What is the meaning of the word the earth

Earth

Earth as seen from space beyond low Earth orbit, with its facing side fully illuminated by sunlight. The image is a widely used photograph of Earth called The Blue Marble.[1][2]
Designations
Alternative names	Prithvi, Gaia, Terra, Tellus, the world, the globe, Sol III
Adjectives	Earthly, terrestrial, terran, tellurian
Orbital characteristics
Epoch J2000[n 1]
Aphelion	152,097,597 kilometres (94,509,065 mi)
Perihelion	147098450 km (91402740 mi)[n 2]
Semi-major axis	149598023 km (92955902 mi)[3]
Eccentricity	0.0167086[3]
Orbital period (sidereal)	365.256363004 d[4] (1.00001742096 aj)
Average orbital speed	29.7827 km/s[5] (107218 km/h; 66622 mph)
Mean anomaly	358.617°
Inclination	7.155° to the Sun’s equator; 1.57869°[6] to invariable plane; 0.00005° to J2000 ecliptic
Longitude of ascending node	−11.26064°[5] to J2000 ecliptic
Time of perihelion	2023-Jan-04[7]
Argument of perihelion	114.20783°[5]
Satellites	1 natural satellite: the Moon 5 quasi-satellites >4 500 operational artificial satellites[8] >18 000 tracked space debris[n 3]
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	6371.0 km (3958.8 mi)[9]
Equatorial radius	6378.137 km (3963.191 mi)[10][11]
Polar radius	6356.752 km (3949.903 mi)[12]
Flattening	1/298.257222101 (ETRS89)[13]
Circumference	40075.017 km equatorial (24901.461 mi)[11] 40007.86 km meridional (24859.73 mi)[14][n 4]
Surface area	Total: 510072000 km2 (196940000 sq mi)[15][n 5] Land: 148940000 km2 (57510000 sq mi) – 29.2% Ocean: 361132000 km2 (139434000 sq mi) – 70.8%
Volume	1.08321×1012 km3 (2.59876×1011 cu mi)[5]
Mass	5.972168×1024 kg (1.31668×1025 lb)[16] (3.0×10−6 M☉)
Mean density	5.5134 g/cm3 (0.19918 lb/cu in)[5]
Surface gravity	9.80665 m/s2 (1 g; 32.1740 ft/s2)[17]
Moment of inertia factor	0.3307[18]
Escape velocity	11.186 km/s[5] (40270 km/h; 25020 mph)
Synodic rotation period	1.0 d (24h 00m 00s)
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)
Axial tilt	23.4392811°[4]
Albedo	0.367 geometric[5] 0.306 Bond[5]
Temperature	287.91 K (14.76 °C) (blackbody temperature)[21]
Surface temp. min mean max Celsius −89.2 °C[22] 14.76 °C (2022)[23] 56.7 °C[24] Fahrenheit −128.5 °F 58.568 °F (2022) 134.0 °F
Surface equivalent dose rate	0.274 μSv/h[25]
Atmosphere
Surface pressure	101.325 kPa (at MSL)
Composition by volume	78.08% nitrogen (N2; dry air)[5] 20.95% oxygen (O2) ~ 1% water vapor (climate variable) 0.9340% argon 0.0413% carbon dioxide[26] 0.00182% neon[5] 0.00052% helium 0.00019% methane 0.00011% krypton 0.00006% hydrogen

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only place known in the universe where life has originated and found habitability. While Earth may not contain the largest volumes of water in the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water, extending over 70.8% of the Earth with its ocean, making Earth an ocean world. Earth’s polar regions currently retain most of all other water with large sheets of ice covering ocean and land, dwarfing Earth’s groundwater, lakes, rivers and atmospheric water. Land, consisting of continents and islands, extends over 29.2% of the Earth and is widely covered by vegetation. Below Earth’s surface material lies Earth’s crust consisting of several slowly moving tectonic plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth’s liquid outer core generates a magnetic field that shapes the magnetosphere of Earth, largely deflecting destructive solar winds and cosmic radiation.

Earth has an atmosphere, which sustains Earth’s surface conditions and protects it from most meteoroids and UV-light at entry. It has a composition of primarily nitrogen and oxygen. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere, forming clouds that cover most of the planet. The water vapor, like the liquid surface water, mainly persists by traping together with other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide (CO₂), energy from the Sun’s light, creating a crucial average surface temperature of currently 14.76 °C. Differences in the amount of captured energy between geographic regions (as with the equatorial region receiving more sunlight than the polar regions) drive atmospheric and ocean currents, producing a global climate system with different climate regions, and a range of weather phenomena such as precipitation, allowing components such as nitrogen to cycle.

Earth is rounded into an ellipsoid with a circumference of about 40,000 km. It is the densest planet in the Solar System. Of the four rocky planets, it is the largest and most massive. Earth is about eight light-minutes away from the Sun and orbits it, taking a year (about 365.25 days) to complete one revolution. The Earth rotates around its own axis in slightly less than a day (in about 23 hours and 56 minutes). The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted with respect to the perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun, producing seasons. Earth is orbited by one permanent natural satellite, the Moon, which orbits Earth at 384,400 km (1.28 light seconds) and is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth. Through tidal locking, the Moon always faces the Earth with the same side, which causes tides, stabilizes Earth’s axis, and gradually slows its rotation.

Earth, like most other bodies in the Solar System, formed 4.5 billion years ago from gas in the early Solar System. During the first billion years of Earth’s history, the ocean formed and then life developed within it. Life spread globally and has been altering Earth’s atmosphere and surface, leading to the Great Oxidation Event two billion years ago. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago, and have reached a population of 8 billion today. Humans depend on Earth’s biosphere and natural resources for their survival, but have increasingly impacted the planet’s environment. Humanity’s current impact on Earth’s climate and biosphere is unsustainable, threatening the livelihood of humans and many other life, causing widespread extinctions.^[27]

Etymology

The Modern English word Earth developed, via Middle English, from an Old English noun most often spelled eorðe.^[28] 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 gē: the ground, its soil, dry land, the human world, the surface of the world (including the sea), and the globe itself. 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.^[29]

Historically, earth has been written in lowercase. From early Middle English, its definite sense as «the globe» was expressed as the earth. By the era of Early Modern English, capitalization of nouns began to prevail, 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.^[28] 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 (for example, «Earth’s atmosphere») but writes it in lowercase when preceded by the (for example, «the atmosphere of the earth»). It almost always appears in lowercase in colloquial expressions such as «what on earth are you doing?»^[30]

Occasionally, the name Terra is used in scientific writing and especially in science fiction to distinguish humanity’s inhabited planet from others,^[31] while in poetry Tellus has been used to denote personification of the Earth.^[32] Terra is also the name of the planet in some Romance languages (languages that evolved from Latin) like Italian and Portuguese, while in other Romance languages the word gave rise to names with slightly altered spellings (like the Spanish Tierra and the French Terre). The Latinate form Gæa or Gaea () of the Greek poetic name Gaia (Γαῖα; Ancient Greek: [ɡâi̯.a] or [ɡâj.ja]) 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 English .^[33]

There are a number of adjectives for the planet Earth. From Earth itself comes earthly. From the Latin Terra comes terran ,^[34] terrestrial ,^[35] and (via French) terrene ,^[36] and from the Latin Tellus comes tellurian ^[37] and telluric.^[38]

Chronology

Formation

The oldest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5682+0.0002
−0.0004 Ga (billion years) ago.^[39] By 4.54±0.04 Ga the primordial Earth had formed.^[40] 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 being estimated as likely taking anywhere from 70 to 100 million years to form.^[41]

Estimates of the age of the Moon range from 4.5 Ga to significantly younger.^[42] A leading hypothesis is that it was formed by accretion from material loosed from Earth after a Mars-sized object with about 10% of Earth’s mass, named Theia, collided with Earth.^[43] It hit Earth with a glancing blow and some of its mass merged with Earth.^[44][45] 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.^[46]

After formation

Earth’s atmosphere and oceans were formed by volcanic activity and outgassing.^[48] Water vapor from these sources condensed into the oceans, augmented by water and ice from asteroids, protoplanets, and comets.^[49] Sufficient water to fill the oceans may have been on Earth since it formed.^[50] In this model, atmospheric greenhouse gases kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70% of its current luminosity.^[51] By 3.5 Ga, Earth’s magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind.^[52]

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 suggests that at least some felsic crust existed as early as 4.4 Ga, only 140 Ma after Earth’s formation.^[53] There are two main models of how this initial small volume of continental crust evolved to reach its current abundance:^[54] (1) a relatively steady growth up to the present day,^[55] which is supported by the radiometric dating of continental crust globally and (2) an initial rapid growth in the volume of continental crust during the Archean, forming the bulk of the continental crust that now exists,^[56][57] 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.^[58]

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.^[59]

The most recent pattern of ice ages began about 40 Ma,^[60] and then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 Ma.^[61] High- and middle-latitude regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating about every 21,000, 41,000 and 100,000 years.^[62] The Last Glacial Period, colloquially called the «last ice age», covered large parts of the continents, to the middle latitudes, in ice and ended about 11,700 years ago.^[63]

Origin of life and evolution

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.^[65] The evolution of photosynthesis allowed the Sun’s energy to be harvested directly by life forms. The resultant molecular oxygen (O₂) accumulated in the atmosphere and due to interaction with ultraviolet solar radiation, formed a protective ozone layer (O₃) in the upper atmosphere.^[66] The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes.^[67] 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.^[68] Among the earliest fossil evidence for life is microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone in Western Australia,^[69] biogenic graphite found in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks in Western Greenland,^[70] and remains of biotic material found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia.^[71][72] The earliest direct evidence of life on Earth is contained in 3.45 billion-year-old Australian rocks showing fossils of microorganisms.^[73][74]

