And it’s no surprise, seeing as how 70% of our planet is covered with oceans. Based on their observations, the Earth acquired the nickname the “Blue Planet. When astronauts first went into the space, they looked back at the Earth with human eyes for the first time. 70% of the Earth’s Surface is Covered in Water: And if you sampled the Earth’s crust, you’d find that 47% of it is oxygen. If you could actually get down and sample the core, it would be 88% iron. Of course, most of this iron is actually located at the core of the Earth. 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. Earth is Mostly Iron, Oxygen and Silicon: The Earth’s layers, showing the Inner and Outer Core, the Mantle, and Crust. Even though the tallest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest, the feature that’s furthest from the center of the Earth is actually Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador. This means that the measurement from pole to pole is about 43 km less than the diameter of Earth across the equator. ![]() In the case of the Earth, this bulge is due to our planet’s rotation. This shape is similar to a sphere, but where the poles are flattened and the equator bulges. But thanks to modern astronomy and space travel, scientists have since come to understand that the Earth is actually shaped like a flattened sphere (aka. In fact, between the 6th cenury BCE and the modern era, this remained the scientific consensus. Many people tend to think that the Earth is a sphere. Without the action of plate tectonics, there would be no way to recycle this carbon, and the Earth would become an overheated, hellish place. This pulls carbon out of the atmosphere, which makes sure we don’t suffer a runaway greenhouse effect, which is what happened on Venus. Over long periods of time, the remnants of this life, rich in carbon, are carried back into the interior of the Earth and recycled. ![]() When microscopic plants in the ocean die, they fall to the bottom of the ocean. earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation), it is also intrinsic to the carbon cycle. Not only does it lead to tectonic resurfacing and geological activity (i.e. This process is very important, and for a number of reasons. When two plates collide, one plate will subduct (go underneath another), and where they pull apart, they will allow fresh crust to form. These are floating on top of the magma interior of the Earth and can move against one another. Basically, the outer crust of the Earth is broken up into regions known as tectonic plates. Plate Tectonics Keep the Planet Comfortable:Įarth is the only planet in the Solar System with plate tectonics. ![]() And over the course of the past few centuries, we have learned much about Earth, which has only deepened our fascination with it.īut how much does the average person really know about the planet Earth? You’ve lived on Planet Earth all of your life, but how much do you really know about the ground underneath your feet? You probably have lots of interesting facts rattling around in your brain, but here are 10 more interesting facts about Earth that you may, or may not know. And why shouldn’t it fascinate us? In addition to being our home and the place where life as we know it originated, it remains the only planet we know of where life thrives. That shiny blue marble that has fascinated humanity since they first began to walk across its surface.
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