Fifth Grade
Worksheets
Planet Earth, the Big Blue Marble
Caption: Earth as seen from space. The white swirls are clouds. Blue oceans cover about 71% of Earth's surface. Credit: NASA
From space, planet Earth looks like a big blue glass marble. At least it did to the astronauts of the Apollo 17 space mission. One of the astronauts took this picture of Earth on December 7, 1972. The picture is called "the Blue Marble." Since then, the picture has been used in many places. It may have been seen by more people than any other photograph on Earth!
Earth's beautiful blue color comes from its oceans. About 71 percent, or a little less than three-fourths, of Earth's surface is covered with water. In the picture, you can also see brown deserts and green forests. Antarctica is the icy, white mass near the bottom. The white swirls are clouds in Earth's atmosphere.
