Planet Earth is undoubtedly the most incredible planet in the entire universe. Learn about the most amazing Earth facts that makes our planet such a wonderful place to be.
1. The Earth is the only planet that is not named after a Greek God. The name 'Earth' comes from Anglo-Saxon, originally meaning ground or soil.
2. Earth is not round. The Earth is not flat either. Rather it is an oblate spheroid. This only means that the earth is not a perfect sphere but is flat at the North and South poles.
3. Our Earth is the densest planet in the solar system. At an average density of 5.5 g/cm, our world beats all the other planets when it comes to being the densest. Scientists believe that the massive amounts of iron in our planet’s core is what makes it so dense.
4. Earth's rotation is slowing down with time. This means that days are getting longer and longer. Thus an extra second, called a leap second is added after every few years to account for the Earth's slow rotation.
5. The Earth actually has two moons. The second moon which is actually the asteroid 3753 orbits the earth. It was discovered in 1986 and is dubbed as the "Earth's Strange Companion". The asteroid is unique in the fact that it has a horse shoe orbit.
6. Life on Earth is largely due to the Moon. According to a theory, life originated in tidal waves which are created by the Moon's gravitation. Another one suggests that tides may have set up conditions for sea creatures to transition and become the first land animals. Yes, we all should be thankful to the Moon.
7. The Earth had a twin brother, Theia. It was roughly the size of Mars and the two planets shared a single orbit until they both collided. Theia was absorbed by Earth and the remaining mass created the Moon. The mass donated by Theia gave Earth the gravity necessary to sustain a substantial atmosphere.
8. Earth's core is made up of a solid ball of iron 1,500 miles wide. Although, it is white hot, the enormous pressure at the planet's heart is what keeps the iron ball solid.
9. Everybody knows the great Mount Everest. Standing at an impressive 29,035 feet, it is the tallest mountain on Earth. However, due to fact that the earth is not really a perfect sphere, anything at the equator is at a slightly greater distance from the Earth's center. This means that Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, at 20, 564 feet, is taller than Mount Everest by about 1.5 miles.
10. If you could evaporate all the water out of all the oceans and spread the resulting salt over all the land on Earth, you would have a five hundred-foot layer coating everything.
11. Our Earth is the only planet in the milky way that comes with tectonic plates.
12. The Earth is dubbed as the 'Blue Planet'. This is because of the blue color of the oceans that cover almost 70% of our planet.
13. The Earth is not only a planet that supports life, it itself is a living organism. According to the Gaia Hypothesis, the Earth is an organic system which has the ability to self-regulate in order to maintain life. Researches are on the way to prove the hypothesis and with the recent advancements, we are very close to know if the Earth is really alive or not.
14. The driest place on Earth is the Atacama desert in South America. The average rainfall in the Atacama is 0.004 inches per year. Which means that it gets only 4 inches of rain in a thousand years. The last time rain was recorded in the area was in the mid 1700's.
15. The deepest point on Earth is the Mariana Trench. The trench is so deep, that even the Mount Everest can sink in it.
16. The longest place name in the world is Krung thep maha nakorn amorn ratana kosinmahintar ayutthay amaha dilok phop noppa ratrajathani burirom udom rajaniwesmahasat harn amorn phimarn avatarn sathit sakkattiya visanukamprasit (155 letters) in Thailand. It means:
17. Earth is the brightest planet in the solar system. This is because sunlight is reflected off the water in our oceans. That's probably why it is called the 'Blue Marble'.
18. The Amazon Rainforest is the most bio diverse place on Earth. One in ten of all species on Earth are found here.
19. The vast oceans that cover about 70% of our Earth are filled with riches. These mighty seas hold more than 20 million tons of gold. But unfortunately the precious metal is so heavily diluted that each litre of seawater contains 13 billionths of a gram of gold. So, think again before you dive in for the treasures.
20. Antarctica is the Earth's ice box. The frozen continent contains almost 90% of all the ice and 70% of all the fresh water on the planet. It has as much ice as the Atlantic ocean has water.
