What Is Earth?

EARTH
Our place, our home
WHAT IS EARTH?
It is the third planet from the sun. It's the only planet known to have an
atmosphere containing free oxygen, oceans of water on its surface and,
life.
Earth is the fifth largest of the planets in the solar system. It's smaller
than the four gas giants but larger than the three other rocky planets.
Earth has a diameter of roughly 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) and is
round because gravity pulls matter into a ball. But, it's not perfectly
round. Earth is really an "oblate spheroid," because its spin causes it to
be squashed at its poles and swollen at the equator.
Water covers roughly 71 percent of Earth's surface, and most of that is

in the oceans. About a fifth of Earth’s Atmosphere consists of oxygen,
produced by plants.
Earth’s Orbit
While Earth orbits the sun, the planet is simultaneously spinning on an

imaginary line called an axis that runs from the North Pole to the South
Pole.
Earth's axis of rotation is tilted in relation to the ecliptic plane, an

imaginary surface through the planet's orbit around the sun.
Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle, but rather an oval-shaped ellipse,

similar to the orbits of all the other planets. Earth happens to lie within
the so-called "Goldilocks zone" around the sun, where temperatures are
just right to maintain liquid water on our planet's surface.
Statistics about Earth's orbit, according to NASA:
Average distance from the sun: 92,956,050 miles (149,598,262 km)
Perihelion (closest approach to the sun): 91,402,640 miles

(147,098,291 km)
Aphelion (farthest distance from the sun): 94,509,460 miles

(152,098,233 km)
Length of solar day (single rotation on its axis): 23.934 hours
Length of year (single revolution around the sun): 365.26 days
Equatorial inclination to orbit: 23.4393 degrees
Formation
2
Scientists think Earth was formed at roughly the same time as the sun
and other planets some 4.6 billion years ago, when the solar system
coalesced from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the
solar nebula. As the nebula collapsed because of its gravity, it spun
faster and flattened into a disk. Most of the material was pulled toward
the center to form the sun.
Internal Structure
Earth’s core is about 4,400 miles (7,100 km) wide, slightly larger than
half the Earth's diameter and about the same size as Mars ' diameter.
The outermost 1,400 miles (2,250 km) of the core are liquid, while the
inner core is solid; it's about four-fifths as big as Earth's moon, at some
1,600 miles (2,600 km) in diameter. The core is responsible for the
planet's magnetic field, which helps to deflect harmful charged particles
shot from the sun.
Above the core is Earth's mantle which is about 1,800 miles (2,900 km)
thick. The mantle is not completely stiff but can flow slowly. Earth's
crust floats on the mantle much as a piece of wood floats on water.
Above the mantle, Earth has two kinds of crust. The dry land of the
continents consists mostly of granite and other light silicate minerals,
while the ocean floors are made up mostly of a dark, dense volcanic
rock called basalt. Continental crust averages some 25 miles (40 km)
thick, although it can be thinner or thicker in some areas. Oceanic crust
is usually only about 5 miles (8 km) thick. Water fills in low areas of the
basalt crust to form the world's oceans.
3
Earth gets warmer toward its core. At the bottom of the continental
crust, temperatures reach about 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (1,000
degrees Celsius), increasing about 3 degrees F per mile (1 degree C per
km) below the crust. Geologists think the temperature of Earth's outer
core is about 6,700 to 7,800 degrees F (3,700 to 4,300 degrees C) and
that the inner core may reach 12,600 degrees F (7,000 degrees C) —
hotter than the surface of the sun.
Magnetic Field
Earth's magnetic field is generated by currents flowing in Earth's outer

core. The magnetic poles are always on the move, with the magnetic
North Pole accelerating its northward motion to 24 miles (40 km)
annually since tracking began in the 1830s. It will likely exit North
America and reach Siberia in a matter of decades.
The strength of Earth's magnetic field decreased by about 90 percent

