You’ve lived on Planet Earth all your life, but how much do
you really know about the ground underneath your feet? You probably have lots
of interesting facts all about Earth rattling around your brain
already, but here are 10 more interesting facts about Earth that you may, or may not know.
Plate tectonics keep the planet
comfortable
Earth is the only planet in the Solar System with plate tectonics. The outer crust of the Earth is broken up into regions known as tectonic plates. These are floating on top of the magma interior of the Earth and can move against one another. When two plates collide, one plate can go underneath another.
Earth is the only planet in the Solar System with plate tectonics. The outer crust of the Earth is broken up into regions known as tectonic plates. These are floating on top of the magma interior of the Earth and can move against one another. When two plates collide, one plate can go underneath another.
This process is very important. When microscopic plants in
the ocean die, they fall to the bottom of the ocean. Over long periods of time,
the remnants of this life, rich in carbon, are carried back into the interior
of the Earth and recycled. This pulls carbon out of the atmosphere, which makes
sure we don’t get a runaway greenhouse effect, like what happened on Venus. Without
the plate tectonics, there’d be no way to recycle this carbon, and the Earth
would overheat.
Earth is almost a sphere
The Earth’s shape could be described as an oblate spheroid. It’s kind of like a sphere, but the Earth’s rotation causes the equator to bulge out . What this means is that the measurement from pole to pole is about 43 km less than the diameter of Earth across the equator.
The Earth’s shape could be described as an oblate spheroid. It’s kind of like a sphere, but the Earth’s rotation causes the equator to bulge out . What this means is that the measurement from pole to pole is about 43 km less than the diameter of Earth across the equator.
Even though the tallest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest,
the feature that’s furthest from the center of the Earth is actually Mount
Chimborazo in Ecuador.
Earth is mostly iron, oxygen and
silicon
If you could separate the Earth out into piles of material, you’d get 32.1 % iron, 30.1% oxygen, 15.1% silicon, and 13.9% magnesium. Of course, most of this iron is actually down at the core of the Earth. If you could actually get down and sample the core, it would be 88% iron. 47% of the Earth’s crust consists of oxygen.
If you could separate the Earth out into piles of material, you’d get 32.1 % iron, 30.1% oxygen, 15.1% silicon, and 13.9% magnesium. Of course, most of this iron is actually down at the core of the Earth. If you could actually get down and sample the core, it would be 88% iron. 47% of the Earth’s crust consists of oxygen.
70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water
When astronauts first went into the space, they looked back at the Earth with human eyes for the first time, and called our home the Blue Planet. And it’s no surprise. 70% of our planet is covered with oceans. The remaining 30% is the solid ground, rising above sea level.
When astronauts first went into the space, they looked back at the Earth with human eyes for the first time, and called our home the Blue Planet. And it’s no surprise. 70% of our planet is covered with oceans. The remaining 30% is the solid ground, rising above sea level.
The Earth’s atmosphere extends
out to 10,000 km
The atmosphere is thickest within the first 50 km or so, but it actually reaches out to about 10,000 km above the surface of the planet. This outermost layer of the atmosphere is called the exosphere, and starts about 500 km above the surface of the Earth. As we said, it goes all the way up to 10,000 km above the surface. At this point, free-moving particles can actually escape the pull of Earth’s gravity, and be blown away by the Sun’s solar wind.
The atmosphere is thickest within the first 50 km or so, but it actually reaches out to about 10,000 km above the surface of the planet. This outermost layer of the atmosphere is called the exosphere, and starts about 500 km above the surface of the Earth. As we said, it goes all the way up to 10,000 km above the surface. At this point, free-moving particles can actually escape the pull of Earth’s gravity, and be blown away by the Sun’s solar wind.
But this high atmosphere is extremely thin. The bulk of the
Earth’s atmosphere is down near the Earth itself. In fact, 75% of the Earth’s
atmosphere is contained within the first 11 km above the planet’s surface.
Want more planet Earth facts? We’re halfway through. Here
come 5 more.
The Earth’s molten iron core
creates a magnetic field
The Earth is like a great big magnet, with poles at the top and bottom of the planet, near to the actual geographic poles. This magnetic field extends from the surface of the Earth out thousands of kilometers – a region called the magnetosphere.
