Good Night - Facts about the Earth
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Earth, our wonderful world! But how much do you know about the planet we call home? Let’s find out with our fascinating facts about the Earth- …
Facts about the Earth
- 1) Earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system. Its name comes from the the old English and Germanic words meaning ‘the ground’. -
- 2) Our amazing planet has been around for quite some time. By researching our planet’s rocks, scientists have calculated the Earth to be around 4.5 billion years old!
- 3) Like all the planets, Earth orbits (travels around) around the sun. And it does so at some serious speed –– around 30 kilometres per second, in fact! It takes 365 days (one year) for the Earth to complete one full orbit.
- 4) Have you ever wondered why we have different seasons? We’ll tell you –– it’s because the Earth is tilted 23.4 degrees on its ‘axis’, an imaginary line straight through the middle of the planet form the North Pole to the South Pole. This means that different parts of the globe are tilted towards the sun at different times of the year (or at different times during its orbit).
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- 5) Not only does Earth zoom through space, it also spins on its axis. The result? We have daytime and nighttime! As the planet rotates, the side facing the sun receives daylight and the the other is in darkness.
- 6) People often think of Earth as a gigantic sphere. But, in fact, its shape is more like a squished ball that bulges out at the equator –– an imaginary line around the middle of the planet, exactly between the North Pole and the South Pole.
- 7) This ‘bulge’ is caused by the Earth’s spin and the effect of ‘gravity‘. Gravity is an invisible force that attracts objects towards each other. It’s this force that pulls things towards the Earth and stops us floating off into space!
- 8) The Earth’s diameter (distance straight through the middle) measures a huge 12,800 kilometres, making it the fifth largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are even bigger!
- 9) Earth is the only planet in our solar system known to support life. This is because it has two very important things that living creatures need to survive –– lots of oxygen and lots of water! Its distance from the sun means it’s not too hot and not too cold for creatures to live on, too.
- 10) Earth’s ‘atmosphere’ is also hugely important for sustaining life. The atmosphere is a huge blanket of gases – mostly oxygen and nitrogen - wrapped around Earth, protecting our planet from the sun’s strong rays. At the same time, the atmosphere helps keep the Earth’s temperature comfortable for living beings – and it protects us from meteors, too!
Facts about the Earth
- The Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing.
This deceleration is happening almost imperceptibly, at approximately 17 milliseconds per hundred years, although the rate at which it occurs is not perfectly uniform. This has the effect of lengthening our days, but it happens so slowly that it could be as much as 140 million years before the length of a day will have increased to 25 hours. - The Earth was once believed to be the centre of the universe.
Due to the apparent movements of the Sun and planets in relation to their viewpoint, ancient scientists insisted that the Earth remained static, whilst other celestial bodies travelled in circular orbits around it. Eventually, the view that the Sun was at the centre of the universe was postulated by Copernicus, though this is also not the case. - Earth has a powerful magnetic field.
This phenomenon is caused by the nickel-iron core of the planet, coupled with its rapid rotation. This field protects the Earth from the effects of solar wind. - There is only one natural satellite of the planet Earth.
As a percentage of the size of the body it orbits, the Moon is the largest satellite of any planet in our solar system. - In real terms, however, it is only the fifth largest natural satellite. - Earth is the only planet not named after a god.
The other seven planets in our solar system are all named after Roman gods or goddesses. Although only Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were named during ancient times, because they were visible to the naked eye, the Roman method of naming planets was retained after the discovery of Uranus and Neptune. - The Earth is the densest planet in the Solar System.
This varies according to the part of the planet; for example, the metallic core is denser than the crust. The average density of the Earth is approximately 5.52 grams per cubic centimetre.
Earth Diagrams
Earth size compared to the Moon
Earth distance from the Sun and orbital eccentricityFacts from Leo:
-70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water
When astronauts first went into the space, they looked back at the Earth with human eyes for the first time, and called our home the Blue Planet. And it’s no surprise. - 70% of our planet is covered with oceans. The remaining 30% is the solid ground, rising above sea level.
-Earth is mostly iron, oxygen and silicon
If you could separate the Earth out into piles of material, you’d get 32.1 % iron, 30.1% oxygen, 15.1% silicon, and 13.9% magnesium. Of course, most of this iron is actually down at the core of the Earth. If you could actually get down and sample the core, it would be 88% iron. 47% of the Earth’s crust consists of oxygen.
-Earth doesn’t take 24 hours to rotate on its axis
It’s actually 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This is the amount of time it takes for the Earth to completely rotate around its axis; astronomers call this a sidereal day. Now wait a second, that means a day is 4 minutes shorter than we think it is. You’d think that time would add up, day by day, and within a few months, day would be night, and night would be day.
-A year on Earth isn’t 365 days
It’s actually 365.2564 days. It’s this extra .2564 days that creates the need for leap years. That’s why we tack on an extra day in February every year divisible by 4 – 2004, 2008, etc – unless it’s divisible by 100 (1900, 2100, etc)… unless it’s divisible by 400 (1600, 2000, etc).
-Earth has 1 moon and 2 co-orbital satellites
As you’re probably aware, Earth has 1 moon (The Moon). But did you know there are 2 additional asteroids locked into a co-orbital orbits with Earth? They’re called - 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29. We won’t go into too much detail about the Moon, I’m sure you’ve heard all about it.
3753 Cruithne is 5 km across, and sometimes called Earth’s second moon. It doesn’t actually orbit the Earth, but has a synchronized orbit with our home planet. It has an orbit that makes it look like it’s following the Earth in orbit, but it’s actually following its own, distinct path around the Sun.
2002 AA29 is only 60 meters across, and makes a horseshoe orbit around the Earth that brings it close to the planet every 95 years. In about 600 years, it will appear to circle Earth in a quasi-satellite orbit. Scientists have suggested that it might make a good target for a space exploration mission.
-- The Earth is not actually round in shape; in fact it is geoid. This simply means that the rounded shape has a slight bulge towards the equator. So what causes this geoid shape? This happens solely because the rotation of the Earth which causes the bulge around the equator.
-The Earth tilts at roughly 66 degrees.
-Only 3% water of the earth is fresh, rest 97% salted. Of that 3%, over 2% is frozen in ice sheets and glaciers. Means less than 1% fresh water is found in lakes, rivers and underground.
-- Asia Continent is covered 30% of the total earth land area, but represent 60% of the world’s population.
-Each winter there are about 1 septillion (1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 or a trillion trillion) snow crystals that drop from the sky.
