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- Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest of the four terrestrial planets namely Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars (Order of the planets from the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto (the dwarf planet)).
- The existence of water in the liquid phase on Earth is due to the temperature span that exists on the Earth: 0 – 100 degree Celsius. Water boils at 100 degree Celsius, thus converting it into gas and making it unusable for consumption by living beings including humans, animals, and birds, etc.
- Earth is the only place in the solar system where water can be present in all the three states – solid, liquid and gas.
- We are all traveling around the Sun at an average velocity of 107,182 kilometers per hour. And at the same time, we are also spinning with an enormous speed – that could be 1000 miles per hour depending on your position on Earth.
- Interesting Facts About Earth: Space
- Interesting Facts About Earth: Atmosphere
- Interesting Facts About Earth: Ground
- Interesting Facts About Earth: The Seas
- Interesting Facts About Earth: Underground
- Interesting Facts About Earth: Life
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1. Earth is a fast-moving spacecraft
We’re living in a big, fast-moving (really fast!) spacecraft. Even when you’re resting on your armchair, you’re flying through space faster than the fastest human-made object ever built: around 1.3 million miles per hour (2.1 million km/hr).
2. The first photo of Earth from space has been taken on 1946
Long before the Soviet-made Sputnik truly began the space age in 1957, on October 24, 1946, the first photo of Earth from space has been taken. The scientistslaunched a Nazi-built V-2 rocket (No. 13)from the White Sands Missile Range, a United States Army rocket range in southern New Mexico. There was a camera aboard the rocket, and when the rocket reached 105 km (65 mi), the black-and-white photo was taken. The rocket was one of the V-2 rockets captured and moved to the US at the end of WWII.
3. The farthest photo of Earth
The farthest spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1, took a photo of planet Earth in 1990, from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles, 40 AU) from Earth. The photo is known as the Pale Blue Dot. In the photograph below, Earth is shown as a fraction of a pixel (0.12 pixel in size) against the vastness of space.
19. The Atmosphere of Earth Extends beyond the Moon
The Exosphere, the outermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere extends from an altitude of up to 630,000 kilometers (391,000 miles) away, or 50 times the diameter of our planet, where it merges into the solar wind. For comparison, the average distance between Earth and the Moon is 384,400 km (238,855 miles). In other words, the outer edge of Earth’s atmosphere extends far beyond the moon. But, the atmosphere becomes thinner and thinner with increasing altitude, with no definite boundary between the...
20. Earth’s atmosphere constantly shines
This phenomenon is known as airglow. Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light – called a photon – in order to relax again. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind...
21. Meteorites
Between 100 and 300 tons of small meteorites, mainly fragments of dust, enter the atmosphere every day. And each day, up to 4 billion meteoroids fall to Earth. The largest known meteorite (as a single piece), and the most massive naturally-occurring piece of iron known on Earth’s surface left no crater. It’s the Hoba meteorite, which lies on the farm “Hoba West”, not far from Grootfontein, in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. Hoba is a tabloid body of metal, measuring 2.7×2.7×0.9 meters (8....
25. The continents are drifting
On average, the Americas move about one inch further away from Europe and Africa per year. The landmasses move away from each other due to a phenomenon called continental drift, where the tectonic plates that continents sit on are in constant motion and can drift toward and away from one another.
26. The Himalayas are still rising, and Nanga Parbat will be the world’s highest mountain someday
The Himalayas are the product of a collision between two continental plates (India and Eurasia, because of the continental drift explained above). The collision continues today, and the Himalayas are still rising. Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth is rising about 4 millimeters per year on average. But, Nanga Parbat, the western-most peak of the Himalayas, the world’s ninth-highest at 8,126 meters (26,660 ft) above sea level, is growing faster than any other sizable region on Earth...
27. The farthest point on the Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center is not the summit of Mount Everest
Since the Earth is not a perfect sphere, the measurement from pole to pole is about 43 km (26.7 mi) less than the diameter of Earth across the equator (see #6). That title goes to Chimborazo, a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Since Mount Everest is the highest mountain by elevation above sea level, Chimborazo’s location along the equatorial bulge makes its summit the farthest point on the Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center. In a way, it i...
33. The oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface
And that percentage is growing, because of global warming. If sea level should rise by 3 meters (10 feet), many of the World’s coastal cities, like Venice, London, New Orleans, and New York, would be underwater.
34. The Pacific is big
The Pacific Ocean is by far Earth’s largest ocean basin, covering an area of about 59 million square miles (155 million square kilometers) and containing more than half of the free water on Earth, according to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). It’s so big that all of the world’s continents could fit into it.