During the Neoproterozoic, 1000 to 539 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.^[75][76] Following the Cambrian explosion, 535 Ma, there have been at least five major mass extinctions and many minor ones.^[77] 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 species gained the ability to stand upright.^{[78][better source needed]} 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.^[79]

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%.^[80] Earth’s increasing surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic carbon cycle, reducing CO₂ concentration to levels lethally low for plants (10 ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in approximately 100–900 million years.^[81][82] The lack of vegetation will result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, making animal life impossible.^[83] Due to the increased luminosity, Earth’s mean temperature may reach 100 °C (212 °F) in 1.5 billion years, and all ocean water will evaporate and be lost to space, which may trigger a runaway greenhouse effect, within an estimated 1.6 to 3 billion years.^[84] Even if the Sun were stable, a fraction of the water in the modern oceans will descend to the mantle, due to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges.^[84][85]

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.^[80][86] 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, otherwise, with tidal effects, it may enter the Sun’s atmosphere and be vaporized.^[80]

Geophysical characteristics

Size and shape

Earth has a rounded shape, through hydrostatic equilibrium,^[87] with an average diameter of 12,742 kilometers (7,918 mi), making it the fifth largest planetary sized and largest terrestrial object of the Solar System.

Due to Earth’s rotation it has the shape of an ellipsoid, bulging at its Equator, reaching 43 kilometers (27 mi) further out from its center of mass than at its poles.^[88][89]
Earth’s shape furthermore has local topographic variations. Though the largest local variations, like the Mariana Trench (10,925 meters or 35,843 feet below local sea level),^[90] only shortens Earth’s average radius by 0.17% and Mount Everest (8,848 meters or 29,029 feet above local sea level) lengthens it by only 0.14%.^{[n 6][92]} Since Earth’s surface is farthest out from Earth’s center of mass at its equatorial bulge, the summit of the volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador (6,384.4 km or 3,967.1 mi) is its farthest point out.^[93][94]
Parallel to the rigid land topography the Ocean exhibits a more dynamic topography.^[95]

To measure the local variation of Earth’s topography, geodesy employs an idealized Earth producing a shape called a geoid. Such a geoid shape is gained if the ocean is idealized, covering Earth completely and without any perturbations such as tides and winds. The result is a smooth but gravitational irregular geoid surface, providing a mean sea level (MSL) as a reference level for topographic measurements.^[96]

Surface

Earth’s surface is the top layer of Earth’s rigid or liquid structure, at the interface with its atmosphere. Earth as an idealized spheroid has a surface area of about 510 million km² (197 million sq mi).^[15] Earth can be divided into two hemispheres. Generally, Earth is divided by latitude into the polar Northern and Southern hemispheres, or by longitude into the continental Eastern and Western hemispheres. Regarding the surface distribution of land and water, Earth can be divided into an oceans-focused water hemisphere and a landmasses-focused land hemisphere.

Most of Earth’s surface is made of water, in liquid form or in smaller amounts as ice. 70.8% or 361.13 million km² (139.43 million sq mi) of Earth’s surface consists of the interconnected ocean,^[97] making it Earth’s global ocean or world ocean.^[98][99] This makes Earth, along with its vibrant hydrosphere, a water world^[100][101] or ocean world,^[102][103] particularly in Earth’s early history when the ocean is thought to have possibly covered Earth completely.^[104] The world ocean is commonly divided into the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean, from largest to smallest. The ocean fills the oceanic basins. The ocean floor comprises abyssal plains, continental shelves, seamounts, submarine volcanoes,^[88] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus, and a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system.

At Earth’s polar regions, the ocean surface is covered by a seasonally variable amount of sea ice that often connects with polar land, permafrost and ice sheets, forming polar ice caps.

Earth’s land is 29.2%, or 148.94 million km² (57.51 million sq mi) of Earth’s surface area. Earth’s land consists of many islands around the globe, but mainly of four continental landmasses, which are, from largest to smallest: Africa-Eurasia, America (landmass), Antarctica, and Australia (landmass).^{[105][106][107]} These landmasses are further broken down and grouped into the continents. The terrain varies greatly and consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other landforms. 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).^[108]

Land can be covered by surface water, snow, ice, artificial structures or vegetation. Most of Earth’s land hosts vegetation,^[109] but ice sheets (10 %,^[110] not including the equally large land under permafrost)^[111] or cold as well as hot deserts (33 %)^[112] occupy also considerable amounts of it.

The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth’s continental surface and is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. Soil is crucial for land to be arable. Earth’s total arable land is 10.7% of the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent cropland.^[113][114] Earth has 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.^[115]

The pedosphere and the ocean, with its ocean floor, rest on Earth’s crust, which together with parts of the upper mantle form Earth’s lithosphere.
Earth’s crust is divided into oceanic and continental crusts, while the latter consists of lower density material such as the igneous rocks granite and andesite. Basalt, a denser volcanic rock primarily constitutes the lithosphere of the ocean floors.^[116]

Earth’s surface topography consists mostly of the topography of the ocean surface and to a lesser extend of the terrain of Earth’s crust above sea level. The larger part of Earth’s crust that lies below the ocean hosts the ocean floor at an average bathymetric depth of 4 km and has a terrain as varied as the terrain above sea level. Earth’s terrain and landscape is being shaped by internal seismic and volcanic processes, asteroid impacts, wind and temperature weathering, tidal forces, life and the large presence of water and the processes that place and move Earth’s water as surface water and ocean water.

Erosion and tectonics, volcanic eruptions, flooding, weathering, glaciation, the growth and decomposition of biomass into soil or other remains such as coral reefs, and meteorite impacts are among the processes that constantly reshape Earth’s crust over geological time.^[117][118]

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.^[119] 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.^[120] Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone) and dolomite.^[121]

Tectonic plates

Earth’s mechanically rigid outer layer of Earth’s crust and upper mantle, 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.^[123] 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.^[124]

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.^[125][126] By comparison, the oldest dated continental crust is 4,030 Ma,^[127] 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.^[53]

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)^[128] 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).^[129]

Internal structure

Geologic layers of Earth^[130]

Illustration of Earth’s cutaway, not to scale
Depth[131] (km)	Component layer name	Density (g/cm3)
0–60	Lithosphere[n 8]	—
0–35	Crust[n 9]	2.2–2.9
35–660	Upper mantle	3.4–4.4
660–2890	Lower mantle	3.4–5.6
100–700	Asthenosphere	—
2890–5100	Outer core	9.9–12.2
5100–6378	Inner core	12.8–13.1

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.^[132] The thickness of the crust varies from about 6 kilometers (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 divided into independently moving tectonic plates.^[133]

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.^[134] Earth’s inner core may be rotating at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year, although both somewhat higher and much lower rates have also been proposed.^[135] The radius of the inner core is about one-fifth of that of Earth.
Density increases with depth, as described in the table on the right.

Among the Solar System’s planetary-sized objects Earth is the object with the highest density.

Chemical composition

Earth’s mass is approximately 5.97×10²⁴ kg (5,970 Yg). It is composed mostly of iron (32.1% by mass), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (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 gravitational separation, the core is primarily composed of the denser elements: iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements.^[136] The most common rock constituents of the crust are oxides. Over 99% of the crust is composed of various oxides of eleven elements, principally oxides containing silicon (the silicate minerals), aluminum, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium.^[137][136]

Internal heat

The major heat-producing isotopes within Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232.^[138] At the center, the temperature may be up to 6,000 °C (10,830 °F),^[139] and the pressure could reach 360 GPa (52 million psi).^[140] 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.^[141][142]

The mean heat loss from Earth is 87 mW m⁻², for a global heat loss of 4.42×10¹³ W.^[143] 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.^[144] 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.^[145]

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.^[146]

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 (although it still remains stronger than its long time average).^[147] 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.^[148][149]

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.^[150] 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.^[151] Charged particles are contained within the magnetosphere; the plasmasphere is defined by low-energy particles that essentially follow magnetic field lines as Earth rotates.^[152][153] 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,^[154] and the Van Allen radiation belts are formed by high-energy particles whose motion is essentially random, but contained in the magnetosphere.^[155][156]

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.^[157]

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).^[158] 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.^[159][160]

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 23^h 56^m 4.0989^s.^{[4][n 10]} 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) (23^h 56^m 4.0905^s).^[4] Thus the sidereal day is shorter than the stellar day by about 8.4 ms.^[161]

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.^[162][163]

Orbit

Earth orbits the Sun, making Earth the third-closest planet to the Sun and part of the inner Solar System. Earth’s average orbital distance is about 150 million km (93 million mi), which is the basis for the Astronomical Unit and is equal to roughly 8.3 light minutes or 380 times Earth’s distance to the Moon.

