Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun in the Solar System. It is the only planet known to have life on it.

The Earth formed about 4.6 billion

Earth
years ago.[29][30]

It is one of four rocky planets on the

inner side of the Solar System. The
other three are Mercury, Venus, and
Mars.

The large mass of the Sun keeps the

Earth in orbit through the force of
gravity.[31] Earth also turns around in
space, so that different parts face the
Sun at different times. Earth goes
around the Sun once (one year) for The Blue Marble, the first full-view photograph of the planet
taken by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972
every 365​1⁄4 times it turns around
(one day). Designations
Adjectives Earthly, terrestrial, terran, tellurian
Earth is the only planet in the Solar
Orbital characteristics
System that has a large amount of
liquid water on its surface.[32][33][34] Epoch J2000[1]
About 71% of the surface of Earth is Aphelion 152 100 000 km[2]
covered by liquid or frozen water.[35] (94 500 000 mi; 1.017 AU)

Because of this, people sometimes Perihelion 147 095 000 km[2]

call it the blue planet.[36] (91 401 000 mi; 0.983 27 AU)

Because of its water, Earth is home Semi-major axis 149 598 023 km[3]
(92 955 902 mi; 1.000 001 02 AU)
to millions of species of plants and
animals which need water to Eccentricity 0.016 7086[3]
survive.[37][38] The things that live Orbital period 365.256 363 004 d[4]
on Earth have changed its surface (1.000 017 420 96 yr)
greatly. For example, early
Average orbital 29.78 km/s[5]
cyanobacteria changed the air and speed (107 200 km/h; 66 600 mph)
gave it oxygen. The living part of
Earth's surface is called the Mean anomaly 358.617°

"biosphere".[39] Inclination 7.155° to the Sun's equator;

1.578 69°[6] to invariable plane;
0.000 05° to J2000 ecliptic
Orbit and turning Longitude of −11.260 64°[5] to J2000 ecliptic
ascending node
Earth is one of the eight planets in Argument of 114.207 83°[5]
the Solar System. There are also perihelion
thousands of small bodies which Satellites 1 natural satellite: the Moon
move around the Sun. The Solar 5 quasi-satellites
System is moving through the Orion
>1 800 operational artificial satellites[7]
Arm of the Milky Way galaxy, and
will be for about the next 10,000 >16 000 space debris[8]

years.[40][41] Physical characteristics

Mean radius 6 371.0 km (3 958.8 mi)[9]
Earth is about 150,000,000
kilometres or 93,000,000 miles away Equatorial 6 378.1 km (3 963.2 mi)[10][11]
radius
from the Sun (this distance is called
an "astronomical unit" or au. It Polar radius 6 356.8 km (3 949.9 mi)[12]
moves on its orbit at an average Flattening 0.003 3528[13]
speed of about 30 km/s (19 mi/s).[42] 1/298.257 222 101 (ETRS89)
Earth turns around about 365​1⁄4 Circumference 40 075.017 km equatorial (24 901.461 mi)[11]
times in the time it takes for Earth to
40 007.86 km meridional (24 859.73 mi)[14][15]
go all the way around the Sun.[4] To
make up this extra bit of a day every Surface area 510 072 000 km2 (196 940 000 sq mi)[16][17][18]
year, an additional day is used every 148 940 000 km2 land (57 510 000 sq mi; 29.2%)
four years. This is called a "leap 361 132 000 km2 water (139 434 000 sq mi; 70.8%)
year".
Volume 260 billion cubic miles [19]
The Moon goes around Earth at an Mass 5.972 37 × 1024 kg (1.316 68 × 1025 lb)[20]
average distance of 400,000 (3.0 × 10−6 M☉)
kilometres or 250,000 miles. It is
Mean density 5.514 g/cm3 (0.1992 lb/cu in)[5]
locked to Earth, so that it always has
the same half facing Earth; the other Surface gravity 9.807 m/s2 (1 g; 32.18 ft/s2)[21]
half is called the "dark side of the Moment of 0.3307[22]
moon". It takes about 27​1⁄3 days for inertia factor
the Moon to go all the way around Escape velocity 11.186 km/s[5]
Earth, but because Earth is moving (40 270 km/h; 25 020 mph)

