what is the circumference at the equator of Earth? (24,901 miles or 40,075km)

 

The reason I asked this question is that Russia's Hypersonic missiles are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Since the fastest of these goes 20,000 miles per hour it means that virtually ANY location on earth could be reached within 1/2 hour or less. There isn't much time to stop something like this once launched. It possibly could not be stopped by anything but a military laser and I'm not sure even that would work.

 

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The Earth's circumference at the equator is approximately 24,901 miles (40,075 km). 

Because the Earth spins on its axis, it bulges slightly at the center. This makes it an oblate spheroid rather than a perfect sphere, resulting in a slightly shorter circumference of 24,860 miles (40,008 km) when measured pole-to-pole. 

• Earth's circumference - Wikipedia

  For modern definitions and measurements, see Earth radius. Earth's circumference is the distance around Earth. Measured around the...

  

  

  Wikipedia
• Circumference of the Earth - Universe Today

  You might be interested to know that the circumference of the Earth is different depending on how you measure it. If you measure t...

  

  Universe Today
• Earth's Circumference - Universe Today

  The Earth's circumference - the distance around the equator - is 40,075 kilometers around. That's sounded nice and simple, but the...

  

  

  Universe Today

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