Earth orbits the Sun every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. With an apparent movement of the Sun in Earth’s sky at a rate of about 1°/day eastward, 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 Sun and Earth’s north poles, 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][164]

The Hill sphere, or the sphere of gravitational influence, of Earth is about 1.5 million km (930,000 mi) in radius.^{[165][n 11]} 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.^[165] 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.^[166]

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 in the Southern Hemisphere when the Tropic of Capricorn faces the Sun. In each instance, winter occurs simultaneously in the opposite hemisphere. 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.^[167] 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.^[168][169]

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.^[170]

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.^[171] 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.^[172]

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 6.8% in solar energy reaching Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion.^{[173][n 12]} 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.^[174]

Earth–Moon system

Moon

The Moon is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like natural satellite, with a diameter about one-quarter of the 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.^[175][176] The natural satellites of other planets are also referred to as «moons», after Earth’s.^[177] 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.^[44]

The gravitational attraction between Earth and the Moon causes tides on Earth.^[178] 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.^[179] As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts of its face are illuminated by the Sun, leading to the lunar phases.^[180] 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.^[181] During the Ediacaran period, for example, (approximately 620 Ma) there were 400±7 days in a year, with each day lasting 21.9±0.4 hours.^[182]

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.^[183] 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 large changes over millions of years, as is the case for Mars, though this is disputed.^[184][185]

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.^[163] This allows total and annular solar eclipses to occur on Earth.^[186]

Asteroids and artificial satellites

Earth’s co-orbital asteroids population consists of quasi-satellites, objects with a horseshoe orbit and trojans. There are at least five quasi-satellites, including 469219 Kamoʻoalewa.^[187][188] A trojan asteroid companion, 2010 TK7, is librating around the leading Lagrange triangular point, L4, in Earth’s orbit around the Sun.^[189] The tiny near-Earth asteroid 2006 RH120 makes close approaches to the Earth–Moon system roughly every twenty years. During these approaches, it can orbit Earth for brief periods of time.^[190]

As of September 2021, there are 4,550 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.^[191]

Hydrosphere

Earth’s hydrosphere is the sum of Earth’s water and its distribution.
Most of Earth’s hydrosphere consists of Earth’s global ocean. Nevertheless, Earth’s hydrosphere also consists of water in the atmosphere and on land, including clouds, inland seas, lakes, rivers, and underground waters down to a depth of 2,000 m (6,600 ft). 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).^[192] 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).^[193] About 97.5% of the water is saline; the remaining 2.5% is fresh water.^[194][195] Most fresh water, about 68.7%, is present as ice in ice caps and glaciers.^[196] The remaining 30% is ground water, 1% surface water (covering only 2.8% of Earth’s land)^[197] and other small forms of fresh water deposits such as permafrost, water vapor in the atmosphere, biological binding, etc. .^[198][199]

In Earth’s coldest regions, snow survives over the summer and changes into ice. This accumulated snow and ice eventually forms into glaciers, bodies of ice that flow under the influence of their own gravity. Alpine glaciers form in mountainous areas, whereas vast ice sheets form over land in polar regions. The flow of glaciers erodes the surface changing it dramatically, with the formation of U-shaped valleys and other landforms.^[200] Sea ice in the Arctic covers an area about as big as the United States, although it is quickly retreating as a consequence of climate change.^[201]

The average salinity of Earth’s oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater (3.5% salt).^[202] Most of this salt was released from volcanic activity or extracted from cool igneous rocks.^[203] The oceans are also a reservoir of dissolved atmospheric gases, which are essential for the survival of many aquatic life forms.^[204] Sea water has an important influence on the world’s climate, with the oceans acting as a large heat reservoir.^[205] Shifts in the oceanic temperature distribution can cause significant weather shifts, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.^[206]

The abundance of water, particularly liquid water, on Earth’s surface is a unique feature that distinguishes it from other planets in the Solar System. Solar System planets with considerable atmospheres do partly host atmospheric water vapor, but they lack surface conditions for stable surface water.^[207] Despite some moons showing signs of large reservoirs of extraterrestrial liquid water, with possibly even more volume than Earth’s ocean, all of them are large bodies of water under a kilometers thick frozen surface layer.^[208]

Atmosphere

The atmospheric pressure at Earth’s sea level averages 101.325 kPa (14.696 psi),^[209] 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.^[209] Water vapor content varies between 0.01% and 4%^[209] but averages about 1%.^[5] Clouds cover around two thirds of Earth’s surface, more so over oceans than land.^[210] 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.^[211]

Earth’s biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved 2.7 Gya, forming the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere of today.^[66] This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms and, indirectly, the formation of the ozone layer due to the subsequent conversion of atmospheric O₂ into O₃. The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting life on land.^[212] 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.^[213] This last phenomenon is the greenhouse effect: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to capture thermal energy emitted from the surface, 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),^[214] and life on Earth probably would not exist in its current form.^[215]

Weather and climate

Earth’s atmosphere has no definite boundary, gradually becoming thinner and fading into outer space.^[216] 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.^[217] 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.^[218]

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°.^[219] Ocean heat content and currents are also important factors in determining climate, particularly the thermohaline circulation that distributes thermal energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions.^[220]

Earth receives 1361 W/m² of solar irradiance.^[221][222] The amount of solar energy that reaches the 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.^[223] 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.^[224]

Further factors that affect a location’s climates are its proximity to oceans, the oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and topology.^[225] Places close to oceans typically have colder summers and warmer winters, due to the fact that oceans can store large amounts of heat. The wind transports the cold or the heat of the ocean to the land.^[226] 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.^[227] Finally, temperatures decrease with height causing mountainous areas to be colder than low-lying areas.^[228]

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.^[218] 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.^[229]

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.^[219] The Köppen system rates regions based on observed temperature and precipitation.^[230] 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.^[231][232]

Upper atmosphere

The upper atmosphere, the atmosphere above the troposphere,^[233] is usually divided into the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.^[213] 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.^[234] 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 (62 mi) above Earth’s surface, is a working definition for the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space.^[235]

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.^[236] 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.^[237] Hence the ability of hydrogen to escape from the atmosphere may have influenced the nature of life that developed on Earth.^[238] 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.^[239]

Life on Earth

Earth is the only known place that was and has been habitable for life. Earth’s life developed in Earth’s early bodies of water some hundred million years after Earth formed.

Earth’s life has been shaping and inhabiting many particular ecosystems on Earth and has eventually expanded globally forming an overarching biosphere.^[240] Therefore, life has impacted Earth, significantly altering Earth’s atmosphere and surface over long periods of time, causing changes like the Great oxidation event.

Earth’s life has over time greatly diversified, allowing the biosphere to have different biomes, which are inhabited by comparatively similar plants and animals.^[241] The different biomes developed at distinct elevations or water depths, planetary temperature latitudes and on land also with different humidity. Earth’s species diversity and biomass reaches a peak in shallow waters and with forests, particularly in equatorial, warm and humid conditions. While freezing polar regions and high altitudes, or extremely arid areas are relatively barren of plant and animal life.^[242]

Earth provides liquid water—an environment where complex organic molecules can assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain a metabolism.^[243] Plants and other organisms take up nutrients from water, soils and the atmosphere. These nutrients are constantly recycled between different species.^[244]

Extreme weather, such as tropical cyclones (including hurricanes and typhoons), occurs over most of Earth’s surface and has a large impact on life in those areas. From 1980 to 2000, these events caused an average of 11,800 human deaths per year.^[245] Many places are subject to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities and disasters.^[246] Human impact is felt in many areas due to 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.^[247] Human activities release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which cause global warming.^[248] This is driving changes such as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, a global rise in average sea levels, increased risk of drought and wildfires, and migration of species to colder areas.^[249]

Human geography

Originating from earlier primates in eastern Africa 300,000 years ago humans have since been migrating and with the advent of agriculture in the 10th millennium BC increasingly settling Earth’s land. In the 20th century Antarctica had been the last continent to see a first and until today limited human presence.

Human population has since the 19th century grown exponentially to seven billion in the early 2010s,^[250] and is projected to peak at around ten billion in the second half of the 21st century.^[251] Most of the growth is expected to take place in sub-Saharan Africa.^[251]

Distribution and density of human population varies greatly around the world with the majority living in south to eastern Asia and 90% inhabiting only the Northern Hemisphere of Earth,^[252] partly due to the hemispherical predominance of the world’s land mass, with 68% of the world’s land mass being in the Northern Hemisphere.^[253] Furthermore, since the 19th century humans have increasingly converged into urban areas with the majority living in urban areas by the 21st century.^[254]

Beyond Earth’s surface humans have lived on a temporary basis, with only special purpose deep underground and underwater presence, and a few space stations. Human population virtually completely remains on Earth’s surface, fully depending on Earth and the environment it sustains. Humans have gone and temporarily stayed beyond Earth with some hundreds of people, since the latter half of the 20th century, and only a fraction of them reaching another celestial body, the Moon.^[255][256]

Earth has been subject to extensive human settlement, and humans have developed diverse societies and cultures. Most of Earth’s land has been territorially claimed since the 19th century by sovereign states (countries) separated by political borders, and more than 200 such states exist today,^[257] with only parts of Antarctica and few small regions remaining unclaimed.^[258] Most of these states together form the United Nations, the leading worldwide intergovernmental organization,^[259] which extends human governance over the ocean and Antarctica, and therefore all of Earth.

