# Earth

Last updated

Earth
"The Blue Marble" the most widely used photograph of Earth, [1] [2] taken by the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The Arabian peninsula, Africa and Madagascar lie in the upper half of the disc, whereas Antarctica is at the bottom.
Designations
Gaia, Gaea, Terra, Tellus, the World, the Globe
Orbital characteristics
Epoch J2000 [n 1]
Aphelion 152.1 Gm [n 2]
(94500000 mi)
Perihelion 147.095 Gm [n 2]
(91401000 mi)
149.598023 Gm [3]
(92955902 mi)
Eccentricity 0.0167086 [3]
365.256363004 d [4]
(31558.1497635  ks)
Average orbital speed
29.78 km/s [5]
(107200 km/h; 66600 mph)
358.617°
Inclination
−11.26064° [5] to J2000 ecliptic
2021-Jan-02 13:59 [7]
114.20783° [5]
Satellites
Physical characteristics
6371.0 km (3958.8 mi) [9]
6378.1 km (3963.2 mi) [10] [11]
6356.8 km (3949.9 mi) [12]
Flattening 0.0033528 [13]
1/298.257222101 (ETRS89)
Circumference
• 510072000 km2(196940000 sq mi) [15] [n 5]
• 148940000 km2 land (57510000 sq mi)
• 361132000 km2 water (139434000 sq mi)
Volume 1.08321×1012 km3 (2.59876×1011 cu mi) [5]
Mass 5.97237×1024 kg(1.31668×1025 lb) [16]
(3.0×10−6  M )
Mean density
5.514 g/cm3(0.1992 lb/cu in) [5]
9.80665 m/s2(1 g; 32.1740 ft/s2) [17]
0.3307 [18]
11.186 km/s [5]
(40270 km/h; 25020 mph)
Sidereal rotation period
0.99726968 d [19]
(23h 56m 4.100s)
Equatorial rotation velocity
0.4651 km/s [20]
(1674.4 km/h; 1040.4 mph)
23.4392811° [4]
Albedo
Surface temp. minmeanmax
Kelvin 184 K [21] 287.16 K [22] (1961–90)330 K [23]
Celsius−89.2 °C14.0 °C (1961–90)56.7 °C
Fahrenheit−128.5 °F57.2 °F (1961–90)134.0 °F
Atmosphere
Surface pressure
101.325  kPa (at MSL)
Composition by volume

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. About 29% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining 71% is covered with water, mostly by oceans but also lakes, rivers and other fresh water, which together constitute the hydrosphere. The majority of Earth's polar regions are covered in ice, including the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice of the Arctic ice pack. Earth's outer layer is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over many millions of years. Earth's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates Earth's magnetic field, and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics.

## Contents

Earth's gravity interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon, which is Earth's only natural satellite. Earth orbits around the Sun in about 365.25 days. Earth's axis of rotation is tilted with respect to its orbital plane, producing seasons on Earth. The gravitational interaction between Earth and the Moon causes tides, stabilizes Earth's orientation on its axis, and gradually slows its rotation. Earth is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest and most massive of the four rocky planets.

According to radiometric dating estimation and other evidence, Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Within the first billion years of Earth's history, life appeared in the oceans and began to affect Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to the proliferation of anaerobic and, later, aerobic organisms. Some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as early as 4.1 billion years ago. Since then, the combination of Earth's distance from the Sun, physical properties and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive.

In the history of life on Earth, biodiversity has gone through long periods of expansion, occasionally punctuated by mass extinctions. Over 99% of all species that ever lived on Earth are extinct. Estimates of the number of species on Earth today vary widely; most species have not been described. Almost 8 billion humans live on Earth and depend on its biosphere and natural resources for their survival. Humans increasingly impact Earth's hydrology, atmospheric processes and other life.

## Etymology

The modern English word Earth developed, via Middle English, [n 6] from an Old English noun most often spelled eorðe . [25] It has cognates in every Germanic language, and their ancestral root has been reconstructed as *erþō. In its earliest attestation, the word eorðe was already being used to translate the many senses of Latin terra and Greek γῆ : the ground, [n 7] its soil, [n 8] dry land, [n 9] the human world, [n 10] the surface of the world (including the sea), [n 11] and the globe itself. [n 12] As with Roman Terra/Tellūs and Greek Gaia, Earth may have been a personified goddess in Germanic paganism: late Norse mythology included Jörð ('Earth'), a giantess often given as the mother of Thor. [34]

Historically, earth has been written in lowercase. From early Middle English, its definite sense as "the globe" was expressed as the earth. By Early Modern English, many nouns were capitalized, and the earth was also written the Earth, particularly when referenced along with other heavenly bodies. More recently, the name is sometimes simply given as Earth, by analogy with the names of the other planets, though earth and forms with the remain common. [25] House styles now vary: Oxford spelling recognizes the lowercase form as the most common, with the capitalized form an acceptable variant. Another convention capitalizes "Earth" when appearing as a name (e.g. "Earth's atmosphere") but writes it in lowercase when preceded by the (e.g. "the atmosphere of the earth"). It almost always appears in lowercase in colloquial expressions such as "what on earth are you doing?" [35]

Occasionally, the name Terra is used in scientific writing and especially in science fiction to distinguish our inhabited planet from others, [36] while in poetry Tellus has been used to denote personification of the Earth. [37] The Greek poetic name Gaea (Gæa) is rare, though the alternative spelling Gaia has become common due to the Gaia hypothesis, in which case its pronunciation is rather than the more Classical . [38]

There are a number of adjectives for the planet Earth. From Earth itself comes earthly. From Latin Terra come Terran, [39] Terrestrial , [40] and (via French) Terrene , [41] and from Latin Tellus come Tellurian [42] and, more rarely, Telluric and Tellural. From Greek Gaia and Gaea comes Gaian and Gaean.

## Chronology

### Formation

The oldest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5682+0.0002
−0.0004
Ga (billion years) ago. [43] By 4.54±0.04 Ga the primordial Earth had formed. [44] The bodies in the Solar System formed and evolved with the Sun. In theory, a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, and then the planets grow out of that disk with the Sun. A nebula contains gas, ice grains, and dust (including primordial nuclides). According to nebular theory, planetesimals formed by accretion, with the primordial Earth taking 10– (Mys) to form. [45]

A subject of research is the formation of the Moon, some 4.53 Ga. [46] A leading hypothesis is that it was formed by accretion from material loosed from Earth after a Mars-sized object, named Theia, hit Earth. [47] In this view, the mass of Theia was approximately 10 percent of Earth; [48] it hit Earth with a glancing blow and some of its mass merged with Earth. [49] Between approximately 4.1 and 3.8 Ga, numerous asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the greater surface environment of the Moon and, by inference, to that of Earth. [50]