around the Sun at the same time, it Sidereal 0.997 269 68 d[23]
takes about 29​1⁄2 days for the Moon rotation period (23h 56m 4.100s)
to go from dark to bright to dark Equatorial 0.4651 km/s[24]
again. This is where the word rotation velocity (1 674.4 km/h; 1 040.4 mph)
"month" came from, even though
Axial tilt 23.439 2811°[4]
most months now have 30 or 31
days.[43]
Albedo 0.367 geometric[5]
0.306 Bond[5]
Surface temp. min mean max
History of Earth Kelvin 184 K[25] 288 K[26] 330 K[27]
Celsius −89.2 °C 14.9 °C 56.9 °C
Earth and the other planets formed Fahrenheit −128.5 °F 58.7 °F 134.3 °F
about 4.6 billion years ago.[44] Their Atmosphere
origin was different from that of the Surface 101.325 kPa (at MSL)
Sun. The Sun was formed almost pressure
entirely of hydrogen, while the Composition by 78.08% nitrogen (N ; dry air)[5]
2
planets were formed mostly from volume
20.95% oxygen (O2)
higher elements. The smaller "rocky"
planets are made almost entirely of 0.934% argon
higher elements. The Sun must have 0.0408% carbon dioxide[28]
moved through areas where ~ 1% water vapor (climate variable)
supernovae had previously
exploded.[45] All the planets have
higher elements which are only made in
supernovae. [46][47][48] Only the so-called "gas giants" have
much hydrogen and helium.

The Moon may have been formed after a collision between

the early Earth and a smaller planet (sometimes called
Theia). Scientists believe that parts of both planets broke
off – becoming (by gravity) the Moon.[49]

Earth's water came from different places. Condensing

water vapour, and comets and asteroids hitting Earth, Earth turns at an angle (an "axial tilt") in
made the oceans. Within a billion years (that is at about relation to its path around the Sun
3.6 billion years ago) the first life evolved, in the Archaean
era.[50][51] Some bacteria developed photosynthesis, which
let them make food from the Sun's light and water. This released a lot of oxygen, which was first taken up
by iron in solution. After a long time, enough oxygen got into the atmosphere or air, making Earth's
surface suitable for aerobic life (see Great Oxygenation Event). This oxygen also formed the ozone layer
which protects life from ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Complex life on the surface of the land did
not exist before the ozone layer.[52]

Earth's land and climate has been very different in the past. About 3 to 3.5 billion years ago almost all
land was in one place. This is called a supercontinent. The earliest known supercontinent was called
Vaalbara. Much later, there many times the Earth was covered in ice sheets. (For example, the
Cryogenian).[53] This is called the Snowball Earth theory.[53]

Geology of Earth
Earth is rocky. It is the largest of the rocky planets moving around
the Sun by mass and by size. It is much smaller than the gas giants
such as Jupiter.

Chemical make-up
Size of Earth compared with the
Overall, Earth is made of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon other rocky planets in the Solar
(15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), System: Mercury, Venus, and Mars
calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%). The 1.2% left over is
made of many different kinds of other chemicals. Some rare metals (not just gold and platinum) are very
valuable. Rare earth metals are often used in electronic phones and computers.[54]

The structure of Earth changes from the inside to the outside. The center of Earth (Earth's core) is mostly
iron (88.8%), nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% other elements.[55] The Earth's crust is
largely oxygen (47%). Oxygen is normally a gas but it can join with other chemicals to make compounds
like water and rocks. 99.22% of rocks have oxygen in them. The most common rocks with oxygen are
silica (made with silicon), alumina (made with aluminium), rust (made with iron), lime (made with
calcium), magnesia (made with magnesium), potash (made with potassium), and sodium oxide.[56]

Density

The Earth is the densest of all the planets.[57] It has a lot of heavy metals in it.[58]

Shape
Earth's shape is a spheroid: not quite a sphere because it is slightly squashed on the top and bottom. The
shape is called an oblate spheroid. As Earth spins around itself, centrifugal force forces the equator out a
little and pulls the poles in a little. The equator, around the middle of Earth's surface, is about 40,075
kilometers or 24,900 miles long.[59] The reason the Earth is roughly a sphere (and so are all planets and
stars) is gravity.[60] Meteorites, on the other hand may be any shape because, in their case, the force of
gravity is too weak to change their shape.

The highest mountain above sea level—the well-known Mount Everest (which is 8,848 metres or 29,029
feet above sea level)—is not actually the one that is the farthest away from the center of the Earth.
Instead, the sleeping volcano Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is; it is only 6,263 metres or 20,548 feet
above sea level but it is almost at the equator. Because of this, Mount Chimborazo is 6,384 kilometres or
3,967 miles from the center of the Earth, while Mount Everest is closer to it (2 kilometres or 1.2
miles).[61][62][63] Similarly, the lowest point below sea level that we are conscious of is the Challenger
Deep in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. It is about 10,971 metres or 35,994 feet below sea
level,[64] but, again, there are probably places at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean that are nearer to the
center of the Earth.