Natural resources and land use

Earth has resources that have been exploited by humans.^[260] Those termed non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels, are only replenished over geological timescales.^[261] Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Earth’s crust, consisting of coal, petroleum, and natural gas.^[262] These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production.^[263] 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.^[264] These metals and other elements are extracted by mining, a process which often brings environmental and health damage.^[265]

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.^[266] In 2019, 39 million km² (15 million sq mi) of Earth’s land surface consisted of forest and woodlands, 12 million km² (4.6 million sq mi) was shrub and grassland, 40 million km² (15 million sq mi) were used for animal feed production and grazing, and 11 million km² (4.2 million sq mi) were cultivated as croplands.^[267] Of the 12–14% of ice-free land that is used for croplands, 2 percentage points were irrigated in 2015.^[268] Humans use building materials to construct shelters.^[269]

Humans and the environment

Human activities have impacted Earth’s environments. Through activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, humans have been increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, altering Earth’s energy budget and climate.^[248][271] It is estimated that global temperatures in the year 2020 were 1.2 °C (2.2 °F) warmer than the preindustrial baseline.^[272] This increase in temperature, known as global warming, has contributed to the melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, increased risk of drought and wildfires, and migration of species to colder areas.^[249]

The concept of planetary boundaries was introduced to quantify humanity’s impact on Earth. Of the nine identified boundaries, five have been crossed: Biosphere integrity, climate change, chemical pollution, destruction of wild habitats and the nitrogen cycle are thought to have passed the safe threshold.^[273][274] As of 2018, no country meets the basic needs of its population without transgressing planetary boundaries. It is thought possible to provide all basic physical needs globally within sustainable levels of resource use.^[275]

Cultural and historical viewpoint

Human cultures have developed many views of the planet.^[276] The standard astronomical symbols of Earth are a quartered circle, ,^[277] representing the four corners of the world, and a globus cruciger, . Earth is sometimes personified as a deity. In many cultures it is a mother goddess that is also the primary fertility deity.^[278] Creation myths in many religions involve the creation of Earth by a supernatural deity or deities.^[278] The Gaia hypothesis, developed in the mid-20th century, compared Earth’s environments and life as a single self-regulating organism leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability.^{[279][280][281]}

Images of Earth taken from space, particularly during the Apollo program, have been credited with altering the way that people viewed the planet that they lived on, called the overview effect, emphasizing its beauty, uniqueness and apparent fragility.^[282][283] In particular, this caused a realization of the scope of effects from human activity on Earth’s environment. Enabled by science, particularly Earth observation,^[284] humans have started to take action on environmental issues globally,^[285] acknowledging the impact of humans and the interconnectedness of Earth’s environments.

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 Ancient Greece by the idea of a spherical Earth, which was attributed to both the philosophers Pythagoras and Parmenides.^[286][287] Earth was generally believed to be the center of the universe until the 16th century, when scientists first concluded that it was a moving object, one of the planets of the Solar System.^[288]

It was only during the 19th century that geologists realized Earth’s age was at least many millions of years.^[289] 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.^[290][291]

See also

Notes

References

External links

• Earth – Profile – Solar System Exploration – NASA
• Earth Observatory – NASA
• Earth – Videos – International Space Station:
  • Video (01:02) on YouTube – Earth (time-lapse)
  • Video (00:27) on YouTube – Earth and auroras (time-lapse)
• Google Earth 3D, interactive map
• Interactive 3D visualization of the Sun, Earth and Moon system
• GPlates Portal (University of Sydney)

The eleventh verse should read, therefore, as follows: «Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit-tree yielding fruit after his kind, _whose germinal principle of life, each in itself after its kind, is upon the earth_» ❋ R. W. Wright (N/A)

There ought to be, therefore, a greater escape of electricity from the clouds upwards than downwards; and, if space be void, or only filled with an extremely attenuated matter, the electricity of the earth, considered as an elastic fluid without ponderosity, (and no law of condensation from the law of gravity in harmony with its other attributes, will allow us to consider it otherwise,) _would long since have left the earth_. ❋ T. Bassnett (N/A)

‘_And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth_.’ ❋ William W. Walter (N/A)

Very strangely to the ears of the bystanders sounded the words of the Bible, accompanying the handful of earth as it was cast upon Púshkin — «_earth thou art! _» ❋ Various (N/A)

Now the swing is in this wise: There is a chasm which is the vastest of them all, and pierces right through the whole earth; this is that which Homer describes in the words—“Far off, where is the inmost depth beneath the earth”; and which he in other places, and many other poets, have called Tartarus. ❋ Plato (1909)

When the poles were banked up with earth the house was called an _earth lodge_. ❋ Mary Hunter Austin (1901)

Wherefore, _since the godly man has ceased_ [117] from the earth, it seems to me that I do not employ myself to no purpose when I recall to our midst, from among those _who were redeemed from the earth_, [118] ❋ Of Clairvaux Bernard (1899)

My love I can _compare_ with _nought_ on earth — is like _nought on earth_ we ever read but Dean Swift’s song of similes. ❋ R. Brimley Johnson (1899)

Smaller yet it grew, till it was only the size of a large fox’s earth — it was _earth_ now, mind you; the rock had ceased. ❋ Henry Rider Haggard (1890)

But, a final objection is raised, as on this view of the matter the elements — earth, water and fire — which are eaten and drunk, are already tripartite, each of them containing portions of all, and thus are of a threefold nature, how can they be designated each of them by a simple term — _earth_, _water_, _fire_? ❋ George Thibaut (1881)

Asgard, a lofty hill in the centre of the habitable earth, in the midst of Midgard, that _middle earth_ which we hear of in early ❋ George Webbe Dasent (1856)

Thou mightest as well say that ‘all cattle, and creeping thing and beast of the earth, _are created equal_, because I said I brought them forth _of the earth_, as to affirm the _equality of men_ because I say they are _of one blood_. ❋ Unknown (1839)

It was then given me to tell them that on our Earth Christians also know that the Lord governs heaven and earth, according to His own words in Matthew, «_All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth_» (xxviii. 18), but that they do not believe it as those who belong to the earth Mars do. ❋ Emanuel Swedenborg (1730)

For the fourth horseman _sat upon a pale_ horse, _and his name was Death; and hell followed with him; and power was given them to kill unto the fourth part of the earth, with the sword, and with famine, and with the plague, and with the Beasts of the earth_, or armies of invaders and rebels: and as such were the times during all this interval. ❋ Isaac Newton (1684)

Because the real premise behind Earth Day is that mankind is an unnatural despoiler and a threat to the earth. ❋ Unknown (2010)

For Worms, there be very many sorts; some bred onely in the earth, as the _earth worm_; others amongst or of plants, as the _dug-worm_; and others in the bodies of living creatures; or some of dead flesh, as the ❋ Izaak Walton (1638)

DOT EARTH blog (New York Times) states: When Darwin was on his voyage of biological discovery there were fewer than 1 billion people on earth.

❋ Uclafalcon (2003)

[Nuke]`s are [nice] ❋ Schteen (2003)

[Earth] is like [the biggest] [planet] in our world man! ❋ Kombat Wombat (2007)

[Earth] is a [hazard] to all [people] ❋ Amos Nusheg (2008)

«My [old earth] is fuckin [wit] [the god].» ❋ Revolutionary Mind (2007)

❋ Real Rose (2003)

Eventually, [the neo] nazi george will fall.
More than likely he will take everyone [down with] him [the bastard] ❋ Urinal_cake (2005)

It all comes down to [chavs]. ❋ Donnald Duck (2005)

earth is [doomed] … ❋ It’s DOOmed I Say (2007)

yo, [honey] is my earth, she [got a nigga] [grounded] ❋ Acdegrees (2004)

Earth is our home and the only astronomical object where life exists. When compared to the whole universe, the Earth is not more than a speck but within it, such wonder of life exists that is found nowhere in the universe. We have gathered a complete collection of Earth Facts For Kids that will help you in learning all the facts about the Earth that you want to know. You are going to learn its definition, description, other names, meaning, characteristics, physical properties, its size, history, rotation, surface, composition, seven layers, statistics, and many other interesting facts about the Earth.

Earth Facts For Kids – Facts About The Earth

1. What Is Earth – Planet Earth Definition – Introduction Of Earth

• Earth is the third planet in the solar system from the sun and our home planet in which we live.
• Earth is at an average distance of about 93 million miles from the sun.
• Scientists believe that earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago, nearly at the same time as the rest of the solar system was formed.
• Moon is the only natural and permanent satellite of the planet earth.
• In space, Earth revolves around the sun.
• It completes one orbit in 365.26 days and this time is known as the Earth year.
• During one year, Earth rotates about 366.26 times around its axis.

2. Describe Earth As A Planet – Description Of Earth

• Earth is the third planet of the solar system orbiting the sun.
• With a diameter of about 8,000 miles, it is the fifth-largest planet in the solar system.
• It is the only known planet in the solar system that contains free atmospheric oxygen, the largest amount of liquid water, and life.
• Earth is one of the four rocky or terrestrial planets of the solar system (the other three are Mercury, Venus, and Mars), in which Earth is the largest one.
• In the solar system, Earth is the densest of all the other planets.

3. Why Is Earth A Planet

• An astronomical object in the solar system is considered as a planet if:
  • It orbits the sun
  • Enough massive to be round from its gravity
  • Has cleared the neighborhood region of its orbit of planetesimals
• Earth fulfill all the criteria and therefore is a planet.

4. Other Names For Earth – Scientific Name For Planet Earth

• There is no special scientific name for planet Earth because it is the only planet of its type.
• The word “Globe” is also often used to refer to the planet Earth.
• While “World” means the planet Earth and all life exists on it.

5. Who Named Our Planet Earth

• It is unknown who named our planet Earth.

6. What Is The Meaning Of Earth Planet

• The word “Earth” is derived from the old English words “eor(th)e” and “ertha” and from the German word “erde”.
• All three words have the same meaning as “ground”.

7. Why Do We Call Our Planet Earth

• The origin of the word “Earth” is the eighth-century Anglo-Saxon word “erda” the meaning of which is “soil” or “ground”.
• This word later became “eorthe”, which then became “erthe” in Middle English.
• In the early years of the 15th century, the word “Earth” was used for the first time as the name of the planet Earth.
• Since after that time, our planet is called by the name of “Earth”.