The Earth is like a great big magnet, with poles at the top and bottom of the planet, near to the actual geographic poles. This magnetic field extends from the surface of the Earth out thousands of kilometers – a region called the magnetosphere.
Be grateful for the magnetosphere. Without it particles from
the Sun’s solar wind would hit the Earth directly, exposing the surface of the
planet to significant amounts of radiation. Instead, the magnetosphere channels
the solar wind around the Earth, protecting us from harm.
Scientists think that the magnetic field is generated by the
molten outer core of the Earth, where heat creates convection motions of
conducting materials. This generates electric currents that create the magnetic
field.
Earth doesn’t take 24 hours to
rotate on its axis
It’s actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This is the amount of time it takes for the Earth to completely rotate around its axis; astronomers call this a sidereal day. Now wait a second, that means a day is 4 minutes shorter than we think it is. You’d think that time would add up, day by day, and within a few months, day would be night, and night would be day.
It’s actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This is the amount of time it takes for the Earth to completely rotate around its axis; astronomers call this a sidereal day. Now wait a second, that means a day is 4 minutes shorter than we think it is. You’d think that time would add up, day by day, and within a few months, day would be night, and night would be day.
Remember that the Earth orbits around the Sun. Every day,
the Sun moves compared to the background stars by about 1° – about the size of the
Moon in the sky. And so, if you add up that little motion from the Sun that we
see because the Earth is orbiting around it, as well as the rotation on its
axis, you get a total of 24 hours. Now that sounds like the day we know.
A year on Earth isn’t 365 days
It’s actually 365.2564 days. It’s this extra .2564 days that creates the need for leap years. That’s why we tack on an extra day in February every year divisible by 4 – 2004, 2008, etc – unless it’s divisible by 100 (1900, 2100, etc)… unless it’s divisible by 400 (1600, 2000, etc).
It’s actually 365.2564 days. It’s this extra .2564 days that creates the need for leap years. That’s why we tack on an extra day in February every year divisible by 4 – 2004, 2008, etc – unless it’s divisible by 100 (1900, 2100, etc)… unless it’s divisible by 400 (1600, 2000, etc).
Earth has 1 moon and 2 co-orbital
satellites
As you’re probably aware, Earth has 1 moon (The Moon). But did you know there are 2 additional asteroids locked into a co-orbital orbits with Earth? They’re called 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29. We won’t go into too much detail about the Moon, I’m sure you’ve heard all about it.
As you’re probably aware, Earth has 1 moon (The Moon). But did you know there are 2 additional asteroids locked into a co-orbital orbits with Earth? They’re called 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29. We won’t go into too much detail about the Moon, I’m sure you’ve heard all about it.
3753 Cruithne is 5 km across, and sometimes
called Earth’s second moon. It doesn’t actually orbit the Earth, but has a
synchronized orbit with our home planet. It has an orbit that makes it look
like it’s following the Earth in orbit, but it’s actually following its own,
distinct path around the Sun.
2002 AA29 is only 60 meters across, and makes a
horseshoe orbit around the Earth that brings it close to the planet every 95
years. In about 600 years, it will appear to circle Earth in a quasi-satellite
orbit. Scientists have suggested that it might make a good target for a space
exploration mission.
Earth is the only planet known to
have life
We’ve discovered past evidence of water on Mars, and the building blocks of life on Saturn’s moon Titan. We can see amino acids in nebulae in deep space. But Earth is the only place life has actually been discovered.
We’ve discovered past evidence of water on Mars, and the building blocks of life on Saturn’s moon Titan. We can see amino acids in nebulae in deep space. But Earth is the only place life has actually been discovered.
But if there’s life on other planets, scientists are
building the experiments that will help find it. A new rover called the Mars
Science Laboratory will be heading to Mars in the next few years, equipped with
experiments that can detect life in the soil on the Red Planet. Giant radio
dishes scan distant stars, listening for the characteristic signals of
intelligent life reaching out across interstellar space. And new space telescopes,
such as the European Space Agency’s Darwin mission might be powerful enough to
sense the presence of life on other worlds.
sources :
http://www.universetoday.com/14382/10-interesting-facts-about-planet-earth/
http://mashable.com/2012/10/01/earth-song-nasa/
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