Our planet is a fascinating place. Even though scientists keep exploring so many parts of the earth, we still have not discovered all of its secrets. Here are some of the most interesting facts about planet earth.
Name And Age
The word earth comes from English and German, meaning the ground. It is the only planet in our solar system we have not named after a god. It is also around 4.8 billion years old.
What is Its Shape
If you have seen a globe, you know that the earth is round. But not exactly! It bulges in the centre where the equator is, and is a bit flat at the poles. Scientists call this shape an oblate spheroid.
How Does It Support Life
Do you know that Earth is the only planet in our solar system with living species? No other planet supports life. This is possible because of two reasons:
- We have oxygen and water present on earth. Both of these are vital for life to survive.
- Our distance from the sun is also in the perfect range. It is neither too hot like Mercury and Venus, nor too cold like other planets.
What Is It Atmosphere Made Of
The atmosphere or the air around us is made of many gases. All of these are crucial to sustaining life on earth.
- The gases are oxygen (21%), nitrogen (78%), carbon dioxide (0.04%), and argon (0.93%).
- Do you know that carbon dioxide or CO2 is essential for our earth? It keeps the planet warm enough, otherwise, the oceans would freeze.
- There are also traces of other natural gases hydrogen, helium, water vapour, and neon.
What Is It Made Of
Earth is a terrestrial planet, meaning it is made of rocks. The body of our earth is made of four layers:
- The outermost layer is called the crust. It is where we live on or the ground that we see every day.
- The middle layers are known as the mantle and the outer core.
- The center is made of the inner core, which is extremely hot. At 5,400 degree Celsius, it is even hotter than the sun. But the pressure is so great in the inner core that it is solid.
How Much Water Does It Have
The earth is also called the ocean planet. It is because the surface of the earth is covered with water.
- Water covers 79% of our planet’s surface, while land is only 29% of it.
- Out of the water present, only 3% of it is freshwater. Only freshwater is fit for humans to consume. 70% of the total freshwater is found in Antarctica!
- That means 97% of the water found on earth is salty.
How Interesting Are The Oceans
The oceans of the earth are even more fascinating than space. They are largely unexplored and contain the life forces for the ecosystem we live in.
- The largest mountain range is underwater and extends up to 48,000 kilometres.
- Most of the oxygen we breathe does not come from the trees but the oceans!
- More than 95% of the living species on earth are found in the oceans.
- The largest living system is the underwater coral reef which can be seen from space.
Read More About Our Oceans and Some Interesting Facts.
How Fast Does Earth Move
Earth always keeps moving (as do all the planets)! It rotates and revolves. It moves around the sun and through the galaxy. It travels at mind-boggling speed. We do not feel the movement because it is constant all the time.
- The earth spins on its axis every 24 hours. That is how get day and night.
- The earth also moves around the sun. We call it revolving. It takes a little more than 365 days to do it. And that is how we measure 1 year.
- The earth rotates on its axis at the speed of 1600 kilometres per hour, at the equator. The rate is much lower at the poles.
- The earth moves around the sun at 1,07,000 kilometres per hour.
- The earth, along with the solar system moves at 8,11,109 kilometres per hour through our galaxy, the milky way.
How Fast Does Earth Move
Earth always keeps moving (as do all the planets)! It rotates and revolves. It moves around the sun and through the galaxy. It travels at mind-boggling speed. We do not feel the movement because it is constant all the time.
- The earth spins on its axis every 24 hours. That is how get day and night.
- The earth also moves around the sun. We call it revolving. It takes a little more than 365 days to do it. And that is how we measure 1 year.
- The earth rotates on its axis at the speed of 1600 kilometres per hour, at the equator. The rate is much lower at the poles.
- The earth moves around the sun at 1,07,000 kilometres per hour.
- The earth, along with the solar system moves at 8,11,109 kilometres per hour through our galaxy, the milky way.
Now that you know some cool facts about our planet, you also realise how important it is for us. We may be living in different places, but the earth is our only home. We need to keep it safe from destruction and pollution.