8. Characteristics Of Planet Earth – Features Of Earth Planet

• Earth is the only special planet of the Solar system that contains life due to the presence of liquid water in abundance and free atmospheric oxygen.
• Earth has an oblate spheroidal shape.
• The mass of Earth is approximately 5.97ｘ10²⁴.
• Earth revolves around the sun and completes its one round in 365.26 days.
• The axis of rotation of the Earth is at a constant tilt to its orbital plane, which results in the changing of seasons on the Earth.
• Earth also revolves about its own axis and complete one rotation in 24 hours.
• The orientation of Earth on its axis is stabilized by the oceanic tides (the rise and fall of sea level), which are caused by the gravitational interaction between Earth, Moon, and the Sun.

9. Physical Properties Of Planet Earth

• The following are the physical properties of the planet Earth:

Shape

• Earth’s shape is spherical, but approximately of the oblate spheroidal type, due to its rotation.
• At the equator, it is slightly bulging while flattened at the poles.
• The equatorial diameter of Earth is 27 miles (43 km) larger than its diameter from pole to pole.

Chemical Composition

• Earth is chemically composed mostly of iron, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, sulphur, nickel, calcium, aluminum, and other elements.

Heat

• There are two sources of the internal heat of the Earth; residual heat from planetary accretion (approximately 20%) and radioactive decay (80%).
• The temperature may be up to 10,830°F (6,000°C) at the central point, while the pressure could be 52 million psi.

Force Fields

• There are two major force fields of the Earth;
• Gravitational Field is the force at a distance that attracts objects towards the center of the Earth, or toward any other objects having mass.
• The gravitational force holds down the oceans, atmosphere, etc.
• Magnetic Field of the Earth is mainly generated in the core.
• Earth’s rotation and the presence of iron in the Earth’s core are the main factors that create a magnetic field.

10. Is The Earth A Globe

• Yes, the Earth is a globe.

11. How Big Is Planet Earth – What Is The Size Of Planet Earth

• The radius of the Earth is 6,371 km.
• Its total surface area is 510.1 million km².
• Its equatorial circumference is 40,075 km while its axial (from pole to pole) circumference is 40,008 km.
• Its mass is 5.97 x 10²⁴ kg.

12. What Is The Diameter Of The Earth – Diameter Of Planet Earth

• The diameter of Earth is 12,742 km.

13. Where Is Earth

• As there is no edge or center of the Universe, so a particular reference point does not exist to plot a comprehensive location of Earth in the Universe.
• However, our planet Earth and the entire solar system are located in the “Orion”.
• Orion is one of the four spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy.

14. History Of Earth – History Of Planet Earth

• Our planet Earth came into being approximately 4.54 billion years ago.
• It was formed from the solar nebula (a collection of gas and dust clouds in outer space) through accretion (particles accumulation into a massive object through the gravitational attraction of more matter).
• The early atmosphere of the Earth and then the oceans were probably created by the release of volcanic gases.
• It is believed that there was no oxygen in the early atmosphere of the Earth.
• At that time, much of the Earth was in molten form due to the frequent collision with other bodies, which resulted in the highest volcanism.
• Moon is thought to be formed by the collision of the early Earth with a giant body named “Theia”, which had the size of a planet.
• The Earth then cooled over time, as a result of which a solid crust formed that allowed liquid water on the surface.
• The earliest accepted evidence of life on Earth dates back approximately 3.5 billion years ago.
• Between 3.2 and 2.4 billion years ago, the photosynthetic organisms appeared that started the atmosphere to be enriched with oxygen.

15. Is The Earth 6000 Years Old

• No, Earth is much older than 6,000 years.
• Scientific research reveals that Earth is about 4.54 billion years old.

16. Earth 4.5 Billion Years Ago

• It is believed that the planet Earth has formed 4.5 billion years ago.
• It is thought that Earth at that time was so hot that it was in molten form.
• There was no oxygen or life.
• The moon was formed approximately at that time.

17. Earth 50 Million Years Ago

• 50 million years ago, there was an initial Eocene Epoch (which began 56 million and ended 34 million years ago) on Earth.
• At that time, the continents of the Earth continued to move towards their present-day positions, however, Antarctica and Australia were still together.
• There was an exceptionally low concentration of the Carbon-13 (¹³C) isotope in the atmosphere as compared to the most common Carbon-12 (¹²C) isotope.
• The dinosaurs had become extinct 15 million years ago (dinosaurs became extinct around 65 million years ago from the present day).
• The prehistoric mammals continuously adapted to the climate and spread.

18. Earth’s Rotation

• Earth’s rotation means the rotational motion of the Earth around its axis.
• Earth rotates eastward and turns in the counterclockwise direction in prograde motion (the rotational motion of a body in the same direction of its primary).
• At the North Pole, the axis of rotation of Earth meets its surface.
• While at the South Pole (in Antarctica),  the axis of rotation of Earth intersects its surface.
• Earth completes its one rotation to the sun in about 24 hours.
• With time, the rotation of the earth is slightly slowing with about 2.3 milliseconds per century.

19. The Earth And The Solar System

• The solar system is consists of the sun and all the objects bound to it by gravity and orbit it.
• The eight planets are the largest of all the objects that orbit the sun.
• After Mercury and Venus, Earth is the third planet that rotates around the sun.
• Of the four closest planets to the sun, Earth is the biggest one.
• The entire solar system (including the planet Earth) is situated in the Orion Spur or Orion Arm of the Milky Way.

20. Where Is Earth In The Solar System

• After Mercury and Venus, Earth is the third closest planet to sun in the solar system.
• After the Earth are Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, which are respectively further away from the sun.

21. What Number Planet Is Earth

• Earth is the 3rd number planet that rotates around the sun.

22. Closest Star To Earth

• Other than the sun, the Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to Earth.
• Alpha Centauri is consists of three stars; Alpha Centauri A (Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centauri B (Toliman), and Alpha Centauri C (Proxima Centauri).
• The Proxima Centauri is the closest one to Earth, which is at the distance of about 4.22 light-years from the Earth.
• The other two, Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, are at the average distance of 4.3 light-years from Earth.

23. Distance From Earth To Sun

• 93 million miles is the average distance from Earth to the sun.

24. Meteor Close To Earth

• A meteor is informally known as a shooting star or falling star.
• A meteor is a small body of matter in space that becomes incandescent when entering into the atmosphere of Earth.
• The incandescence is due to its collision with air molecules in the upper atmosphere of Earth.
• A meteor looks like a streak of light in the sky, due to its rapid motion and sometimes due to shedding glowing material in its emergence.
• Usually, meteors occur at elevations from 250,000 to 330,000 feet (76 to 100 km), in the mesosphere.
• Every day, millions of meteors occur in the atmosphere of Earth.

25. Earth Map

27. Surface Of Earth – Surface Description Of Earth

• Planet Earth has a total surface area of approximately 197 million square miles (510 million km²).
• Of this, 139.43 million sq miles (361.13 million km²), which is about 70.8%, is covered by the oceans.
• The remaining 57.51 million square miles (148.94 million km²), which is about 29.2%, is not covered by water and is consists of landforms including mountains, hills, plateaus, valleys, plains, and deserts.
• The lowest elevation point of the land surface is -418 meter (-1,371 feet), the shores and surface of the Dead Sea.
• The highest elevation point is 8,848 meters (29,029 feet), the top of Mount Everest.
• 10.9% of the total land surface is arable land (land used to grow crops), out of which 1.3% is permanent cropland.

28. What Is In The Earth – What Is Planet Earth Made Of

The planetary body of Earth is generally divided into four basic layers;

The Inner Core

• It is the innermost part of the Earth in its middle and is believed to be made up of an iron-nickel alloy. It may have a temperature like that of the sun’s surface (approximately 5505°C).

The Outer Core

• It is the part just above the inner core and below the mantle. This part is liquid and is made up of iron and nickel. It is approximately 2,260 km thick. Its temperature ranges from 6100°C (near the inner core) and 4,400°C in the outer region near the mantle.

The Mantle

• It is a layer above the outer cover and below the crust. It is the most massive and largest layer of the Earth’s planetary body and has about 67% of the total Earth-mass while 84% of the total Earth’s volume. It is 2,900 km (1,800 miles) thick. This layer is made up of silicate rocks.

The Crust

• It is the outermost, rocky surface layer of the Earth. It is made up of silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium. About 70% of the crust is covered by liquid water. The atmosphere mainly consists of nitrogen and oxygen with a little amount of carbon dioxide, water vapors, and other gases.

29. 7 Layers Of The Earth

• Mechanically, the structure of the Earth can be divided into 7 layers, which are:

The Lithosphere

• It is the outermost rigid layer, which includes the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. It is approximately 60 km (37 miles) deep.

The Asthenosphere

• It is the second region of the upper mantle that lies below the lithosphere. It is a highly viscous zone. It is about 80 to 200 km (50 to 120 miles) deep below the surface. The Lithosphere and Asthenosphere are collectively known as the Upper Mantle.

Transition Zone

• It lies at the depth of 410 to 660 km (255 to 410 miles) below the Earth’s surface. In this region, rocks undergo a radical transformation.

Lower Mantle

• It lies at the depth of 660 to 2,700 km (410 to 1,678 miles).

D Double-Prime (D”)

• It is another layer. This layer is about 200 km thick. It lies beneath the Mantle. In some regions, it lies as a thin boundary with the outer core, while in other regions it lies like a thick iron and silicates accumulation.