35. All Earth’s water can fit in a sphere 860 miles (1384.04 km) in diameter
Yes, the Pacific is big, and 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans– but despite that, all Earth’s water, liquid freshwater, and water in lakes and rivers can fit into a sphere 860 miles (1384.04 km) in diameter.
42. Magnetic Poles of Earth move
The magnetic poles of Earth move, due to magnetic changes in the Earth’s core. In 2001, the North Magnetic Polewas determined by the Geological Survey of Canada to lie near Ellesmere Island in northern Canada at 81.3°N 110.8°W. It was situated at 83.1°N 117.8°W in 2005. In 2009, while still situated within the Canadian Arctic territorial claim at 84.9°N 131.0°W, it was moving toward Russia at between 55 and 60 kilometers (34 and 37 mi) per year. As of 2016, the pole is projected to have moved...
43. Earth has a solid inner core of iron which has a radius of about 760 miles
It is surrounded by a liquid, outer core composed of a nickel-iron alloy. It is about 1,355 miles (2,180 km) thick. The inner corespins at a different speed than the rest of the planet. This is thought to cause Earth’s magnetic field.
44. Earth’s core is as hot as the surface of the Sun
The temperature of Earth’s core is estimated at 6,000 °C (about 10,800 °F). That’s as hot as the surface of the sun.
46. The largest living structure can be seen from the space
The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia is the largest living structure on Earth. Stretching for 1,429 miles over an area of approximately 133,000 square miles, it is the largest coral reef system in the world. But a coral reef is not a single living thing – they are built by colonies of tiny animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. A specific honey fungus measuring 2.4 miles (3.8 km) across the Blue Mountains in Oregon is thought to be the largest livi...
47. There are more microbial species on Earth than stars in the Milky Way galaxy
Until recently, our planet was thought to be inhabited by nearly 10 million species (107). When microorganisms are taken into account, recent studies suggest that Earth might be home to a staggering 1 trillion (1012) species. This number is way greater than the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy(100-400 billion).
48. Only 14% of the world’s species have been identified
Our planet is home to 8.7 million species. Even after centuries of effort, some 86 percent of Earth’s species have yet to be fully described. If the estimation at #44 is true, only 0.0001218 percent of the world’s species have been identified.
Armstrong limit on WikipediaChina’s Wall Less Great in View from Space on NASA.govSputnik 1 on WikipediaTardigrade on Wikipedia- We're the third rock from the sun. Our home, Earth, is the third planet from the sun and the only world known to support an atmosphere with free oxygen, oceans of liquid water on the surface and life.
- Earth is squashed. Earth is not a perfect sphere. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as Earth spins, gravity points toward the center of our planet (assuming for explanation's sake that Earth is a perfect sphere), and a centrifugal force pushes outward.
- The planet has a waistline. Gravity pushes extra masses of water and earth into a bulge, or "spare tire" around our planet. At the equator, the circumference of the globe is 24,901 miles (40,075 kilometers), according to Space.com.
- Earth is on the move. You may feel like you're standing still, but you're constantly moving — fast. Depending on where you are on the globe, you could be spinning with the planet at just over 1,000 miles per hour, according to Space.com.
- Earth is not a perfect sphere. Yes, we've all been taught that the Earth is not flat, but it may shock you to learn that it's not perfectly spherical either.
- The circumference of Earth is 24,901 miles. That's 40,075 kilometers and here's how it works: According to Space.com, gravity is constantly pushing bodies of water and earth into a kind of "spare tire" shape (remember: not a perfect sphere).
- Earth has an uneven gravitational field. The surface of Earth is rocky and bumpy, so it can't have an even gravitational field. It would, however, if it was perfectly spherical.
- Earth is a terrestrial planet. It's also known as a telluric or rocky planet. A terrestrial planet simply refers to a planet that's mostly composed of silicate rocks or metals.
Jan 24, 2022 · Earth is in the Milky Way galaxy, the third planet from the sun in our solar system. 4. Light from the sun takes some time to travel to Earth. According to NASA, it takes about eight minutes for ...
Jun 21, 2022 · 2. The Earth is made mostly of just four elements. If you could grind down, melt, and filter the entire mass of Earth, most of the stuff you’d get would consist of just four different elements ...
Facts about the Earth. 1) Earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system. Its name comes from the the old English and Germanic words meaning ‘the ground’. 2) Our amazing planet has been around for quite some time. By researching our planet’s rocks, scientists have calculated the Earth to be around 4.5 billion years old!
