of measure in astronomy. More technically, it is the semi-major axis of the geocentric lunar orbit. The lunar distance is on average approximately 385,000 km (239,000 mi), or 1.28 light-seconds; this is roughly 30 times Earth's diameter or 9.5 times Earth's circumference. A little less than 400 lunar distances make up an astronomical unit.
The Khumbu Glacier is located in the Khumbu region of northeastern Nepal between Mount Everest and the Lhotse-Nuptse ridge. With elevations of 4,900 m (16,100 ft) at its terminus to 7,600 m (24,900 ft) at its source, it is the world's highest glacier. The Khumbu Glacier is followed for the final part of the trail to one of the Everest Base Camps. The start of the glacier is in the Western Cwm near Everest. The glacier has a large icefall, the Khumbu Icefall, at the west end of the lower Western Cwm. This icefall is the first major obstacle—and among the more dangerous—on the standard south col route to the Everest summit. It is also the largest glacier in Nepal.
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,849 metres (29,031.7 ft) above sea level. It is situated in the Himalayan range of Solukhumbu district, Nepal.
Mont Blanc is a mountain in the Montes Alpes range on the Moon. It is located on the western edge of the range, near the shore of Mare Imbrium, at 45.48°N 0.42°E. Its width is about 25 kilometers; the height is 3.7–3.8 km above adjacent plains of Mare Imbrium and 1.12 km above lunar level of zero elevation.
The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum distance to a point of equal elevation, representing a radius of dominance in which the peak is the highest point. It can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for major mountain peaks and can even be calculated for submarine summits.
The geology of solar terrestrial planets mainly deals with the geological aspects of the four terrestrial planets of the Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – and one terrestrial dwarf planet: Ceres. Earth is the only terrestrial planet known to have an active hydrosphere.