when a field reversal occurred in ancient past, according to Andrew
Roberts, a professor at the Australian National University. The drop
makes the planet more vulnerable to solar storms and radiation, which
can could significantly damage satellites and communication and
electrical infrastructure.
Atmosphere
Earth atmosphere is roughly 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent

oxygen, with trace amounts of water, argon, carbon dioxide and other
gases. Nowhere else in the solar system is there an atmosphere loaded
with free oxygen, which is vital to one of the other unique features of
Earth: life.
4
Air surrounds Earth and becomes thinner farther from the surface.
Roughly 100 miles (160 km) above Earth, the air is so thin that
satellites can zip through the atmosphere with little resistance. Still,
traces of atmosphere can be found as high as 370 miles (600 km) above
the planet's surface.
The lowest layer of the atmosphere is known as the troposphere, which

is constantly in motion and why we have weather. Sunlight heats the
planet's surface, causing warm air to rise into the troposphere. This air
expands and cools as air pressure decreases, and because this cool air is
denser than its surroundings, it then sinks and gets warmed by the
Earth again.
Above the troposphere, some 30 miles (48 km) above the Earth's
surface, is the stratosphere. The still air of the stratosphere contains the
ozone layer, which was created when ultraviolet light caused trios of
oxygen atoms to bind together into ozone molecules. Ozone prevents
most of the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching Earth's
surface, where it can damage and mutate life.
Water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere trap
heat from the sun, warming Earth. Without this so-called "greenhouse
effect” Earth would probably be too cold for life to exist, although a
runaway greenhouse effect led to the hellish conditions now seen on
Venus.
Chemical Composition
5
Oxygen is the most abundant element in rocks in Earth's crust,
composing roughly 47 percent of the weight of all rock. The second
most abundant element is silicon, at 27 percent, followed by aluminum,
at 8 percent; iron, at 5 percent; calcium, at 4 percent; and sodium,
potassium, and magnesium, at about 2 percent each.
Earth’s core mostly of iron and nickel and potentially smaller amounts
of lighter elements, such as sulfur and oxygen. The mantle is made of
iron and magnesium-rich silicate rocks.
Earth is the only planet in the universe known to possess life. The
planet boasts several million species of life, living in habitats ranging
from the bottom of the deepest ocean to a few miles into the
atmosphere. And scientists think far more species remain to be
discovered.
Earth’s Moon & Life on Earth
Earth's moon is 2,159 miles (3,474 km) wide, about one-fourth of

Earth's diameter. Our planet has one moon, while Mercury and Venus
have none and all the other planets in our solar system have two or
more.
Earth is the only planet in the universe known to possess life. The
planet boasts several million species of life, living in habitats ranging
from the bottom of the deepest ocean to a few miles into the
atmosphere. And scientists think far more species remain to be
discovered

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EARTH

Our place, our home

Water covers roughly 71 percent of Earth's surface, and most of that is

While Earth orbits the sun, the planet is simultaneously spinning on an

Earth's axis of rotation is tilted in relation to the ecliptic plane, an

Earth's orbit is not a perfect circle, but rather an oval-shaped ellipse,

Statistics about Earth's orbit, according to NASA:

Average distance from the sun: 92,956,050 miles (149,598,262 km)

Perihelion (closest approach to the sun): 91,402,640 miles

Aphelion (farthest distance from the sun): 94,509,460 miles

Length of solar day (single rotation on its axis): 23.934 hours

Length of year (single revolution around the sun): 365.26 days

Equatorial inclination to orbit: 23.4393 degrees

Earth's magnetic field is generated by currents flowing in Earth's outer

The strength of Earth's magnetic field decreased by about 90 percent

Earth atmosphere is roughly 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent

The lowest layer of the atmosphere is known as the troposphere, which

Earth’s Moon & Life on Earth

Earth's moon is 2,159 miles (3,474 km) wide, about one-fourth of

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