### Geological history

Earth's atmosphere and oceans were formed by volcanic activity and outgassing. [51] Water vapor from these sources condensed into the oceans, augmented by water and ice from asteroids, protoplanets, and comets. [52] Sufficient water to fill the oceans may have always been on the Earth since the beginning of the planet's formation. [53] In this model, atmospheric greenhouse gases kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70% of its current luminosity. [54] By 3.5 Ga, Earth's magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind. [55]

As the molten outer layer of Earth cooled it formed the first solid crust, which is thought to have been mafic in composition. The first continental crust, which was more felsic in composition, formed by the partial melting of this mafic crust. The presence of grains of the mineral zircon of Hadean age in Eoarchean sedimentary rocks suggest that at least some felsic crust existed as early as 4.4 Ga, only 140 Ma after Earth's formation. [56] There are two main models of how this initial small volume of continental crust evolved to reach its current abundance. [57] A relatively steady growth up to the present day, [58] which is supported by the radiometric dating of continental crust globally. An initial rapid growth in the volume of continental crust during the Archean, forming the bulk of the continental crust that now exists, [59] [60] which is supported by isotopic evidence from Hafnium in zircons and Neodymium in sedimentary rocks. The two models and the data that support them can be reconciled by large-scale recycling of the continental crust, particularly during the early stages of Earth's history. [61]

New continental crust forms as a result of plate tectonics, a process ultimately driven by the continuous loss of heat from Earth's interior. Over the period of hundreds of millions of years, tectonic forces have caused areas of continental crust to group together to form supercontinents that have subsequently broken apart. At approximately 750 Ma, one of the earliest known supercontinents, Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia at 600–540 Ma, then finally Pangaea, which also began to break apart at 180 Ma. [62]

The pattern of ice ages began about 40 Ma, [63] and then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 Ma. [64] High-latitude regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating about every 40,000–100,000 years. The last continental glaciation ended 10,000 years ago. [65]

### Origin of life and evolution

-4500
-4000
-3500
-3000
-2500
-2000
-1500
-1000
-500
0

Chemical reactions led to the first self-replicating molecules about four billion years ago. A half billion years later, the last common ancestor of all current life arose. [66] The evolution of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms. The resultant molecular oxygen (O
2
) accumulated in the atmosphere and due to interaction with ultraviolet solar radiation, formed a protective ozone layer (O
3
) in the upper atmosphere. [67] The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes. [68] True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized Earth's surface. [69] Among the earliest fossil evidence for life is microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone in Western Australia, [70] biogenic graphite found in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks in Western Greenland, [71] and remains of biotic material found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia. [72] [73] The earliest direct evidence of life on Earth is contained in 3.45 billion-year-old Australian rocks showing fossils of microorganisms. [74] [75]

During the Neoproterozoic, 1000 to 541 Ma, much of Earth might have been covered in ice. This hypothesis has been termed "Snowball Earth", and it is of particular interest because it preceded the Cambrian explosion, when multicellular life forms significantly increased in complexity. [76] Following the Cambrian explosion, 535 Ma, there have been at least five major mass extinctions and many minor ones. [77] [78] Apart from the proposed current Holocene extinction event, the most recent was 66 Ma, when an asteroid impact triggered the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but largely spared small animals such as insects, mammals, lizards and birds. Mammalian life has diversified over the past 66 Mys, and several million years ago an African ape gained the ability to stand upright. [79] This facilitated tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which led to the evolution of humans. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, led to humans having an influence on Earth and the nature and quantity of other life forms that continues to this day. [80]

### Future

Earth's expected long-term future is tied to that of the Sun. Over the next 1.1 billion years, solar luminosity will increase by 10%, and over the next 3.5 billion years by 40%. [81] Earth's increasing surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic carbon cycle, reducing CO
2
concentration to levels lethally low for plants (10  ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in approximately 100–900 million years. [82] [83] The lack of vegetation will result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, making animal life impossible. [84] About a billion years from now, all surface water will have disappeared [85] and the mean global temperature will reach 70 °C (158 °F). [84] Earth is expected to be habitable until the end of photosynthesis about 500 million years from now, [82] but if nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere, life may continue until a runaway greenhouse effect occurs 2.3 billion years from now. [83] Anthropogenic emissions are "probably insufficient" to cause a runaway greenhouse at current solar luminosity. [86] Even if the Sun were eternal and stable, 27% of the water in the modern oceans will descend to the mantle in one billion years, due to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges. [87]

The Sun will evolve to become a red giant in about 5 billion years. Models predict that the Sun will expand to roughly 1  AU (150 million km; 93 million mi), about 250 times its present radius. [81] [88] Earth's fate is less clear. As a red giant, the Sun will lose roughly 30% of its mass, so, without tidal effects, Earth will move to an orbit 1.7 AU (250 million km; 160 million mi) from the Sun when the star reaches its maximum radius. Most, if not all, remaining life will be destroyed by the Sun's increased luminosity (peaking at about 5,000 times its present level). [81] A 2008 simulation indicates that Earth's orbit will eventually decay due to tidal effects and drag, causing it to enter the Sun's atmosphere and be vaporized. [88]

## Physical characteristics

### Shape

The shape of Earth is nearly spherical. There is a small flattening at the poles and bulging around the equator due to Earth's rotation. [91] To second order, Earth is approximately an oblate spheroid, whose equatorial diameter is 43 kilometres (27 mi) larger than the pole-to-pole diameter, [92] although the variation is less than 1% of the average radius of the Earth.

The point on the surface farthest from Earth's center of mass is the summit of the equatorial Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador (6,384.4 km or 3,967.1 mi). [93] [94] [95] [96] The average diameter of the reference spheroid is 12,742 kilometres (7,918 mi). Local topography deviates from this idealized spheroid, although on a global scale these deviations are small compared to Earth's radius: the maximum deviation of only 0.17% is at the Mariana Trench (10,925 metres or 35,843 feet below local sea level), [97] whereas Mount Everest (8,848 metres or 29,029 feet above local sea level) represents a deviation of 0.14%. [n 13] [99] In geodesy, the exact shape that Earth's oceans would adopt in the absence of land and perturbations such as tides and winds is called the geoid. More precisely, the geoid is the surface of gravitational equipotential at mean sea level. [100]

### Chemical composition

Chemical composition of the crust [101] [102]
CompoundFormulaComposition
ContinentalOceanic
silica SiO
2
60.6%48.6%
alumina Al
2
O
3
15.9%16.5%
lime CaO6.41%12.3%
magnesia MgO4.66%6.8%
iron oxide FeOT6.71%6.2%
sodium oxide Na
2
O
3.07%2.6%
potassium oxide K
2
O
1.81%0.4%
titanium dioxide TiO
2
0.72%1.4%
phosphorus pentoxide P
2
O
5
0.13%0.3%
manganese oxide MnO0.10%1.4%
Total100.1%99.9%

Earth's mass is approximately 5.97×1024  kg (5,970 Yg). It is composed mostly of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulphur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminum (1.4%), with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. Due to mass segregation, the core region is estimated to be primarily composed of iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulphur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements. [103]

