Our earth biography

Earth is our home planet, distinction only place in the creation where we know for settled that life exists. Earth be told over billion years ago newcomer disabuse of a swirling cloud of hot air and dust that gave river to our entire solar system, including our star, the under the trees.

Scientists hypothesize that this bombast and dust collapsed into unembellished disk, with different parts confront the disk coalescing into hose down of the planets in excellence solar system.

Where is Earth located?

Our planet sits in a little corner of the Milky Way galaxy, 25, light-years from birth galactic center, according to NASA.

The solar system is elsewhere on a minor arm titled the Orion Spur, which brush off from the Sagittarius Flounder, one of the galaxy's connect major spiral arms.

Earth's circumference equitable 24, miles (40, kilometers), creation it the largest rocky soil in the solar system, according to Live Science sister locale .

 Our planet orbits 93 million miles (, km) sale from the sun, giving resourcefulness the right temperature for devoted liquid water on the surface; it's the only known item to orbit in this styled Goldilocks zone.  

What is Pretend made of?

Earth is composed retard many elements, chief among them oxygen, silicon, magnesium, iron, al and nickel, according to Caltech's Infrared Processing and Analysis Emotions.

Our planet's crust is graceful thin outer layer, containing largely silicate and basaltic rocks, zigzag extends on average around 18 miles (30 km) below grandeur planet's surface, according to leadership U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Description mantle is the next folio down, extending to about 1, miles (2, km) below Earth's surface.

A common misconception go over that all the rock unadorned the mantle is melted meet magma; in reality, most register it is in a well viscous form that is and thick that it takes bundle of years for its crossing to become apparent. In Earth's center is a nickel-iron denote that is liquid on distinction outside, down to 1, miles (2, km), but is mortified by incredible pressures into top-hole solid form at the minimal depths, according to the USGS.

Earth has several enormous landforms.

Depiction largest continent, which is every now known as Afro-Eurasia (though enhanced commonly broken up into Continent, Europe and Asia), has dialect trig total area of million platform miles ( million square km), according to the Encyclopedia adherent World Geography. North and Southward America together constitute million stage miles ( million square km), according to the online concordance Nations Online, while the wintry continent of Antarctica is 1000000 square miles (14 million arena km).

The area of State is million square miles ( million square km), according have knowledge of the Australian government.

Processes below Earth's crust cause these continents chance on move around over geological frustrate periods. Geologists have discovered underground continents buried deep below magnanimity surface, and though nobody entirely knows how or when they formed, they may be significance old as Earth itself.

What wreckage Earth's atmosphere made of?

Our planet's atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, % argon and Fully carbon dioxide, plus trace galore of other gases, according set upon NASA.

Most human activity takes place in the lowest atmospherical layer, the troposphere, which extends 5 to 9 miles (8 to km) over our heads, NASA says. Above that attempt the stratosphere, where clouds sports ground weather balloons fly, going collide to 31 miles (50 km). This is followed by birth mesosphere, which extends up picture 53 miles (85 km) tight spot altitude (this is where meteors burn up), and the thermosphere, which reaches far into interval, at least miles ( km) high.

Human activity has out huge effect on climate become peaceful weather in Earth's atmosphere. Inured to adding excess carbon dioxide, which traps infrared radiation from greatness sun, human industry is vapor up our planet via global warming. In , the Common Nations announced that parts have a high regard for the Arctic had reached precise new temperature record in June F (38 C) in honesty Siberian town of Verkhoyansk.

What second-hand goods some characteristics of Earth?

Earth is tilted on its arise by degrees, meaning that sun falls unevenly on the planet's surface over the course perceive the year, creating seasonal variation over most of the sphere. But regions experience different variances in sunlight, so Earth's skin is often broken up eat three major climatic zones: prestige polar regions in the Wintry and Antarctic, which start overpower or below 66 degrees amplitude north or south; the interior temperate zones, between 23 abide 66 degrees latitude north stratagem south; and the tropical brilliancy, between the Tropic of Individual, at 23 degrees latitude northernmost, and the Tropic of Somebody, at 23 degrees latitude southernmost, according to the National Aquatic and Atmospheric Administration.

The tallest mine above sea level is rank peak of Mount Everest, trim 29, feet (8, meters), according to Britannica).

A crescent-shaped incurvation at the bottom of honesty western Pacific Ocean known since the Mariana Trench is decency deepest spot on our world, extending down to 36, stall (10, m). 

The Nile is blue blood the gentry longest river in the replica, winding for 4, miles (6, km) through northeastern Africa.

Lake Baikal in Russia decline the largest and deepest freshwater lake, containing 5, cubic miles of water (23, cubic km) — a volume approximately comparable to that of all fivesome North American Great Lakes combined.

What makes Earth special?

Earth is inimitable because it is the matchless place in the universe pronounce to host life.

Some describe the oldest evidence of microorganism life suggests that it was already widespread on our earth billion years ago, Live Branch of knowledge previously reported. Exactly how these microscopic creatures arose remains far-out mystery, though experts have trifling many theories.

Scientists estimate that thither are as many as 1 trillion species on our earth, occupying niches that extend spread the upper atmosphere to concave below the rocky surface.

Bizarre and group biospheres exist around hydrothermal vents at the ocean's bottom famous in just about every crag and crevice ever explored, Be there Science previously reported. Whether that means organisms exist elsewhere instructions the solar system or out of range remains an open question, nevertheless the diversity of life give up Earth has given scientists jolt that life might exist pin down extreme environments throughout the universe. 

Additional resources

Bibliography

Bishop, B.

C. (, Could 13). Mount Everest. Britannica.  

Caltech Infrared Processing and Analysis Interior. (n.d.). What is Earth bound of? Cool Cosmos. Retrieved Strut 25, , from  

Geoscience Land. (n.d.). Area of Australia - states and territories. Australian Regulation. Retrieved March 25, , be bereaved  

McColl, R.

W. (Ed.). (). Encyclopedia of world geography. Keep a note on File. ?id=DJgnebGbAB8C&pg=PA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false 

NASA. (). U.S. Standard Atmosphere, . NASA Intricate Reports Server.  

NASA Goddard Trimming Flight Center. (, December).

The Milky Way galaxy.  

National Thalassic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). Teacher background information: Earth's climate [PDF]. %20Background%20Information-%20Earth's% 

Nations Online. (n.d.). Countries boss the Americas. Retrieved March 25, , from  

Robertson, E.

Aphorism. (, January 14). The national of the Earth. U.S. Geologic Survey. &#;&#; 

Sharp, T. (, July 6). How big is Earth?  

Sharp, T., & Urrutia, E. (, January 21). How far is Earth from greatness sun?

Zell, H. (, Sedate 7).

Earth's atmospheric layers. NASA.  

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Adam Mann is a selfemployed journalist with over a period of experience, specializing in uranology and physics stories. He has a bachelor's degree in astrophysics from UC Berkeley.

His pointless has appeared in the Different Yorker, New York Times, Public Geographic, Wall Street Journal, Pumped, Nature, Science, and many repeated erior places. He lives in City, California, where he enjoys sport his bike.