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From Earth once being the center of the universe, to the integral troposphere that supports
all life, we countdown the Top Interesting Facts about Earth.
10. The basics Earth is the only planet in our Solar System
which is not named for a Greek or Roman divinity. It is the third planet closest to the sun
and the densest one. The Earth was formed around 4.54 billion years ago, and unless
aliens show up and make their presence known, it is the only planet known to support life.
9. The center of the universe Once upon a time, human beings thought that
Earth was the center of the entire universe. Ancient astronomers theorized that the Earth
was a stationary body with all the other planetary objects orbiting around it. In 1543, Nicolaus
Copernicus formulated the correct 'Sun-centered model of the Solar System' that put the Sun
in the center rather than the Earth.
8. Troposphere The Earth has many coats of atmosphere. There
is mesosphere, ionosphere, exosphere, and thermosphere and then there is the troposphere.
Troposphere, the layer closest to the surface, is the reason we exist. This layer of atmosphere
is very thin, only around 10 miles high, but it supports all the life in our planet. Furthermore,
most of the weather occurs within troposphere.
7. Solid ground It is the only planet that contains water
and it has a LOT of it. Astronomers got a nice shock when they first ventured into space.
When they looked down at the Earth, all they saw was a blue sphere dotted with green and
brown! Well, we all know now that 70% of the Earth's surface is covered with water, and
96% of all this water is saline.
Only 30% of Earth is a solid ground. What is more interesting is that the ground we
stand on gets recycled every now and then. It looks unchanging, but the Earth's crust
goes through cycles of birth and death every 500 million years!
6. Hours in a day The Earth does not take 24 hours to revolve
around its own axis. It is a tad bit faster. Contrary to the popular belief, it actually
takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds! Talking of time, a year on Earth is not 365
days long. It is 365.2564 days. It is because of this extra '0.2564’ day that we need
to have a leap year in our calendars.
5. Satellites We all know about the Moon. We make an effort
to look at it every other night and appreciate its serene beauty. However, we bet you don't
even know about the Earth's co-orbital satellites. They are also known as Quasi-satellites. Earth
has at least five co-orbital asteroids which include 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29.
3753 Cruithne is often referred to as the 'second moon' even though it does not orbit
Earth. 2002 AA29 rotates the Earth in a horseshoe orbit. Every 95 years, it gets a little closer.
Scientists have suggested that within half a century, it will come near to the Earth's
orbit and it will be a great spot for a space exploration mission.
Apart from natural satellites, there are approximately 1,305 human-made satellites orbiting the planet!
4. Holocene Epoch period Earth has a rich geological history. Formed
4.54 billion years ago by accumulation of cosmic dust particles, our planet has seen
some major events. The very first Precambrian time, when the solar system was just gas,
makes up for 88% of geologic time of Earth! Then came Phanerozoic eon when Earth had just
one enormous super-continent. This was followed by dinosaurs, ice age, continental drifts
and what not. We are now in the Holocene Epoch eon that began 11,700 years ago!
3. Earth is slowing down Earth is slowing down... very slowly. There
is a difference of a second every few years. Millions of years ago, one day was only 20
hours long. Scientists have speculated that millions of years from now, a day on Earth
will be 27 hours long! Won't that be cool? We might finally have enough time to do all
ours chores.
2. Molten lava Thanks to intense volcanism and recurrent
collisions with other celestial bodies, the entire Earth was once a burning magma ocean.
Gradually, the outermost layer cooled down and formed the crust. Off gassing of volatile
components, volcanic activity and pressure eventually created oceans. Rest is history.
The center of the Earth is still molten (erupting volcanoes, anyone?) and this core is even
hotter than the Sun's surface!
1. Space debris You know those tiny particles we often spot
in the sun rays? Don't they look lovely? Well, scientists claim that it rains 1,000 tons
of space debris every year!
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