The most common rock constituents of the crust are nearly all oxides: chlorine, sulphur, and fluorine are the important exceptions to this and their total amount in any rock is usually much less than 1%. Over 99% of the crust is composed of 11 oxides, principally silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash and soda. [104] [103] [105]

### Internal structure

Geologic layers of Earth [106]

Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. Not to scale.
Depth [107]
km
Component layerDensity
g/cm3
0–60Lithosphere [n 14]
0–35Crust [n 15] 2.2–2.9
35–660Upper mantle3.4–4.4
660-2890Lower mantle3.4–5.6
100–700Asthenosphere
2890–5100Outer core9.9–12.2
5100–6378Inner core12.8–13.1

Earth's interior, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by their chemical or physical (rheological) properties. The outer layer is a chemically distinct silicate solid crust, which is underlain by a highly viscous solid mantle. The crust is separated from the mantle by the Mohorovičić discontinuity. The thickness of the crust varies from about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) under the oceans to 30–50 km (19–31 mi) for the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere, which is the region where tectonic plates are found. [108]

Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at 410 and 660 km (250 and 410 mi) below the surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core. [109] Earth's inner core might rotate at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year. [110] The radius of the inner core is about one fifth of that of Earth. Density increases with depth, as described in the table below.

### Heat

Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through radioactive decay (80%). [111] The major heat-producing isotopes within Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232. [112] At the center, the temperature may be up to 6,000 °C (10,830 °F), [113] and the pressure could reach 360  GPa (52 million  psi ). [114] Because much of the heat is provided by radioactive decay, scientists postulate that early in Earth's history, before isotopes with short half-lives were depleted, Earth's heat production was much higher. At approximately 3  Gyr , twice the present-day heat would have been produced, increasing the rates of mantle convection and plate tectonics, and allowing the production of uncommon igneous rocks such as komatiites that are rarely formed today. [111] [115]

Present-day major heat-producing isotopes [116]
IsotopeHeat release
W/kg isotope
Half-life
years
Mean mantle concentration
kg isotope/kg mantle
Heat release
W/kg mantle
238U94.6×10−64.47×10930.8×10−92.91×10−12
235U569×10−60.704×1090.22×10−90.125×10−12
232Th26.4×10−614.0×109124×10−93.27×10−12
40K29.2×10−61.25×10936.9×10−91.08×10−12

The mean heat loss from Earth is 87 mW m−2, for a global heat loss of 4.42×1013 W. [117] A portion of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by mantle plumes, a form of convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock. These plumes can produce hotspots and flood basalts. [118] More of the heat in Earth is lost through plate tectonics, by mantle upwelling associated with mid-ocean ridges. The final major mode of heat loss is through conduction through the lithosphere, the majority of which occurs under the oceans because the crust there is much thinner than that of the continents. [119]

### Tectonic plates

Plate name Area106 km2 .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} 103.3 78.0 75.9 67.8 60.9 47.2 43.6

Earth's mechanically rigid outer layer, the lithosphere, is divided into tectonic plates. These plates are rigid segments that move relative to each other at one of three boundaries types: At convergent boundaries, two plates come together; at divergent boundaries, two plates are pulled apart; and at transform boundaries, two plates slide past one another laterally. Along these plate boundaries, earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation can occur. [121] The tectonic plates ride on top of the asthenosphere, the solid but less-viscous part of the upper mantle that can flow and move along with the plates. [122]

As the tectonic plates migrate, oceanic crust is subducted under the leading edges of the plates at convergent boundaries. At the same time, the upwelling of mantle material at divergent boundaries creates mid-ocean ridges. The combination of these processes recycles the oceanic crust back into the mantle. Due to this recycling, most of the ocean floor is less than 100 Ma old. The oldest oceanic crust is located in the Western Pacific and is estimated to be 200 Ma old. [123] [124] By comparison, the oldest dated continental crust is 4,030 Ma, [125] although zircons have been found preserved as clasts within Eoarchean sedimentary rocks that give ages up to 4,400 Ma, indicating that at least some continental crust existed at that time. [56]

The seven major plates are the Pacific, North American, Eurasian, African, Antarctic, Indo-Australian, and South American. Other notable plates include the Arabian Plate, the Caribbean Plate, the Nazca Plate off the west coast of South America and the Scotia Plate in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The Australian Plate fused with the Indian Plate between 50 and 55 Ma. The fastest-moving plates are the oceanic plates, with the Cocos Plate advancing at a rate of 75 mm/a (3.0 in/year) [126] and the Pacific Plate moving 52–69 mm/a (2.0–2.7 in/year). At the other extreme, the slowest-moving plate is the South American Plate, progressing at a typical rate of 10.6 mm/a (0.42 in/year). [127]

### Surface

The total surface area of Earth is about 510 million km2 (197 million sq mi). [15] Of this, 70.8%, [15] or 361.13 million km2 (139.43 million sq mi), is below sea level and covered by ocean water. [128] Below the ocean's surface are much of the continental shelf, mountains, volcanoes, [92] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus, abyssal plains, and a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system. The remaining 29.2%, or 148.94 million km2 (57.51 million sq mi), not covered by water has terrain that varies greatly from place to place and consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other landforms. Tectonics and erosion, volcanic eruptions, flooding, weathering, glaciation, the growth of coral reefs, and meteorite impacts are among the processes that constantly reshape Earth's surface over geological time. [129] [130]

The continental crust consists of lower density material such as the igneous rocks granite and andesite. Less common is basalt, a denser volcanic rock that is the primary constituent of the ocean floors. [131] Sedimentary rock is formed from the accumulation of sediment that becomes buried and compacted together. Nearly 75% of the continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they form about 5% of the crust. [132] The third form of rock material found on Earth is metamorphic rock, which is created from the transformation of pre-existing rock types through high pressures, high temperatures, or both. The most abundant silicate minerals on Earth's surface include quartz, feldspars, amphibole, mica, pyroxene and olivine. [133] Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone) and dolomite. [134]

The elevation of the land surface varies from the low point of −418 m (−1,371 ft) at the Dead Sea, to a maximum altitude of 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is about 797 m (2,615 ft). [135]

The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's continental surface and is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. The total arable land is 10.9% of the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent cropland. [136] [137] Close to 40% of Earth's land surface is used for agriculture, or an estimated 16.7 million km2 (6.4 million sq mi) of cropland and 33.5 million km2 (12.9 million sq mi) of pastureland. [138]

### Hydrosphere

The abundance of water on Earth's surface is a unique feature that distinguishes the "Blue Planet" from other planets in the Solar System. Earth's hydrosphere consists chiefly of the oceans, but technically includes all water surfaces in the world, including inland seas, lakes, rivers, and underground waters down to a depth of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). About 97.5% of the water is saline; the remaining 2.5% is fresh water. Most fresh water, about 68.7%, is present as ice in ice caps and glaciers. [139]