The Outer Core

• It lies above the inner core. The outer boundary of the outer core lies about 2,890 km (1,800 miles) below the surface of the Earth.

The Inner Core

• It is the innermost central region the outer boundary of which lies at about 5,150 km (3,200 miles) beneath the Earth’s surface.

31. Composition Of Planet Earth – Chemical Composition Of Earth

• The following table shows the percent chemical composition of the oceanic (liquid part) and continental (solid or dry part) Earth parts.

Compound	Formula	Oceanic Composition	Continental Composition
Silica	SiO₂	48.6%	60.6%
Alumina	Al₂O₃	16.5%	15.9%
Lime	CaO	12.3%	6.41%
Magnesia	MgO	6.8%	4.66%
Iron Oxide	FeOT	6.2%	6.71%
Sodium Oxide	Na₂O	2.6%	3.07%
Potassium Oxide	K₂O	0.4%	1.81%
Titanium Dioxide	TiO₂	1.4%	0.72%
Phosphorus Pentoxide	P₂O₅	0.3%	0.13%
Manganese Oxide	MnO	1.4%	0.10%
Total	99.9%	100.1%

• The composition of a dry atmosphere is 78.084% (Nitrogen), 20.946% (Oxygen), 0.934% (Argon), and the remaining little amount is other gases and Carbon dioxide.

32. Planet Earth Statistics

• The following is a brief statistic of the planet Earth:

Mass	5.98ｘ10²⁴ kg
Diameter	12,753 km (7,926 miles)
Density	5.51 g/cm³
Surface gravity	9.807 m/s²
Surface temperature	-89°C to 56.9°C
Surface pressure	101.325 kPa
Surface area	510.1 million km²
Circumference	40,075.017 km
Orbital semimajor axis	1.000 001 02 AU
Tilt of axis	23.5°
Rotation period with respect to the sun	24 hours
Rotation period with respect to stars	23 hours 56 minutes
Minimum distance from the sun	91 million miles (146 million kilometers)
Maximum distance from the sun	94.5 million miles (152 million kilometers)

33. Proof The Earth Is Round

• The most common and easy proof of the round shape of the Earth is the observation of the sunset.
• On the ground floor of our homes, the sun set quickly, however, at the same time, it is visible on the upper floor.
• If the Earth had a flattened shape, there would be no sun visibility at any altitude once it had set.
• Photos of the Earth taken from the International Space Station are the biggest proof.

34. Life On Planet Earth

• Microfossils evidence reveals that life on the planet Earth began about 3.465 billion years ago.

35. Special Features Of Earth Planet – Earth Is A Unique Planet

• The existence of liquid water and life makes the planet Earth unique from the other planets.

36. Other Planets Like Earth

• According to scientists, there may be billions of Earth-sized planets, even alone in the Milky Way Galaxy.
• The recently confirmed planet (on 23 July 2015) that has the most similar size and temperature to the Earth is Kepler-438b.

37. When Is Earth Day – World Earth Day

• 22 April is celebrated as Earth Day all around the world to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

38. Earth Hour

• Earth Hour is an annual movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) all over the world.
• The event is held at the end of March on a specific day as a symbol of dedication to the planet.
• People, communities, and businesses are encouraged to turn off non-essential electric lights from 8:30 to 9:30 pm, for one hour.

39. Amazing Facts About Earth

• Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old.
• Earth is the only known planet in the Universe to have life.
• Earth completes one rotation around its axis in 23 hours, 58 minutes, and 4 seconds not exactly in 24 hours.
• Moon is the only natural satellite of the Earth.  

40. Interesting Facts About Earth – Fun Facts About Earth – Interesting Facts About Earth For Kids

• Earth is the only planet of the solar system the name of which was not came after the Roman and Greek gods and goddesses.
• According to many scientists, the presence of human beings is the most special feature of the planet Earth.
• The rotation of the earth is slightly slowing with time (2.3 milliseconds per century) and thus days in the past were slightly shorter.
• The presence of iron in the molten outer core of the Earth causes the generation of a magnetic field that protects life on the Earth from being harmed.
• The atmosphere of the Earth extends up to 10,000 km.
• Earth completes one rotation around the sun in 365.256 days, not exactly in 365 days. The .256 part is adjusted as an extra day in the Leap year.
• The axial tilt of the Earth (23.439°) causes seasonal climate changes.
• The gravitational interaction between Earth, Moon, and the sun causes the ocean tides (the rise and fall of sea level).

The Word «Earth» in Genesis 1:1

1. Articles

2. Origins

3. 1981 – Volume 08-1

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January 1, 1981

THE WORD «EARTH» IN GENESIS 1:1

by
Niels-Erik Andreasen
Professor of Old Testament,
Loma Linda University

WHAT THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT

Genesis 1:1 states that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”; however, a serious question can be raised as to what is meant by the word “earth.” Is it the physical (inorganic) material of our planet, the planet itself as part of our solar system, or the ground upon which life exists? This study presents a linguistic analysis which reveals that the usage of the word “earth” in its Near Eastern setting is as varied as its present-day usage. Among the meanings of “earth” are the concepts of the whole world (or universe), a ruler’s territory, the sphere of human life, and land (or ground). In the context of Genesis 1:1, it is not possible to circumscribe the Hebrew term to fit any specific category.

A time problem is presented in Genesis 1:2, because it seems to imply preexisting material on the first day of creation. Among creationists are two major divisions of thought concerning the meaning of this verse. While one view postulates that both life and the inorganic matter of our earth was created during creation week, others interpret the verse to allow for the possibility of the existence of the inorganic matter long before creation week. With the author’s observations about the Hebrew usage of the word “earth,” it is possible to allow for either an entire creation event of inanimate and animate material in close succession or a long interval between the two.

The opening sentence of the Old Testament is beautiful in its simplicity, «In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.» Even a child can understand it, and yet every single word in it has been the object of interpretative disagreement [1]. The word «earth» under discussion here is no exception. The question is, does it refer a) to the physical material of the earth [2]; b) to the planet earth as a part of our solar system [3]; c) or to our earth in the sense of the land upon which life can exist [4]? We will address this question very briefly by reviewing four problems. First we will examine the meaning and usage of the word «earth» (Heb. ^Éeres). Secondly, we will consider the word in the context of Genesis 1:1. Thirdly, we will review the problem of Genesis 1:2. Finally, we will seek to ascertain what is the biblical conception of the physical world as expressed in this verse.

The Word «Earth»

The Hebrew word from which the English word «earth» is a translation in Genesis 1:1 is ^Éeres, and it is generally rendered «ground,» «earth,» or the like. Can we be more specific about its meaning? In answering this question the interpreter commonly begins by looking for the root meaning by examining the word in its Near Eastern context.

The most common Egyptian word for «earth» or «land» has several meanings ranging from «earth,» «dust,» «dirt,» and «ground» to «land,» «nation,» and «country» [5]. It also occurs with the word for heaven, thereby forming a word pair indicating the larger (deified) cosmos. Unfortunately it is not possible to determine which of these meanings is original [6].

The Accadian language of ancient Mesopotamia employed several words for earth, but one, eresetu, is clearly related to the Hebrew ^Éeres [7]. It is used together with the word amu (heaven) to form the familiar pair, heaven and earth, meaning the whole world, or even universe. Interestingly enough, it also refers to the underworld, the land of no return, and less frequently to the land or territory of a ruler. Finally, it means «ground,» the material which can be plowed, soaked in blood, and used for burial.

Closely related to the Hebrew language are the west Semitic dialects of Canaan and Phoenesia. In Ugaritic ^Érs means «earth» [8], and again stands in antithesis to heaven/clouds, thereby indicating the sphere of human life. Elsewhere it specifies the ground to which someone can fall, upon which it rains, and from which produce grows [9]. Finally the word appears in the Mesha inscription (Moabite) meaning «land» (Chemosh is angry with his land) [10].

These illustrations could be multiplied, but the emerging picture would not change much. A word «earth,» related to the Hebrew ^Éeres, was used commonly in the ancient Near East with the meanings of «earth,» «ground,» and «land.» Only its context will indicate if reference is made to the whole world (what we call the planet), to the surface of the earth on which life is lived, or to a territory of the earth.

The Hebrew ^Éeres (earth) occurs more than 2500 times in the Hebrew (and Aramaic) Old Testament. To examine all of these, or even a good part of them, would take us beyond the scope of this essay. Nevertheless, even a cursory look at the word will suggest that its meaning varies within the Old Testament just as is the case with its usage outside the Old Testament, and it includes the idea of planet earth, earth surface, and land.

Thus, ^Éeres refers to the whole earth (or planet, as we say); for example in expressions such as «the God of heaven and of the earth» (Genesis 24:3), «creator of heaven and earth» (Genesis 14:19, 22), and «Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool» (Isaiah 66:1). This does not mean that the earth was always perceived as a sphere then as now. Thus, it is described (poetically) as having four corners (Isaiah 11:12) and ends (Isaiah 40:28). It is also said to have a center; literally, a navel (Ezekiel 38:12), and it could tremble and quake (Psalm 18:7) and stagger like a drunkard (Isaiah 24:19f).

