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EARTH
Earth, also called the world and, less frequently, Gaia is the third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, and the only astronomical object known to accommodate life. The earliest life on Earth arose at least 3.5 billion years ago. Earth's biodiversity has expanded continually except when interrupted by mass extinctions. Although scholars estimate that over 99 percent of all species that ever lived on the planet are extinct, Earth is currently home to 10–14 million species of life, including over 7.2 billion humans who depend upon its biosphere and minerals. Earth's human population is divided among about two hundred sovereign states which interact through diplomacy, conflict, travel, trade and communication media.
General Information
Length of Day
23 hours, 56 minutes
Min/Max Temp
-126°F, -87.8°C To 136°F, 57.8°C
Atmosphere Composition
Nitrogen 78.08 %
Oxygen 20.95 %
Argon 0.930 %
Carbon Dioxide 0.039 %
Water Vapor ~1 %
Distance From Sun
92,955,820 miles
149,597,891 Kilometers
Length of Year
365 days, 6 hours, 16 minutes
Volume
1.083 21 x 10¹² Km.
Mass
5.97219 x 10²³ Kg.
Earth Videos
Northern Lights
The importance of coral reefs
Jungles
Contents
1 Chronology
1.1 Formation
1.2 Geological history
1.3 Evolution of life
1.4 Predicted future
2 Name and etymology
3 Composition and structure
3.1 Shape
3.2 Chemical composition
3.3 Internal structure
3.4 Heat
3.5 Tectonic plates
3.6 Surface
3.7 Hydrosphere
3.8 Atmosphere
3.8.1 Weather and climate
3.8.2 Upper atmosphere
3.9 Magnetic field
3.10 Magnetosphere
4 Orbit and rotation
4.1 Rotation
4.2 Orbit
4.3 Axial tilt and seasons
5 Habitability
5.1 Biosphere
5.2 Natural resources and land use
5.3 Natural and environmental hazards
5.4 Human geography
6 Moon
7 Asteroids and artificial satellites
8 Cultural and historical viewpoint
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
Chronology
Earth, our home planet, is the only planet in our solar system known to harbor life. All of the things we need to survive are provided under a thin layer of atmosphere that separates us from the uninhabitable void of space. Earth is made up of complex, interactive systems that are often unpredictable. Air, water, land, and life—including humans—combine forces to create a constantly changing world that we are striving to understand.
Viewing Earth from the unique perspective of space provides the opportunity to see Earth as a whole. Scientists around the world have discovered many things about our planet by working together and sharing their findings.
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Formation
The earliest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5672±0.0006 billion years ago (Gya). By 4.54±0.04 Gya the primordial Earth had formed. The formation and evolution of the Solar System bodies occurred along with those of the Sun. In theory, a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, and then the planets grow out of that along with the Sun.
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Chronology
Geological history
Earth's atmosphere and oceans formed by volcanic activity and outgassing that included water vapor. The origin of the world's oceans was condensation augmented by water and ice delivered by asteroids, protoplanets, and comets. In this model, atmospheric "greenhouse gases" kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70% of its current luminosity. By 3.5 Gya, Earth's magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind.
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