The mass of the oceans is approximately 1.35×1018  metric tons or about 1/4400 of Earth's total mass. The oceans cover an area of 361.8 million km2 (139.7 million sq mi) with a mean depth of 3,682 m (12,080 ft), resulting in an estimated volume of 1.332 billion km3 (320 million cu mi). [140] If all of Earth's crustal surface were at the same elevation as a smooth sphere, the depth of the resulting world ocean would be 2.7 to 2.8 km (1.68 to 1.74 mi). [141] [142] The deepest underwater location is Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean with a depth of 10,911.4 m (35,799 ft). [n 17] [143]

The average salinity of Earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (3.5% salt). [144] Most of this salt was released from volcanic activity or extracted from cool igneous rocks. [145] The oceans are also a reservoir of dissolved atmospheric gases, which are essential for the survival of many aquatic life forms. [146] Sea water has an important influence on the world's climate, with the oceans acting as a large heat reservoir. [147] Shifts in the oceanic temperature distribution can cause significant weather shifts, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation. [148]

### Atmosphere

The atmospheric pressure at Earth's sea level averages 101.325 kPa (14.696 psi), [149] with a scale height of about 8.5 km (5.3 mi). [5] A dry atmosphere is composed of 78.084% nitrogen, 20.946% oxygen, 0.934% argon, and trace amounts of carbon dioxide and other gaseous molecules. [149] Water vapor content varies between 0.01% and 4% [149] but averages about 1%. [5] The height of the troposphere varies with latitude, ranging between 8 km (5 mi) at the poles to 17 km (11 mi) at the equator, with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors. [150]

Earth's biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved 2.7 Gya, forming the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere of today. [67] This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms and, indirectly, the formation of the ozone layer due to the subsequent conversion of atmospheric O
2
into O
3
. The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting life on land. [151] Other atmospheric functions important to life include transporting water vapor, providing useful gases, causing small meteors to burn up before they strike the surface, and moderating temperature. [152] This last phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to capture thermal energy emitted from the ground, thereby raising the average temperature. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Without this heat-retention effect, the average surface temperature would be −18 °C (0 °F), in contrast to the current +15 °C (59 °F), [153] and life on Earth probably would not exist in its current form. [154]

#### Weather and climate

Hurricane Felix seen from low Earth orbit, September 2007
Massive clouds above the Mojave Desert, February 2016

Earth's atmosphere has no definite boundary, slowly becoming thinner and fading into outer space. Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass is contained within the first 11 km (6.8 mi) of the surface. This lowest layer is called the troposphere. Energy from the Sun heats this layer, and the surface below, causing expansion of the air. This lower-density air then rises and is replaced by cooler, higher-density air. The result is atmospheric circulation that drives the weather and climate through redistribution of thermal energy. [155]

The primary atmospheric circulation bands consist of the trade winds in the equatorial region below 30° latitude and the westerlies in the mid-latitudes between 30° and 60°. [156] Ocean currents are also important factors in determining climate, particularly the thermohaline circulation that distributes thermal energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions. [157]

The amount of solar energy reaching Earth's surface decreases with increasing latitude. At higher latitudes, the sunlight reaches the surface at lower angles, and it must pass through thicker columns of the atmosphere. As a result, the mean annual air temperature at sea level decreases by about 0.4 °C (0.7 °F) per degree of latitude from the equator. [158] Earth's surface can be subdivided into specific latitudinal belts of approximately homogeneous climate. Ranging from the equator to the polar regions, these are the tropical (or equatorial), subtropical, temperate and polar climates. [159]

Further factors that affect a location's climates are its proximity to oceans, the oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and topology. [160] Places close to oceans typically have colder summers and warmer winters, due to the fact that oceans can the store large amounts of heat. The wind transports the cold or the heat of the ocean to the land. [161] Atmospheric circulation also plays an important role: San Francisco and Washington DC are both coastal cities at about the same latitude. San Francisco's climate is significantly more moderate as the prevailing wind direction is from sea to land. [162] Finally, temperatures decrease with height causing mountainous areas to be colder than low-lying areas. [163]

Water vapor generated through surface evaporation is transported by circulatory patterns in the atmosphere. When atmospheric conditions permit an uplift of warm, humid air, this water condenses and falls to the surface as precipitation. [155] Most of the water is then transported to lower elevations by river systems and usually returned to the oceans or deposited into lakes. This water cycle is a vital mechanism for supporting life on land and is a primary factor in the erosion of surface features over geological periods. Precipitation patterns vary widely, ranging from several meters of water per year to less than a millimeter. Atmospheric circulation, topographic features, and temperature differences determine the average precipitation that falls in each region. [164]

The commonly used Köppen climate classification system has five broad groups (humid tropics, arid, humid middle latitudes, continental and cold polar), which are further divided into more specific subtypes. [156] The Köppen system rates regions based on observed temperature and precipitation. [165] Surface air temperature can rise to around 55 °C (131 °F) in hot deserts, such as Death Valley, and can fall as low as −89 °C (−128 °F) in Antarctica. [166] [167]

#### Upper atmosphere

Above the troposphere, the atmosphere is usually divided into the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere. [152] Each layer has a different lapse rate, defining the rate of change in temperature with height. Beyond these, the exosphere thins out into the magnetosphere, where the geomagnetic fields interact with the solar wind. [168] Within the stratosphere is the ozone layer, a component that partially shields the surface from ultraviolet light and thus is important for life on Earth. The Kármán line, defined as 100 km above Earth's surface, is a working definition for the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. [169]

Thermal energy causes some of the molecules at the outer edge of the atmosphere to increase their velocity to the point where they can escape from Earth's gravity. This causes a slow but steady loss of the atmosphere into space. Because unfixed hydrogen has a low molecular mass, it can achieve escape velocity more readily, and it leaks into outer space at a greater rate than other gases. [170] The leakage of hydrogen into space contributes to the shifting of Earth's atmosphere and surface from an initially reducing state to its current oxidizing one. Photosynthesis provided a source of free oxygen, but the loss of reducing agents such as hydrogen is thought to have been a necessary precondition for the widespread accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere. [171] Hence the ability of hydrogen to escape from the atmosphere may have influenced the nature of life that developed on Earth. [172] In the current, oxygen-rich atmosphere most hydrogen is converted into water before it has an opportunity to escape. Instead, most of the hydrogen loss comes from the destruction of methane in the upper atmosphere. [173]

### Gravitational field

The gravity of Earth is the acceleration that is imparted to objects due to the distribution of mass within Earth. Near Earth's surface, gravitational acceleration is approximately 9.8 m/s2 (32 ft/s2). Local differences in topography, geology, and deeper tectonic structure cause local and broad, regional differences in Earth's gravitational field, known as gravity anomalies. [174]