21. Earth grows 1 cm every 100 years. This is because of the dust from space.
22. Only 1% of the total land is inhabited by humans.
23. Earth's gravity varies from place to place. This is due to the uneven distribution of the Earth's mass.
24. Our atmosphere is not just a bunch of gases. It is much more than that. The atmosphere is made up of seven layers, each with its own particular function. For examples, the first one is the troposphere. This is where all the weather activities take place.
25. Our Earth is at a distance of approximately 93 million miles from the sun. This means that light from the sun takes about 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach us.
6. Life on Earth is largely due to the Moon. According to a theory, life originated in tidal waves which are created by the Moon's gravitation. Another one suggests that tides may have set up conditions for sea creatures to transition and become the first land animals. Yes, we all should be thankful to the Moon.
7. The Earth had a twin brother, Theia. It was roughly the size of Mars and the two planets shared a single orbit until they both collided. Theia was absorbed by Earth and the remaining mass created the Moon. The mass donated by Theia gave Earth the gravity necessary to sustain a substantial atmosphere.
8. Earth's core is made up of a solid ball of iron 1,500 miles wide. Although, it is white hot, the enormous pressure at the planet's heart is what keeps the iron ball solid.
9. Everybody knows the great Mount Everest. Standing at an impressive 29,035 feet, it is the tallest mountain on Earth. However, due to fact that the earth is not really a perfect sphere, anything at the equator is at a slightly greater distance from the Earth's center. This means that Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador, at 20, 564 feet, is taller than Mount Everest by about 1.5 miles.
10. If you could evaporate all the water out of all the oceans and spread the resulting salt over all the land on Earth, you would have a five hundred-foot layer coating everything.
11. Our Earth is the only planet in the milky way that comes with tectonic plates.
12. The Earth is dubbed as the 'Blue Planet'. This is because of the blue color of the oceans that cover almost 70% of our planet.
13. The Earth is not only a planet that supports life, it itself is a living organism. According to the Gaia Hypothesis, the Earth is an organic system which has the ability to self-regulate in order to maintain life. Researches are on the way to prove the hypothesis and with the recent advancements, we are very close to know if the Earth is really alive or not.
14. The driest place on Earth is the Atacama desert in South America. The average rainfall in the Atacama is 0.004 inches per year. Which means that it gets only 4 inches of rain in a thousand years. The last time rain was recorded in the area was in the mid 1700's.
15. The deepest point on Earth is the Mariana Trench. The trench is so deep, that even the Mount Everest can sink in it.
16. The longest place name in the world is Krung thep maha nakorn amorn ratana kosinmahintar ayutthay amaha dilok phop noppa ratrajathani burirom udom rajaniwesmahasat harn amorn phimarn avatarn sathit sakkattiya visanukamprasit (155 letters) in Thailand. It means:
The land of angels, the great city of immortality, of devine gems, the great angelic land unconquerable land of nine nobel gems, the royal city, a pleasant capital place of the Royal Palace, eternal land of angels and reincarnated spirits predestined and created by the highest Devas.”If you think you never knew this place, then let me tell you that it is one of the most famous cities in the world. The one we call, Bangkok.
17. Earth is the brightest planet in the solar system. This is because sunlight is reflected off the water in our oceans. That's probably why it is called the 'Blue Marble'.
18. The Amazon Rainforest is the most bio diverse place on Earth. One in ten of all species on Earth are found here.
19. The vast oceans that cover about 70% of our Earth are filled with riches. These mighty seas hold more than 20 million tons of gold. But unfortunately the precious metal is so heavily diluted that each litre of seawater contains 13 billionths of a gram of gold. So, think again before you dive in for the treasures.
20. Antarctica is the Earth's ice box. The frozen continent contains almost 90% of all the ice and 70% of all the fresh water on the planet. It has as much ice as the Atlantic ocean has water.
21. Earth grows 1 cm every 100 years. This is because of the dust from space.
22. Only 1% of the total land is inhabited by humans.
23. Earth's gravity varies from place to place. This is due to the uneven distribution of the Earth's mass.
24. Our atmosphere is not just a bunch of gases. It is much more than that. The atmosphere is made up of seven layers, each with its own particular function. For examples, the first one is the troposphere. This is where all the weather activities take place.
25. Our Earth is at a distance of approximately 93 million miles from the sun. This means that light from the sun takes about 8 minutes and 19 seconds to reach us.
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