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Earth explained: our home planet

NASA says Earth sits one astronomical unit from the Sun, about ninety-three million miles, and sunlight takes roughly eight minutes to arrive; the name still means dirt.

On air: Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock on The Bonk-o-Meter
Published 6:40 AM ET, Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Photo: Earth from space — Photo: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

First reported by NASA: “Earth explained: our home planet”.
Covered on BBN on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 6:40 AM ET on The Bonk-o-Meter, by Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock.
Topics: Earth.
BBN covered this story before: Scientists say some distant planets may beat Earth for life (October 14).

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

NASAEarth explained: our home planet

What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe claim, from NASA's Earth reference page: our home planet is special. Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and only the fifth largest.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorFifth largest? That's just participation trophy placement, Hank.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorAnd it is the only planet with liquid water on the surface, plus life that began about three point eight billion years ago.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorAlso the only planet whose English name isn't from Greek or Roman gods. Earth is Old English and Germanic for the ground.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThe ground.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorJupiter got a god. We got dirt. And the Moon keeps our wobble steady, so the climate stays calmer.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo the claim checks out, and the Moon is basically the roommate who pays rent.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSunlight takes about eight minutes to get here, and we still call that on time.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorRating: Mildly Bonkers. A planet named the ground, and everyone still lives on it.