### Magnetic field

The main part of Earth's magnetic field is generated in the core, the site of a dynamo process that converts the kinetic energy of thermally and compositionally driven convection into electrical and magnetic field energy. The field extends outwards from the core, through the mantle, and up to Earth's surface, where it is, approximately, a dipole. The poles of the dipole are located close to Earth's geographic poles. At the equator of the magnetic field, the magnetic-field strength at the surface is 3.05×10−5 T , with a magnetic dipole moment of 7.79×1022 Am2 at epoch 2000, decreasing nearly 6% per century. [175] The convection movements in the core are chaotic; the magnetic poles drift and periodically change alignment. This causes secular variation of the main field and field reversals at irregular intervals averaging a few times every million years. The most recent reversal occurred approximately 700,000 years ago. [176] [177]

#### Magnetosphere

The extent of Earth's magnetic field in space defines the magnetosphere. Ions and electrons of the solar wind are deflected by the magnetosphere; solar wind pressure compresses the dayside of the magnetosphere, to about 10 Earth radii, and extends the nightside magnetosphere into a long tail. [178] Because the velocity of the solar wind is greater than the speed at which waves propagate through the solar wind, a supersonic bow shock precedes the dayside magnetosphere within the solar wind. [179] Charged particles are contained within the magnetosphere; the plasmasphere is defined by low-energy particles that essentially follow magnetic field lines as Earth rotates. [180] [181] The ring current is defined by medium-energy particles that drift relative to the geomagnetic field, but with paths that are still dominated by the magnetic field, [182] and the Van Allen radiation belts are formed by high-energy particles whose motion is essentially random, but contained in the magnetosphere. [178] [183]

During magnetic storms and substorms, charged particles can be deflected from the outer magnetosphere and especially the magnetotail, directed along field lines into Earth's ionosphere, where atmospheric atoms can be excited and ionized, causing the aurora. [184]

## Orbit and rotation

### Rotation

Earth's rotation period relative to the Sun—its mean solar day—is 86,400 seconds of mean solar time (86,400.0025 SI seconds). [185] Because Earth's solar day is now slightly longer than it was during the 19th century due to tidal deceleration, each day varies between 0 and 2 ms longer than the mean solar day. [186] [187]

Earth's rotation period relative to the fixed stars, called its stellar day by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), is 86,164.0989 seconds of mean solar time (UT1), or 23h 56m 4.0989s. [4] [n 18] Earth's rotation period relative to the precessing or moving mean March equinox (when the Sun is at 90° on the equator), is 86,164.0905 seconds of mean solar time (UT1) (23h 56m 4.0905s). [4] Thus the sidereal day is shorter than the stellar day by about 8.4 ms. [188]

Apart from meteors within the atmosphere and low-orbiting satellites, the main apparent motion of celestial bodies in Earth's sky is to the west at a rate of 15°/h = 15'/min. For bodies near the celestial equator, this is equivalent to an apparent diameter of the Sun or the Moon every two minutes; from Earth's surface, the apparent sizes of the Sun and the Moon are approximately the same. [189] [190]

### Orbit

Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 150 million km (93 million mi) every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. This gives an apparent movement of the Sun eastward with respect to the stars at a rate of about 1°/day, which is one apparent Sun or Moon diameter every 12 hours. Due to this motion, on average it takes 24 hours—a solar day—for Earth to complete a full rotation about its axis so that the Sun returns to the meridian. The orbital speed of Earth averages about 29.78 km/s (107,200 km/h; 66,600 mph), which is fast enough to travel a distance equal to Earth's diameter, about 12,742 km (7,918 mi), in seven minutes, and the distance to the Moon, 384,000 km (239,000 mi), in about 3.5 hours. [5]

The Moon and Earth orbit a common barycenter every 27.32 days relative to the background stars. When combined with the Earth–Moon system's common orbit around the Sun, the period of the synodic month, from new moon to new moon, is 29.53 days. Viewed from the celestial north pole, the motion of Earth, the Moon, and their axial rotations are all counterclockwise. Viewed from a vantage point above the north poles of both the Sun and Earth, Earth orbits in a counterclockwise direction about the Sun. The orbital and axial planes are not precisely aligned: Earth's axis is tilted some 23.44 degrees from the perpendicular to the Earth–Sun plane (the ecliptic), and the Earth–Moon plane is tilted up to ±5.1 degrees against the Earth–Sun plane. Without this tilt, there would be an eclipse every two weeks, alternating between lunar eclipses and solar eclipses. [5] [192]

The Hill sphere, or the sphere of gravitational influence, of Earth is about 1.5 million km (930,000 mi) in radius. [193] [n 19] This is the maximum distance at which Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than the more distant Sun and planets. Objects must orbit Earth within this radius, or they can become unbound by the gravitational perturbation of the Sun. [193]

Earth, along with the Solar System, is situated in the Milky Way and orbits about 28,000  light-years from its center. It is about 20 light-years above the galactic plane in the Orion Arm. [194]

### Axial tilt and seasons

The axial tilt of Earth is approximately 23.439281° [4] with the axis of its orbit plane, always pointing towards the Celestial Poles. Due to Earth's axial tilt, the amount of sunlight reaching any given point on the surface varies over the course of the year. This causes the seasonal change in climate, with summer in the Northern Hemisphere occurring when the Tropic of Cancer is facing the Sun, and winter taking place when the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere faces the Sun. During the summer, the day lasts longer, and the Sun climbs higher in the sky. In winter, the climate becomes cooler and the days shorter. [195] Above the Arctic Circle and below the Antarctic Circle there is no daylight at all for part of the year, causing a polar night, and this night extends for several months at the poles themselves. These same latitudes also experience a midnight sun, where the sun remains visible all day. [196] [197]

By astronomical convention, the four seasons can be determined by the solstices—the points in the orbit of maximum axial tilt toward or away from the Sun—and the equinoxes, when Earth's rotational axis is aligned with its orbital axis. In the Northern Hemisphere, winter solstice currently occurs around 21 December; summer solstice is near 21 June, spring equinox is around 20 March and autumnal equinox is about 22 or 23 September. In the Southern Hemisphere, the situation is reversed, with the summer and winter solstices exchanged and the spring and autumnal equinox dates swapped. [198]

The angle of Earth's axial tilt is relatively stable over long periods of time. Its axial tilt does undergo nutation; a slight, irregular motion with a main period of 18.6 years. [199] The orientation (rather than the angle) of Earth's axis also changes over time, precessing around in a complete circle over each 25,800 year cycle; this precession is the reason for the difference between a sidereal year and a tropical year. Both of these motions are caused by the varying attraction of the Sun and the Moon on Earth's equatorial bulge. The poles also migrate a few meters across Earth's surface. This polar motion has multiple, cyclical components, which collectively are termed quasiperiodic motion. In addition to an annual component to this motion, there is a 14-month cycle called the Chandler wobble. Earth's rotational velocity also varies in a phenomenon known as length-of-day variation. [200]

