Welcome to our Top 10 Facts about Earth. Our planet is an incredible place and has many interesting features. From its diverse ecosystems and geology to its history, here are 10 interesting and intriguing facts about Earth that you may not know. Learn more about our planetβs origins, its current state, and what the future may hold.
Plus you can learn more about whatβs in our Solar System with our Top 10 Facts on the Sun and the Moon; the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto.
1. Earth is the third closest planet to The Sun.
By being close but not too close for the Sun we have the perfect temperature for life.
2. It is the only planet we have found that contains life.
Scientists have looked all around our solar system, as well as other solar systems, to see if any planets host life like the plants and animals on ours.
So far Earth is the only planet that seems to have life.
3. Earth is 4.543 billion years old.
By comparison Humans have only been around 300,000 years ago.
4. Earthβs surface is mainly water.
About 71 percent of the Earthβs surface is water-covered, and the oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earthβs water.
Learn more about space in the video below.
5. Earth rotates at around 1000 miles an hour.
We donβt feel the Earth itself spinning because we are held close to the Earthβs surface by gravity β thatβs probably good because we would feel very dizzy moving that fast!
6. Earthβs atmosphere is made of gases.
The mixture of gases, what we often refer to as βairβ, are nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. Without them, we couldnβt live.
7. Earth isnβt perfectly round.
Earth may look round but itβs actually not perfectly round. The planet bulges around the equator by an extra 0.3 percent due to how it rotates about its axis.
8. Days on Earth are getting longer.
The length of Earthβs day is increasing.
When Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago, its day would have been roughly six hours long. By 620 million years ago a day was around 22 hours. Today, the average day is 24 hours long, but is increasing by about 1.7 milliseconds every century. The reason? The moon is slowing down Earthβs rotation through the tides that it helps create.
The amount the days are changing is so small though that you wonβt notice it in a lifetime.
9. Earth used to look very different.
Over the 4.6 million years Earth has been around it hasnβt always looked the way it does now.
At its beginning, Earth was extremely hot, and full of molten magma. Over the course of a few hundred million years, the planet began to cool and oceans of liquid water formed.
About 250 million years ago, the continents came together to form a supercontinent called Pangaea. Millions of years later these broke apart to form continents we know today.
Learn more about continents with our Top 10 Facts.
10. You could fit a million Earths in the Sun.
If the Sun were hollow you could fit more than one million Earths inside.
Letβs keep learning with our Top 10 Facts about Space and Top 10 Facts about the Solar System. Plus you can learn more about whatβs in our Solar System with our Top 10 Facts on the Sun and the Moon; the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto.
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