10 Interesting Facts about the Planet Earth

1. Earth is the third planet from the sun in our solar system. Its name comes from the old
English and Germanic words meaning ‘the ground’.
2. By researching our planet’s rocks, scientists have calculated the Earth to be around 4.5
billion years old.
3. Like all the planets, Earth orbits around the sun at some a speed of around 30 kilometers
per second. With this huge speed, it takes 365 days (one year) for the Earth to complete
one full orbit. 
4. We have different seasons, because the Earth is tilted 23.4 degrees on its ‘axis’, an
imaginary line straight through the middle of the planet form the North Pole to the South
Pole. This means that different parts of the globe are tilted towards the sun at different
times of the year (or at different times during its orbit).
5. Day and nights are formed because of the Earth’s rotation on its axis. As the Earth
rotates, the side facing the sun receives daylight and the other is in darkness.
6. People often think of Earth as a gigantic sphere. But, in fact, its shape is more like a
squished ball that bulges out at the equator –– an imaginary line around the middle of the
planet, exactly between the North Pole and the South Pole. 
7. This ‘bulge’ is caused by the Earth’s spin and the effect of ‘gravity‘. Gravity is an
invisible force that attracts objects towards each other. It’s this force that pulls things
towards the Earth and stops us floating off into space!
8. The Earth’s diameter (distance straight through the middle) measures a huge 12,800
kilometers, making it the fifth largest planet in the solar system. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus
and Neptune are even bigger.
9. Earth is the only planet in our solar system known to support life. This is because it has
two very important things that living creatures need to survive –– lots of oxygen and lots
of water! Its distance from the sun means it’s not too hot and not too cold for creatures to
live on, too. Earth is the only planet known to have life.
10. Earth’s ‘atmosphere’ is also hugely important for sustaining life. The atmosphere is a
huge blanket of gases – mostly oxygen and nitrogen – wrapped around Earth,
protecting our planet from the sun’s strong rays. At the same time, the atmosphere helps
keep the Earth’s temperature comfortable for living beings – and it protects us from
meteors, too!
11. Earth is Mostly Iron, Oxygen and Silicon. If you could separate the Earth out into piles of
material, you’d get 32.1 % iron, 30.1% oxygen, 15.1% silicon, and 13.9% magnesium. Of
course, most of this iron is actually located at the core of the Earth. If you could actually
get down and sample the core, it would be 88% iron. And if you sampled the Earth’s
crust, you’d find that 47% of it is oxygen.
12. 70% of the Earth’s Surface is Covered in Water: When astronauts first went into the
space, they looked back at the Earth with human eyes for the first time. Based on their
observations, the Earth acquired the nickname the “Blue Planet:. And it’s no surprise,
seeing as how 70% of our planet is covered with oceans. The remaining 30% is the solid
crust that is located above sea level, hence why it is called the “continental crust”.
13. The Earth’s Molten Iron core creates a magnetic field. The Earth is like a huge magnet,
with poles at the top and bottom near to the actual geographic poles. The magnetic field it
creates extends thousands of kilometers out from the surface of the Earth – forming a
 region called the “magnetosphere”. Scientists think that this magnetic field is generated
by the molten outer core of the Earth, where heat creates convection motions of
conducting materials to generate electric current. Thanks to magnetosphere, without it,
particles from the sun’s solar wind would hit the earth directly, exposing the surface of
the planet to significant amounts of radiation. Instead, the magnetosphere channels the
solar wind around the Earth, protecting, us from harm.

Presence of magnetic fields reflects motion of electrically conducting liquids inside the
planets.

Importance of light on the Earth

Source: slideplayer.com

Earth is the only planet that uses the Sun’s light as useful as a source of energy. That energy is
used to convert elements, by living things, into a useable form. A plant uses the energy provided
by the sun to drive photosynthesis and provide food to grow. As a by-product, oxygen is released
which we then use as an energy source of our own.

Importance of Earth’s Atmosphere

Source: www.scienceabc.com

It is the layers of gases surrounding the earth that consists of exosphere, thermosphere,
mesosphere, stratosphere and troposphere. The air content and favourable atmospheric pressure
also supported life of most creatures. The air content of carbon dioxide on the Earth is less than
that of planets like Venus and Mars. Hence, the less air content of carbon dioxide helps to
moderate the Earth's temperature and is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis to produce
oxygen.

Interesting facts about Polar Regions

Importance of Ozone Layer

Source: cdn.inquisitr.com
It is the Ozone layer that is a part of Earth's atmosphere situated in an area known as the
stratosphere, which makes protecting life on Earth from its potentially harmful effects of shorter
wavelength and highly hazardous ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun.

As we know that the Sun is the primary source of energy to the Earth, but the only planet that
optimises the amount of heat and light which is necessary for the life process. The Sun emits
enormous heat and light that also consists of ultraviolet radiation, or UV rays which we can't see
or feel. Only about 1% of the ultraviolet radiation that the Sun sends to Earth actually reaches the
surface. Small amounts of exposure to UV rays are beneficial.They cause the body to produce
Vitamin D, which has several health benefits. But you know what, if get more that amount of
what we getting will not give more Vitamin D but causes serious issues on our skin and health.

Favourable Climatic Condition

The Earth has a suitable climate for the existence of all forms of life because of moderate amount
of carbon dioxide, which is the driving factor for the survival of life forms. The temperature of
planet Mercury ranges from 200°c below freezing to 375°c above. At 375°c, the water would
only exist as a gas, and the planet would be completely dry. Venus has a surface temperature of
480°c, which would be much too hot for anybody to live in. Mars, although it can reach 25°c, is
usually freezing and can be as cold as -140°c, a temperature which would freeze blood and
water. Other planets are colder still.

Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ): Causes and Impact

Water
Source: superstitionplumbing.com

Water is very important for life because it contains the oxygen needed for life and allows life-
providing molecules to move around easily. It continually changes its form through the water
cycle. The process by which water continually changes its form and circulates between oceans,
atmosphere and land is known as the water cycle.

The major sources of fresh water are the rivers, ponds, springs and glaciers. The ocean bodies
and the seas contain salty water. The water of the oceans is salt or saline as it contains a large
amount of dissolved salts. Most of the salt is sodium chloride or the common table salt that we
eat. The earth is covered by three-fourth of the water. 97.3% water is saline or salty in oceans
and seas, 3% is fresh water that consists ice-cap, ground water, fresh water lakes, inland and salt
lakes.

What is Tide, why it occurs and how it is important for human life?

Force of attraction (Earth's gravitational pull)

Think for a second why water flows from up to downwards- why don’t float in the air; what hold
our atmosphere; why we walk on the surface not floating in the air. The Sun's gravitational pull
keeps our planet orbiting the Sun and the Earth firmly hold everything from topography to all
forms of life through its gravitational pull. The force of gravity doesn’t just keep us anchored to
the ground, but also affects our biological system.

Hence, we can say, Earth is the only planet which hosts liquid water on its surface, allowing for a
direct transfer of energy from the sun in order for photosynthetic life forms to evolve. It has
unique surface which neither too hot nor too cold for the occurrence of complex biochemical
process.