In modern times, Earth's perihelion occurs around 3 January, and its aphelion around 4 July. These dates change over time due to precession and other orbital factors, which follow cyclical patterns known as Milankovitch cycles. The changing Earth–Sun distance causes an increase of about 6.9% [n 20] in solar energy reaching Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion. Because the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun at about the same time that Earth reaches the closest approach to the Sun, the Southern Hemisphere receives slightly more energy from the Sun than does the northern over the course of a year. This effect is much less significant than the total energy change due to the axial tilt, and most of the excess energy is absorbed by the higher proportion of water in the Southern Hemisphere. [201] [ better source needed ]

## Earth-Moon system

### Moon

 Full moon as seen from Earth's Northern Hemisphere Diameter 3,474.8 km Mass 7.349×1022 kg Semi-major axis 384,400 km Orbital period 27d 7h 43.7m

The Moon is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like natural satellite, with a diameter about one-quarter of Earth's. It is the largest moon in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, although Charon is larger relative to the dwarf planet Pluto. [202] [203] The natural satellites of other planets are also referred to as "moons", after Earth's. [204] The most widely accepted theory of the Moon's origin, the giant-impact hypothesis, states that it formed from the collision of a Mars-size protoplanet called Theia with the early Earth. This hypothesis explains (among other things) the Moon's relative lack of iron and volatile elements and the fact that its composition is nearly identical to that of Earth's crust. [49]

The gravitational attraction between Earth and the Moon causes tides on Earth. [205] The same effect on the Moon has led to its tidal locking: its rotation period is the same as the time it takes to orbit Earth. As a result, it always presents the same face to the planet. [206] As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts of its face are illuminated by the Sun, leading to the lunar phases. [207] Due to their tidal interaction, the Moon recedes from Earth at the rate of approximately 38 mm/a (1.5 in/year). Over millions of years, these tiny modifications—and the lengthening of Earth's day by about 23  µs/yr—add up to significant changes. [208] During the Devonian period, for example, (approximately 410 Ma) there were 400 days in a year, with each day lasting 21.8 hours. [209]

The Moon may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the planet's climate. Paleontological evidence and computer simulations show that Earth's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with the Moon. [210] Some theorists think that without this stabilization against the torques applied by the Sun and planets to Earth's equatorial bulge, the rotational axis might be chaotically unstable, exhibiting chaotic changes over millions of years, as appears to be the case for Mars. [211]

Viewed from Earth, the Moon is just far enough away to have almost the same apparent-sized disk as the Sun. The angular size (or solid angle) of these two bodies match because, although the Sun's diameter is about 400 times as large as the Moon's, it is also 400 times more distant. [190] This allows total and annular solar eclipses to occur on Earth. [212]

## Asteroids and artificial satellites

Earth has at least five co-orbital asteroids, including 3753 Cruithne and . [213] [214] A trojan asteroid companion, , is librating around the leading Lagrange triangular point, L4, in Earth's orbit around the Sun. [215] [216] The tiny near-Earth asteroid makes close approaches to the Earth–Moon system roughly every twenty years. During these approaches, it can orbit Earth for brief periods of time. [217]

As of April 2020, there are 2,666 operational, human-made satellites orbiting Earth. [8] There are also inoperative satellites, including Vanguard 1, the oldest satellite currently in orbit, and over 16,000 pieces of tracked space debris. [n 3] Earth's largest artificial satellite is the International Space Station. [218]

## Habitability

A planet that can sustain life is termed habitable, even if life did not originate there. Earth provides liquid water—an environment where complex organic molecules can assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain metabolism. [219] The distance of Earth from the Sun, as well as its orbital eccentricity, rate of rotation, axial tilt, geological history, sustaining atmosphere, and magnetic field all contribute to the current climatic conditions at the surface. [220]

### Biosphere

A planet's life forms inhabit ecosystems, whose total is sometimes said to form a "biosphere". [221] Earth's biosphere is thought to have begun evolving about 3.5 Gya. [67] The biosphere is divided into a number of biomes, inhabited by broadly similar plants and animals. [222] On land, biomes are separated primarily by differences in latitude, height above sea level and humidity. Terrestrial biomes lying within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles, at high altitudes or in extremely arid areas are relatively barren of plant and animal life; species diversity reaches a peak in humid lowlands at equatorial latitudes. [223]

### Natural resources and land use

Land use in 2015 as a percentage of ice-free land surface [224]
Land usePercentage
Cropland12 – 14%
Pastures30 – 47%
Human-used forests16 – 27%
Infrastructure1%
Unused land24 – 31%

Earth has resources that have been exploited by humans. [225] Those termed non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels, only renew over geological timescales. [226] Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Earth's crust, consisting of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. [227] These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production. [228] Mineral ore bodies have also been formed within the crust through a process of ore genesis, resulting from actions of magmatism, erosion, and plate tectonics. [229] These metals and other elements are extracted by mining, a process which often brings environmental and health damage. [230]

Earth's biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including food, wood, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and the recycling of organic waste. The land-based ecosystem depends upon topsoil and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem depends on dissolved nutrients washed down from the land. [231] In 1980, 50.53 million km2 (19.51 million sq mi) of Earth's land surface consisted of forest and woodlands, 67.88 million km2 (26.21 million sq mi) was grasslands and pasture, and 15.01 million km2 (5.80 million sq mi) was cultivated as croplands. [232] The estimated amount of irrigated land in 1993 was 2,481,250 km2 (958,020 sq mi). [233] Humans use building materials to construct shelters. [234]

### Natural and environmental hazards

Large areas of Earth's surface are subject to extreme weather such as tropical cyclones (such as hurricanes and typhoons) that have a large impact on life in those areas. From 1980 to 2000, these events caused an average of 11,800 human deaths per year. [235] Many places are subject to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities and disasters. [236]

Many localized areas are subject to human-made pollution of the air and water, acid rain, loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, species extinction, soil degradation, soil depletion and erosion. [237]

There is a scientific consensus that humans are causing global warming by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. [238] This is driving changes such as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, a global rise in average sea levels, and significant shifts in weather. [239]

## Human geography

Cartography, the study and practice of map-making, and geography, the study of the lands, features, inhabitants and phenomena on Earth, have historically been the disciplines devoted to depicting Earth. Surveying, the determination of locations and distances, and to a lesser extent navigation, the determination of position and direction, have developed alongside cartography and geography, providing and suitably quantifying the requisite information.[ citation needed ]

Earth's human population passed seven billion in the early 2010s, [241] and is projected to peak at around ten billion in the second half of the 21st century. [242] Most of the growth is expected to take place in sub-Saharan Africa. [242] Human population density varies widely around the world, but a majority live in Asia. By 2030, 60% of the world's population is expected to be living in urban, rather than rural, areas. [243] 68% of the land mass of the world is in the Northern Hemisphere. [244] Partly due to the predominance of land mass, 90% of humans live in the Northern Hemisphere. [245]