Secondly, in addition to the two-part division of the world into heaven and earth (planet), a three-part division also appears in the Bible. Heaven is above, the water beneath, and the earth is the dry land in between (Exodus 20:4; Psalm 135:6). In these cases ^Éeres (earth) refers to only the dry surface, or the land of the living (Psalm 52:5; Isaiah 38:11). Of course, it also provides the dead with their graves (Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 31:14). Moreover, the dry dust and the waste places are part of it (Deuteronomy 28:23; 32:10; Psalm 107:34; Jeremiah 2:6). Thus, not just the earth’s lifegiving surface, but its specific and various materials are indicated by ^Éeres. A person can be pinned to it (1 Samuel 26:8), and blood can be spilled upon it (1 Samuel 26:20). At this point ^Éeres receives a meaning akin to that of ^Éadama (ground, soil, earth) [11], but primarily it is the ground upon which life can thrive (Genesis 1:11f; 27:28; Deuteronomy 1:25).

Finally, ^Éeres means «land» in the sense of circumscribed territory. Thus, we find «the land of the north» (Jeremiah 3:18); «the land of the plain» (Jeremiah 48:21); «the land of the fathers» (Genesis 31:3); «the land of their captivity» (1 Kings 8:47); «the land of the Canaanites» (Exodus 13:5); «the land of Israel» (1 Samuel 13:19); «the land (territory) of Benjamin» (Jeremiah 1:1); and «land of Yahweh» (Hosea 9:3).

Once again we must conclude without a clear definition of our term. Earth, dry land, ground, territory, all are suitable and common translations of the Old Testament word ^Éeres. Only the context can guide us in the selection of a proper translation.

Earth in the Context of Genesis 1:1

A contextual investigation is difficult to contain in a limited space, since the context of a verse or word compares well with the ripples a stone will make when thrown into the water. The problem grows larger even as one pursues it. Consequently, we can make only summary observations.

The immediate context is verse 1, specifically the expression «the heavens and the earth» [12]. It is a familiar expression [13] that is generally taken as a reference to all the whole world, on the grounds that heaven and earth are the outer limits intended to include everything in between, i.e., the whole world [14]. Of course, one could also read the expression as a reference to God’s and man’s residences or realms respectively (Ecclesiastes 5:2). In this case, the heavenly vault and the earthly surface would be the meanings intended. However, in the context of divine creation there is some support in the Old Testament for understanding these terms as an inclusion (of all things) rather than as a specification of the realms (Psalm 136:1-9; Isaiah 40:21-23; 45:11f).

The whole translation of Genesis 1:1 is difficult, as recent versions of the Bible make clear [15]. This matter cannot be taken up here, except to say that verse 1 likely is a general introduction to the whole account of creation (Genesis 1:1; 2:4) [16] and should be translated «In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.» Heaven and earth, then, is everything that follows in the account, beginning with God’s first act of creating the light (verse 3). Subsequently, the second day witnesses the formation of heaven (verse and the third day tells of the making of earth (verse 10), followed by the creating of their respective contents (vss. 11 — 2:1).

The emerging earth (verse 9) yabasa (dry land) is named ^Éeres (land) as opposed to the waters that are called sea. This might lead us simply to identify ^Éeres as the physical hard ground (earth, rocks etc.) were it not for the fact that the word ^Éeres (earth) is also used already in verse 2 to describe that which had not yet been separated into dry land and sea. Consequently, some may conclude that ^Éeres (earth) in the opening chapter of the Bible has at least two meanings. It obviously refers to the dry land (verse 10) but also to the formless and void something that preceded it (verse 2).

It seems clear that the first of these meanings, «dry land,» dominates the rest of the chapter (verses 11, 12, 20, 22, 24, 26, 29, 30). In one instance (verse 25), the earth (^Éeres) is specifically identified with the ground (^Éadama) as though to underscore that point. However, in a few places a more global understanding of ^Éeres may be preferable. Thus verses 14-19 speak of sun, moon, stars and their relationships to the earth. They are positioned in the firmament not only to give light, but also to measure seasons (festivals), days and years. It would seem that the solar system and its movements (as understood then) is being considered here. Genesis 2:1, 4 similarly speak of heavens and earth and their hosts, indicating, we may presume, the whole system, and thus complete the account that began in verse 1 [17].

We can thus draw the following preliminary conclusions. In general the word ^Éeres (earth) refers in Genesis 1:1 — 2:4 to the dry land, in distinction from air and sea, on which plants, animals and man can live. In other words, ^Éeres is the earth surface. Secondly, the account also implies that this earth is part of a larger system, including sun, moon, and stars [18], and hence has a larger meaning than mere dry ground upon which to stand. It is at least a realm as well, the sort of thing we mean by the adjective «terrestrial.» As such, it includes the sea for the fish and the air for the birds, both of which are created together on the fifth day before land animals. Thirdly, in the expression «heaven and earth,» ^Éeres is part of an inclusion encompassing everything God has created from the terrestrial to the celestial realm. However, here ^Éeres is least instructive to our query, for it is concerned neither with the material nor with the territory of the earth, but simply with the lower end of the spectrum that describes God’s whole creation. When we ask, therefore, what is the heaven and the earth God created in Genesis 1:1?, we probably should answer, everything that follows in Genesis 1:2 — 2:4, but chief attention is given to the earth, the fruitful surface that can sustain and maintain life.

The Problem of Genesis 1:2

This leaves us with the knotty problem of Genesis 1:2, a verse that is often used to describe the condition of the very first earth. But what is meant by the term «earth» here? A globe, physical material, or ground covered with water? Can we somehow penetrate the screen that hides God’s creative work and know how he really did it at first? Several proposals have been made.

1) The verse describes the existence of the earth in the interval between the original creation of matter and the creation of life. Either it should be seen as raw material waiting to be shaped into an orderly earth [19], or, following the so-called hypothesis of restitution [20], it describes a world fallen in Lucifer-like fashion from its pristine glory (verse 1).

2) The verse describes God’s first work of creation, a watery dark earth, on Day 1 of the creation week. This view may place some strain on the sequence of God’s works of creation beginning with light and ending with man, and could lead to the impossible suggestion that God’s first creative act was not good [21]. However, Young has argued that this first earth, created by God, was in fact good, though not yet ready for life [22]. Here ^Éeres would have different meanings in verse 2 and verse 10. The latter would show a development beyond the former.

3) The verse describes a chaos that stands not so much before creation as opposite creation, expressing an ever-present threatening possibility of divine judgment [23]. Here the earth of verse 2 is the earth of verse 10 as it would be or might be without God’s creative power.

4) The verse describes the earth prior to creation and characterizes it as a «nothing,» that is, as no more than a condition in which creation of the earth could occur. According to this very common suggestion, ^Éeres (earth) in verse 2 has no special meaning at all (just like a totally empty room has no content) [24]. Here verse 2 reiterates the theme of verse 1, but in a negative sense, namely that God has created everything in the beginning.

This means that ^Éeres (earth) in verse 2 is not very helpful in resolving our question, unless, of course, we posit a gap between verses 1 and 2 so that verse 1 becomes a temporal clause and verse 2 a description of pre-existing matter, but that goes against some careful studies of the problem [25]. Alternatively, verse 2 does not contribute to a description of the created earth, unless we follow the view of Young, but that is endowed with serious difficulties, particularly, that the suggested divine creation of the earth in verse 2 does not follow the pattern of God’s other works of creation. If we thus eliminate proposals 1 and 2, we are left with 3 and 4, neither of which contribute anything to our concept of the first earth, other than that God created it.

Consequently, we are thrown back upon Genesis 1:1 which announces in summary fashion that God created the heavens and the earth, followed by a description of this event. It would appear that the earth (^Éeres) is the dry land upon which life can flourish, though it is recognized that this realm is part of a larger system (sun, moon, stars) that gives light and orders its temporal seasons.

The Earth in Biblical Thought [26]

This leaves a final question. What conclusions can we draw from the above considerations regarding the geophysical questions with which we began? Does Genesis 1:1 report the creation of the material earth, the planet earth, or the land on the surface of the earth? To answer this, we must first inquire about the meaning of the word «earth.» We have found that it generally means land (certainly in Genesis 1 — 2:4), although with the awareness that there is more to the earth than just its land (verses 14-19). However, when we put our contemporary question to the Bible, we must also inquire about the willingness of the Bible to acknowledge our distinctions and our reasons for making them.

For example, we distinguish between earth and planet because science has given us a long chronology for the existence of the planet, whereas the Bible has given us a short chronology for the earth. But there is no evidence that the Bible was confronted by this problem. Rather, it distinguishes between the earth as land and planet (world) because the former represents the realm of human life and its dominion, whereas the latter is God’s work and charge: thus God created the heavens and the earth (the whole world), whereas the earth (dry land) was made for life and for mankind. The distinction is based upon a perspective of function, not of chronology, and consequently no explicit temporal distinction between the two can be expected, nor indeed is found.

The best we can say about the creation of the earth in Genesis 1:1 is that it concerns this world, our earth, and that it involves the ecological system within which we live. Much more may need to be said about the geophysical questions in our time, but the Bible is generally silent about them. Thus, our finding that the word ^Éeres (earth) refers primarily to the dry surface of our planet and to its life does not allow us to conclude that Genesis 1 portrays a second stage of a two-stage creation, first the matter of the planet, then the earth, with a temporal interval in between. It does allow a distinction of perspective between our world system, heaven and earth, and the earth as dry land with its life and territories, but any temporal distinction between them we will have to introduce on our own initiative, without the help of the Bible. It is not without significance, it would seem, that the Bible and the story of creation opens with a single word, b^ere^Éit, meaning «in the beginning» (and not with the word «God,» as some have thought). Hereby the Bible instructs us that anyone who wishes to understand its story of creation is not invited to inquire about what may have happened prior to the beginning, for at the beginning stands only God, nothing else. We are invited by the Bible to inquire about that which happened following the beginning of God’s creation, but alas, it does not answer all our questions.