Earth’s core
The deepest hole ever dug is only about 12.3 kilometers or 7.6
miles. We know something about the inside of the Earth, because
we learn things from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. We can
detect how quickly shock waves move through the Earth.

The inside of Earth is very different from the outside. Almost all
of Earth's liquid water is in the seas or close to the surface. The
surface also has a lot of oxygen, which comes from plants. Small
and simple kinds of life can live far under the surface, but animals A picture of the inside of the Earth,
showing the different levels. In fact,
and plants only live on the surface or in the seas. The rocks on the
the air and the outside levels are
much thinner than shown here
surface of Earth (Earth's crust) are well known. They are thicker where there is land, between 30 to 50 km
or 19 to 31 mi thick. Under the seas they are sometimes only 6 km or 3.7 mi thick.[65]

There are three groups of rocks that make up most of the Earth's crust. Some rock is made when the hot
liquid rock comes from inside the earth (igneous rocks); another type of rock is made when sediment is
laid down, usually under the sea (sedimentary rocks); and a third kind of rock is made when the other two
are changed by very high temperature or pressure (metamorphic rocks).

Below the crust is hot and almost-liquid rock which is always moving around (the Earth's mantle). Then,
there is a thin liquid layer of heated rock (the outer core). This is very hot: 7,000 °C or 13,000 °F or
7,300 K.[66] The middle of the inside of the Earth would be liquid as well but all the pressure of the rock
above it makes it a solid. This solid middle part (the inner core) is almost all iron. It is what makes the
Earth magnetic.

Pieces of the crust form plates

The Earth's crust is solid but made of parts which move very
slowly.[67] The thin skin of hard rock on the outside of the Earth
rests on hot liquid material below it in the deeper mantle.[68] This
liquid material moves because it gets heat from the hot center of
the Earth. The slow movement of the plates is a factor in
earthquakes, volcanoes and large groups of mountains on the
Earth.
A picture showing the Earth's largest
There are three ways plates can come together. Two plates can
and most important plates.
move towards each other ("convergent" plate edges). This can
form islands, volcanoes, and high mountain ranges (such as the
Andes and Himalayas).[69] Two plates can move away from each other ("divergent" plate edges). This
gives the warm liquid rock inside the earth a place to come out. This makes special mountain ranges
below the sea or large low lands like Africa's Great Rift Valley.[70][71] Plates are able to move beside each
other as well ("transform" plate edges, such as the San Andreas Fault). This makes their edges crush
against each other and makes many shocks as they move.[72]

Surface
The outside of the Earth is not even. There are high places called mountains, and high flat places called
plateaus or plateaux. There are low places called valleys and canyons. For the most part, moving air and
water from the sky and seas eats away at rocks in high places and breaks them into small pieces. The air
and water then move these pieces to lower places. The fundamental cause of the differences in the Earth's
surface is plate tectonics. The shape of the entire planet itself is not a exactly a ball. Because of its spin,
Earth has a slight bulge at the Equator.

All places on Earth are made of, or are on top of, rocks. The outside of the Earth is usually not uncovered
rock. Over 70% of the Earth is covered by seas full of salty water.[73] This salty water makes up about 97​
1⁄ %
2 of all Earth's water. The drinkable fresh water is mostly in the form of ice. There is only a small
amount (less than 3%) of fresh water in rivers and under the ground for people to drink.[74] Gravity stops
the water from going away into outer space. Also, much of the land on Earth is covered with plants, or
with what is left from earlier living things. Places with very little rain are dry wastes called deserts.
Deserts usually have few living things, but life is able to grow very quickly when these wastes have
rainfall. Places with large amounts of rain may be rain forests. Lately, people have changed the
environment of the Earth a great deal. As population has increased, so has farming. Farming is done on
what were once natural forests and grassland.[75][76]

Air
All around the Earth is the
of air (the atmosphere). Life timeline
The mass of the Earth
holds the gasses in the air
down and does not let them
go into outer space. The air
is mostly made of nitrogen
(about 78%) and oxygen
(about 21%) and there are a
few other gasses as
well.[77] Living things need
both the air and water.