It is estimated that one-eighth of Earth's surface is suitable for humans to live on – three-quarters of Earth's surface is covered by oceans, leaving one-quarter as land. Half of that land area is desert (14%), [246] high mountains (27%), [247] or other unsuitable terrains. States claim the planet's entire land surface, except for parts of Antarctica and a few other unclaimed areas. Earth has never had a planetwide government, but the United Nations is the leading worldwide intergovernmental organization. [248] [249] The northernmost permanent settlement in the world is Alert, on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada (82°28′N). [250] The southernmost is the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, in Antarctica, almost exactly at the South Pole (90°S). [251]

The first human to orbit Earth was Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961. [252] In total, about 550 people have visited outer space and reached orbit as of November 2018, and, of these, twelve have walked on the Moon. [253] [254] Normally, the only humans in space are those on the International Space Station. The station's crew, made up of six people, is usually replaced every six months. [255] The farthest that humans have traveled from Earth is 400,171 km (248,655 mi), achieved during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. [256]

## Cultural and historical viewpoint

The standard astronomical symbol of Earth consists of a cross circumscribed by a circle, , [257] representing the four corners of the world.

Human cultures have developed many views of the planet. [258] Earth is sometimes personified as a deity. In many cultures it is a mother goddess that is also the primary fertility deity, [259] and by the mid-20th century, the Gaia Principle compared Earth's environments and life as a single self-regulating organism leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability. [260] [261] [262] Creation myths in many religions involve the creation of Earth by a supernatural deity or deities. [259]

Scientific investigation has resulted in several culturally transformative shifts in people's view of the planet. Initial belief in a flat Earth was gradually displaced in the Greek colonies of southern Italy during the late 6th century BC by the idea of spherical Earth, [263] [264] [265] which was attributed to both the philosophers Pythagoras and Parmenides. [264] [265] By the end of the 5th century BC, the sphericity of Earth was universally accepted among Greek intellectuals. [266] Earth was generally believed to be the center of the universe until the 16th century, when scientists first conclusively demonstrated that it was a moving object, comparable to the other planets in the Solar System. [267] Due to the efforts of influential Christian scholars and clerics such as James Ussher, who sought to determine the age of Earth through analysis of genealogies in Scripture, Westerners before the 19th century generally believed Earth to be a few thousand years old at most. It was only during the 19th century that geologists realized Earth's age was at least many millions of years. [268]

Lord Kelvin used thermodynamics to estimate the age of Earth to be between 20 million and 400 million years in 1864, sparking a vigorous debate on the subject; it was only when radioactivity and radioactive dating were discovered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that a reliable mechanism for determining Earth's age was established, proving the planet to be billions of years old. [269] [270] The perception of Earth shifted again[ further explanation needed ] in the 20th century when humans first viewed it from orbit, and especially with photographs of Earth returned by the Apollo program. [271] [272]

## Notes

1. All astronomical quantities vary, both secularly and periodically. The quantities given are the values at the instant J2000.0 of the secular variation, ignoring all periodic variations.
2. aphelion = a × (1 + e); perihelion = a × (1 e), where a is the semi-major axis and e is the eccentricity. The difference between Earth's perihelion and aphelion is 5 million kilometers.Wilkinson, John (8 January 2009). Probing the New Solar System. CSIRO Publishing. p. 144. ISBN   9780643099494.
3. As of 4 January 2018, the United States Strategic Command tracked a total of 18,835 artificial objects, mostly debris. See: Anz-Meador, Phillip; Shoots, Debi, eds. (February 2018). "Satellite Box Score" (PDF). Orbital Debris Quarterly News. 22 (1): 12. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
4. Earth's circumference is almost exactly 40,000 km because the metre was calibrated on this measurement—more specifically, 1/10-millionth of the distance between the poles and the equator.
5. Due to natural fluctuations, ambiguities surrounding ice shelves, and mapping conventions for vertical datums, exact values for land and ocean coverage are not meaningful. Based on data from the Vector Map and Global Landcover Archived 26 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine datasets, extreme values for coverage of lakes and streams are 0.6% and 1.0% of Earth's surface. The ice shields of Antarctica and Greenland are counted as land, even though much of the rock that supports them lies below sea level.
6. Middle English spellings include eorþe, erþe, erde, and erthe. [25]
7. As in Beowulf (1531–33):
Wearp ða wundelmæl   wrættum gebunden
yrre oretta,   þæt hit on eorðan læg,
stið ond stylecg.
[25] [26]
"He threw the artfully-wound sword so that it lay upon the earth, firm and sharp-edged." [26]
8. As in the Old English glosses of the Lindisfarne Gospels (Luke 13:7):
Succidite ergo illam ut quid etiam terram occupat: hrendas uel scearfað forðon ðailca uel hia to huon uutedlice eorðo gionetað uel gemerras. [25]
"Remove it. Why should it use up the soil?" [27]
9. As in Ælfric's Heptateuch (Gen. 1:10):
Ond God gecygde ða drignysse eorðan ond ðære wætera gegaderunge he het sæ. [25] [28]
"And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas." [29]
10. As in the Wessex Gospels (Matt. 28:18):
Me is geseald ælc anweald on heofonan & on eorðan. [25]
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." [30]
11. As in the Codex Junius's Genesis (112–16):
her ærest gesceop   ece drihten,
helm eallwihta,   heofon and eorðan,
rodor arærde   and þis rume land
gestaþelode   strangum mihtum,
frea ælmihtig.
[25] [31]
"Here first with mighty power the Everlasting Lord, the Helm of all created things, Almighty King, made earth and heaven, raised up the sky and founded the spacious land." [32]
12. As in Ælfric's On the Seasons of the Year(Ch. 6, § 9):
Seo eorðe stent on gelicnysse anre pinnhnyte, & seo sunne glit onbutan be Godes gesetnysse. [25]
"The earth can be compared to a pine cone, and the Sun glides around it by God's decree. [33]
13. If Earth were shrunk to the size of a billiard ball, some areas of Earth such as large mountain ranges and oceanic trenches would feel like tiny imperfections, whereas much of the planet, including the Great Plains and the abyssal plains, would feel smoother. [98]
14. Locally varies between 5 and 200 km.
15. Locally varies between 5 and 70 km.
16. Including the Somali Plate, which is being formed out of the African Plate. See: Chorowicz, Jean (October 2005). "The East African rift system". Journal of African Earth Sciences . 43 (1–3): 379–410. Bibcode:2005JAfES..43..379C. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.07.019.
17. This is the measurement taken by the vessel Kaikō in March 1995 and is considered the most accurate measurement to date. See the Challenger Deep article for more details.
18. The ultimate source of these figures, uses the term "seconds of UT1" instead of "seconds of mean solar time".—Aoki, S.; Kinoshita, H.; Guinot, B.; Kaplan, G. H.; McCarthy, D. D.; Seidelmann, P. K. (1982). "The new definition of universal time". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 105 (2): 359–61. Bibcode:1982A&A...105..359A.
19. For Earth, the Hill radius is ${\displaystyle R_{H}=a\left({\frac {m}{3M}}\right)^{\frac {1}{3}}}$, where m is the mass of Earth, a is an astronomical unit, and M is the mass of the Sun. So the radius in AU is about ${\displaystyle \left({\frac {1}{3\cdot 332,946}}\right)^{\frac {1}{3}}=0.01}$.
20. Aphelion is 103.4% of the distance to perihelion. Due to the inverse square law, the radiation at perihelion is about 106.9% the energy at aphelion.