FOOTNOTES

[1]The literature is overwhelming and varied. See for example W. Eichrodt, 1962, In the beginning, pp. 1-10 in Israel’s prophetic heritage (New York); G.F. Hasel, 1972, Recent translations of Genesis 1:1: a critical look, The Bible Translator 22:154-167; E.J. Young, 1964, Studies in Genesis one (Philadelphia); N.H. Ridderbos, 1958, Genesis i:1 und 2, Oudtestamentische Studiën 12:214-260; W.H. Schmidt, 1967, Die Schöpfundsgeschichte (Neukirchen); C. Westermann, 1967, Genesis BK1/2 (Neukirchen), pp. 130-141.

[2]This unusual position is advanced only infrequently and is probably influenced by the words tohu wabohu (without form and void) in verse 2. See J. Calvin, 1847, Genesis (Edinburgh), p. 70; Clarke’s commentary, 1830, Vol. I (New York), p. 30.

[3]This is the most common view. It reads «the heaven and the earth» (verse 1) as an expression of the whole world, the universe, or the like. H. Gunkel, 1922, Genesis (5th ed., Göttingen), p. 102; J. Skinner, 1910, Genesis (New York), p. 14; Westermann, Genesis, pp. 140f.

[4]A less frequently expressed view which questions that the Old Testament has a universal perspective. Instead its perspective is limited to the vault of heaven with the land below. See Young, Studies in Genesis one, pp. 9f; U. Cassuto, 1978, A commentary on the Book of Genesis, Vol. I (Jerusalem), p. 26; B. Vawter, 1977, On Genesis: a new reading (New York), p. 38.

[5]W. Helck and E. Otto, eds., 1975, Lexicon der Ägyptologie (Wiesbaden), pp. 1263f.

[6]See S. Morenz, 1973, Egyptian religion (London), pp. 29f.

[7]The Assyrian dictionary, 1958, Vol. IV (Chicago), pp. 311-313.

[8]Ugaritic textbook (Rome, 1965), pp. 366f.

[9]See G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, eds., 1978, Theological dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol. 1 (Grand Rapids), p. 392.

[10]J.C.L. Gibson, 1971, Textbook of Syrian Semitic inscriptions, Vol. I (Oxford), p. 74.

[11]Recently, P.D. Miller, 1978, Genesis 1-11, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement 8:37f.

[12]The Hebrew word heaven (šamayim) is dual (rather than plural), indicating perhaps two heavenly regions. See L.I.J. Stadelmann, S.J., 1970, The Hebrew conception of the world, Analecta Biblica 39:37-41 (Rome).

[13]See N.C. Habel, 1972, Yahweh, maker of heaven and earth; a study in tradition criticisms, Journal of Biblical Literature 91:321-337.

[14]See A.M. Honeyman, 1952, Merismus in biblical Hebrew, Journal of Biblical Literature 71:16.

[15]See the New English Bible, the New American Bible, the New Jewish Version, Anchor Bible, all of which abandon the traditional rendering «In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.»

[16]See Hasel, Recent translations of Genesis 1:1.

[17]See Schmidt, Die Schöpfundsgeschichte, p. 76.

[18]The Hebrew cocavim (stars) are heavenly bodies other than the sun and moon. A distinction beween planets and fixed stars is possible but not necessary on the basis of the word alone. The reference to the stars here is incidental, almost parenthetical, to complete the picture. See Westermann, Genesis, p. 182.

[19]This view presupposes an early creation of the material universe and is favored by those scientists who accept a long chronology for matter and a short chronology for life on this earth.

[20]Also called the «Ruin-Reconstruction Theory of Genesis 1:2,» in W.E. Lammerts, ed., 1971, Scientific studies in special creation (Philadelphia), pp. 32-40.

[21]B. Childs, 1962, Myth and reality in the Old Testament (New York), pp. 31-43.

[22]C.D. Simpson, 1952, Genesis, Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. I (New York), p. 468.

[23]Young, Studies in Genesis one, p. 32.

[24]Arguments supporting this interpretation are taken from ancient Near Eastern creation stories and Genesis 2:4 which uses the formula, when as yet no plant, etc., existed. See Westermann, Genesis, pp. 141f; Ridderbos, Genesis i:1 und 2, pp. 224-227, et al.

[25]See note 1 above.

[26]For a thorough assessment of this subject, see Stadelmann, The Hebrew conception of the world, pp. 126-154.

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Marquis de Condorcet

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD EARTH

Old English eorthe; related to Old Norse jorth, Old High German ertha, Gothic airtha, Greek erā.

PRONUNCIATION OF EARTH

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF EARTH

Earth is a verb and can also act as a noun.

WHAT DOES EARTH MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of earth in the English dictionary

The first definition of earth in the dictionary is the third planet from the sun, the only planet on which life is known to exist. It is not quite spherical, being flattened at the poles, and consists of three geological zones, the core, mantle, and thin outer crust. The surface, covered with large areas of water, is enveloped by an atmosphere principally of nitrogen, oxygen, and some water vapour. The age is estimated at over four thousand million years. Distance from sun: 149.6 million km; equatorial diameter: 12 756 km; mass: 5.976 × 1024 kg; sidereal period of axial rotation: 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds; sidereal period of revolution about sun: 365.256 days related adjectives terrestrial tellurian telluric terrene. Other definition of earth is the inhabitants of this planet. Earth is also the dry surface of this planet as distinguished from sea or sky; land; ground.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO EARTH

PRESENT

PAST

FUTURE

CONDITIONAL

IMPERATIVE

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

SYNONYMS OF «EARTH»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «earth» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF EARTH

Find out the translation of earth to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «EARTH»

The term «earth» is very widely used and occupies the 2.245 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of earth

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «EARTH» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «EARTH»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word earth.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «EARTH»

Discover the use of earth in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to earth and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «EARTH»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term earth is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Earth [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/earth>. Apr 2023 ».

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. the earth

   Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only place known in the universe where life has originated and found habitability. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. Approximately 70.8% of Earth’s surface is made up of the ocean, dwarfing Earth’s polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29.2% of Earth’s surface is land, consisting of continents and islands. Earth’s surface layer is formed of several slowly moving tectonic plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth’s liquid outer core generates the magnetic field that shapes the magnetosphere of Earth, deflecting destructive solar winds.
   The atmosphere of Earth consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide (CO2) trap a part of the energy from the Sun close to the surface. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere and forms clouds that cover most of the planet. More solar energy is received by tropical regions than polar regions and is redistributed by atmospheric and ocean circulation. A region’s climate is governed not only by latitude but also by elevation and proximity to moderating oceans. In most areas, severe weather, such as tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, and heat waves, occurs and greatly impacts life.
   Earth is an ellipsoid with a circumference of about 40,000 km. It is the densest planet in the Solar System. Of the four rocky planets, it is the largest and most massive. Earth is about eight light-minutes away from the Sun and orbits it, taking a year (about 365.25 days) to complete one revolution. The Earth rotates around its own axis in slightly less than a day (in about 23 hours and 56 minutes). The Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted with respect to the perpendicular to its orbital plane around the Sun, producing seasons. Earth is orbited by one permanent natural satellite, the Moon, which orbits Earth at 384,400 km (1.28 light seconds) and is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth. Through tidal locking, the Moon always faces the Earth with the same side, which causes tides, stabilizes Earth’s axis, and gradually slows its rotation.
   Earth, like most other bodies in the Solar System, formed 4.5 billion years ago from gas in the early Solar System. During the first billion years of Earth’s history, the ocean formed and then life developed within it. Life spread globally and began to affect Earth’s atmosphere and surface, leading to the Great Oxidation Event two billion years ago. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago, and have reached a population of 8 billion today. Humans depend on Earth’s biosphere and natural resources for their survival, but have increasingly impacted the planet’s environment. Humanity’s current impact on Earth’s climate and biosphere is unsustainable, threatening the livelihood of humans and many other life, causing widespread extinctions.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. the earthnoun

   A planet

   The earth is so beautiful, amazing to view from space

   Submitted by MaryC on February 25, 2023  

How to pronounce the earth?

How to say the earth in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of the earth in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of the earth in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of the earth in a Sentence

1. Alan Stern:

   In fact, if you put Earth where Pluto is, it would be excluded !

2. Emily Gilbert:

   When we corrected the star’s parameters, the sizes of its planets dropped, and we realized the outermost one was about the size of Earth and in the habitable zone, additionally, in 11 months of data we saw no flares from the star, which improves the chances TOI 700 d is habitable and makes it easier to model its atmospheric and surface conditions.

3. Muhammed Afzaal Hussain . »:

   He was the most generous, kind, giving, patient, and down-to-earth person that I could ever meet, he was very hard working.

4. Larry Hogan:

   I ’m not going to have the highest name ID and I ’m not going to have the most money, but I really enjoy meeting people and I won my state by shaking everybody’s hand three times and going to every single town hall, i did 380 some events. I answered every question. I went to every county fair and festival. I ’m Larry Hogan of Maryland addresses and I ’m kind of a down to earth, tell-it-like-it-is guy. And I think that’s ideally suited for people in New Hampshire. Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland addresses the audience at.

5. Yasuhiro Oba:

   It is no doubt that biologically important molecules such as amino acids and nucleobase( s) in asteroids/meteorites have been provided to the Earth, in particular, we expect they might play a role for prebiotic evolution on the early Earth.

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