The air, which animals and

plants use to live, is only
the first level of the air
around the Earth (the
troposphere). The day to
day changes in this level of
air are called weather; the
larger differences between
distant places, and from
year to year, are called the
climate. Rain and storms
come about because this
part of the air gets colder
as it goes up. Cold air
becomes thicker and falls,
and warm air becomes
thinner and goes up.[78]
The turning Earth also
moves the air as well and
air moves north and south
because the middle of the
Earth generally gets more
power from the Sun and is
warmer than the north and
south points. Air over
warm water evaporates but,
because cold air is not able
Q i
to take in as much water, it 0— ← Quaternary ice age*
P Flowers Birds Primates ← Earliest apes / humans
starts to make clouds and –h Mammals
rain as it gets colder. The —a Dinosaurs
n P ← Karoo ice age*
way water moves around in –e l Arthropods Molluscs ← Earliest tetrapods
a circle like this is called r a ← Andean glaciation*
−500 — o n ← Cambrian explosion
the water cycle.[78] –z t
s ← Ediacaran biota
o ← Cryogenian ice age*
—i ← Earliest animals
Above this first level, there
–c ← Earliest plants
are four other levels. The
−1000 —
air gets colder as it goes up Multicellular life
–
in the first level; in the
—
second level (the
–P
stratosphere), the air gets
warmer as it goes up. This −1500 — r ← Earliest fungi
o ← Earliest multicellular life
level has a special kind of –t
oxygen called ozone. The — er
–o Eukaryotes
ozone in this air keeps z
living things safe from −2000 — o ← Sexual reproduction
damaging rays from the –i
c
Sun. The power from these — ← Huronian glaciation*
← Atmospheric oxygen
rays is what makes this –
level warmer and warmer. −2500 —
The middle level (the –
mesosphere) gets colder —
Photosynthesis ← Pongola glaciation*
and colder with height; the –
fourth level (the −3000 — A
thermosphere) gets warmer –r
c
and warmer; and the last —h
level (the exosphere) is –e
a
almost outer space and has −3500 — n ← Earliest oxygen
very little air at all. It –
reaches about half the way — Single-celled life
to the Moon. The three – ← LHB meteorites
outer levels have a lot of −4000 — ← Earliest fossils
electric power moving –H
a
through them; this is called —d
Water
the ionosphere and is e
–a ← LUCA
important for radio and n ← Earliest water
−4500 — ← Earth formed
other electric waves in the
(million years ago) *Ice Ages
air.

Even though air seems very light, the weight of all of the air above the outside of the Earth (air pressure)
is important. Generally, from sea level to the top of the outer level of the air, a space of air one cm2 across
has a mass of about 1.03 kg and a space of air one sq in across has a weight of about 14.7 lb. Because of
friction in the air, small meteorites generally burn up long before they get to the Earth.
The air also keeps the Earth warm, specially the half turned away from the Sun. Some gasses – especially
methane and carbon dioxide – work like a blanket to keep things warm.[79] In the past, the Earth has been
much warmer and much colder than it is now. Since people have adapted to the heat we have now, we do
not want the Earth to be too much warmer or colder. Most of the ways people create electric power use
burning kinds of carbon – especially coal, oil, and natural gas. Burning these fuels creates more carbon
dioxide which causes more warming. A discussion is going on now about what people should do about
the Earth's latest warming, which has gone on for about 150 years. So far, this warming has been
acceptable: plants have grown better. The weather has generally been better than when it was colder.

People
About eight billion people live on Earth. They live in about 200 different lands called countries. Some,
for example, Russia, are large with many large cities. Others, for example, Vatican City, are small. The
seven countries with the most people are India, China, the United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil and
Nigeria. About 90% of people live in the northern hemisphere of the world, which has most of the land.
Human beings originally came from Africa. Now, 70% of all people do not live in Africa but in Europe
and Asia.[80]

The distribution of human world population in 2018

People change the Earth in many ways. They have been able to grow plants for food and clothes for about
ten thousand years. When there was enough food, they were able to build towns and cities. Near these
places, men and women were able to change rivers, bring water to farms, and stop floods (rising water)
from coming over their land. People found useful animals and bred them so they were easier to keep.[81]

Future
There is wide agreement that the long-term future of Earth is tied to the future of the Sun.[82] As time
passes, the Sun will get hotter, and that will eventually make the Earth a planet without life.

Gallery
Clickable Life on Earth (view • discuss)

0.2 mya 180 mya 200 mya 240 mya 3500 mya 4000 mya
Humans Flowers Mammals Dinosaurs Oxygen Microbes

4410 mya 4540 mya

Water Earth

Clickable Location of Earth (view • discuss)

Earth Solar System Gould Belt Orion Arm Milky Way Local Group

Virgo SCl Laniakea SCl Our Universe

Related pages
Formation and evolution of the Solar System
Age of the Earth
Geology
List of planets
Solar System
Structure of the Earth

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