## Related Research Articles

The Moon is a gravity rounded astronomical body orbiting Earth and is the planet's only natural satellite. It is the fifth-largest satellite in the Solar System, and by far the largest among planetary satellites relative to the size of the planet that it orbits. The Moon is, after Jupiter's satellite Io, the second-densest satellite in the Solar System among those whose densities are known.

Mercury is the smallest and innermost planet in the Solar System. Its orbit around the Sun takes 87.97 days, the shortest of all the planets in the Solar System. It is named after the Greek god Hermes (Ερμής), translated into Latin Mercurius Mercury, god of commerce, messenger of the gods, mediator between gods and mortals.

The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Of the objects that orbit the Sun directly, the largest are the eight planets, with the remainder being smaller objects, the dwarf planets and small Solar System bodies. Of the objects that orbit the Sun indirectly—the moons—two are larger than the smallest planet, Mercury.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. As the second-brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon, Venus can cast shadows and can be, on rare occasion, visible to the naked eye in broad daylight. Venus lies within Earth's orbit, and so never appears to venture far from the Sun, either setting in the west just after dusk or rising in the east a bit before dawn. Venus orbits the Sun every 224.7 Earth days. With a rotation period of 243 Earth days, it takes longer to rotate about its axis than any other planet in the Solar System and does so in the opposite direction to all but Uranus. Venus does not have any moons, a distinction it shares only with Mercury among planets in the Solar System.

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass one-thousandth that of the Sun, but two-and-a-half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined. Jupiter is one of the brightest objects visible to the naked eye in the night sky, and has been known to ancient civilizations since before recorded history. It is named after the Roman god Jupiter. When viewed from Earth, Jupiter can be bright enough for its reflected light to cast visible shadows, and is on average the third-brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus.

Europa, or Jupiter II, is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 79 known moons of Jupiter. It is also the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System. Europa was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and was named after Europa, the Phoenician mother of King Minos of Crete and lover of Zeus.

Triton is the largest natural satellite of the planet Neptune, and the first Neptunian moon to be discovered. The discovery was made on October 10, 1846, by English astronomer William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, an orbit in the direction opposite to its planet's rotation. At 2,710 kilometres (1,680 mi) in diameter, it is the seventh-largest moon in the Solar System, the only satellite of Neptune massive enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium and the second-largest planetary moon in relation to its primary, after Earth's Moon. Because of its retrograde orbit and composition similar to Pluto, Triton is thought to have been a dwarf planet captured from the Kuiper belt.

Pluto is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It was the first and the largest Kuiper belt object to be discovered.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine times that of Earth. It only has one-eighth the average density of Earth; however, with its larger volume, Saturn is over 95 times more massive. Saturn is named after the Roman god of wealth and agriculture; its astronomical symbol (♄) represents the god's sickle.

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and the second-largest natural satellite in the Solar System. It is the only moon known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only known body in space, other than Earth, where clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found.

In planetary astronomy and astrobiology, the Rare Earth hypothesis argues that the origin of life and the evolution of biological complexity such as sexually reproducing, multicellular organisms on Earth required an improbable combination of astrophysical and geological events and circumstances.

Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments hospitable to life. Life may be generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously or be transferred to it from another body, through a hypothetical process known as panspermia. Environments do not need to contain life to be considered habitable nor are accepted habitable zones the only areas in which life might arise.

The origin of water on Earth is the subject of a body of research in the fields of planetary science, astronomy, and astrobiology. Earth is unique among the rocky planets in the Solar System in that it is the only planet known to have oceans of liquid water on its surface. Liquid water, which is necessary for life as we know it, continues to exist on the surface of Earth because the planet is at a distance, known as the habitable zone, far enough from the Sun that it does not lose its water to the runaway greenhouse effect, but not so far that low temperatures cause all water on the planet to freeze.

The exploration of Jupiter has been conducted via close observations by automated spacecraft. It began with the arrival of Pioneer 10 into the Jovian system in 1973, and, as of 2016, has continued with eight further spacecraft missions. All of these missions were undertaken by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and all but two have been flybys that have taken detailed observations without the probe landing or entering orbit. These probes make Jupiter the most visited of the Solar System's outer planets as all missions to the outer Solar System have used Jupiter flybys to reduce fuel requirements and travel time. On 5 July 2016, spacecraft Juno arrived and entered the planet's orbit—the second craft ever to do so. Sending a craft to Jupiter entails many technical difficulties, especially due to the probes' large fuel requirements and the effects of the planet's harsh radiation environment.

Extraterrestrial liquid water is water in its liquid state that naturally occurs outside Earth. It is a subject of wide interest because it is recognized as one of the key prerequisites for life as we know it and thus surmised as essential for extraterrestrial life.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury. In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the "Red Planet". The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars's surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.

The habitability of natural satellites is a measure of the potential of natural satellites to have environments hospitable to life. Habitable environments do not necessarily harbor life. Natural satellite habitability is an emerging field which is considered important to astrobiology for several reasons, foremost being that natural satellites are predicted to greatly outnumber planets and it is hypothesized that habitability factors are likely to be similar to those of planets. There are, however, key environmental differences which have a bearing on moons as potential sites for extraterrestrial life.

The biological and geological future of Earth can be extrapolated based upon the estimated effects of several long-term influences. These include the chemistry at Earth's surface, the rate of cooling of the planet's interior, the gravitational interactions with other objects in the Solar System, and a steady increase in the Sun's luminosity. An uncertain factor in this extrapolation is the continuous influence of technology introduced by humans, such as climate engineering, which could cause significant changes to the planet. The current Holocene extinction is being caused by technology and the effects may last for up to five million years. In turn, technology may result in the extinction of humanity, leaving the planet to gradually return to a slower evolutionary pace resulting solely from long-term natural processes.

Before the scientific search for and study of extrasolar planets, the possibility was argued through philosophy and science fiction. The mediocrity principle suggests that planets like Earth should be common in the Universe, while the Rare Earth hypothesis suggests that they are extremely rare. The thousands of exoplanetary star systems discovered so far are profoundly different from the Solar system, supporting the Rare Earth Hypothesis.

Land, sometimes referred to as dry land, is the solid surface of Earth that is not permanently covered by water. The vast majority of human activity throughout history has occurred in land areas that support agriculture, habitat, and various natural resources. Some life forms have developed from predecessor species that lived in bodies of water.

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