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Earth (Otherwise Known As The World, Gaia

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only known planet to harbor life. It formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago and rotates daily on its axis while orbiting the Sun yearly. Earth's lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over millions of years. 71% of Earth's surface is covered in water and the remaining 29% is land, with the polar regions largely covered in ice. Within the first billion years, life appeared in Earth's oceans and has since evolved into many species, though over 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct. Currently, over 7 billion humans inhabit Earth and depend on its biosphere.

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Satheesh Kumar
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49 views1 page

Earth (Otherwise Known As The World, Gaia

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only known planet to harbor life. It formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago and rotates daily on its axis while orbiting the Sun yearly. Earth's lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over millions of years. 71% of Earth's surface is covered in water and the remaining 29% is land, with the polar regions largely covered in ice. Within the first billion years, life appeared in Earth's oceans and has since evolved into many species, though over 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct. Currently, over 7 billion humans inhabit Earth and depend on its biosphere.

Uploaded by

Satheesh Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Earth (otherwise known as the world,[n 5] in Greek: Gaia,[n 6] or in Latin: Terra[26]) is the third

planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's
fourterrestrial planets, and the only astronomical object known to harbor life.
According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed about 4.54 billion years
ago.[27][28][29] Earth gravitationally interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and
the Moon. During one orbit around the Sun, Earth rotates about its own axis 366.26 times, creating
365.26 solar days or one sidereal year.[n 7] Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4 away from the
perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface within a
period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days).[30] The Moon is the Earth's only permanent natural
satellite; their gravitational interaction causes ocean tides, stabilizes the orientation of Earth's
rotational axis, and gradually slows Earth's rotational rate.[31]
Earth's lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over
periods of many millions of years. 71% of Earth's surface is covered with water.[32] The remaining
29% is land massconsisting of continents and islandsthat together has many lakes, rivers, and
other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. The majority of Earth's polar regions are
covered in ice, including the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice of the Arctic ice pack. Earth's interior
remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates the Earth's magnetic
field, and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics.
Within the first billion years of Earth history, life appeared in the oceans and began to affect
the atmosphere and surface, leading to the proliferation of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. Since
then, the combination of Earth's distance from the Sun, physical properties, and geological
history have allowed life to evolve and thrive. Life had certainly arisen on Earth 3.5 billion years ago,
though some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as much as 4.1 billion years
ago.[33][34] In the history of the Earth, biodiversity has gone through long durations of expansion, but
occasionally punctuated by mass extinction events. Over 99% of all species of life[35] that ever lived
on Earth are today extinct.[36][37] Estimates of the number of species on Earth today vary widely; [38][39]
[40]

most species have not been described.[41] Over 7.3 billion humans[42] live on Earth and depend on

its biosphere and minerals for their survival. Humanity has developed diversesocieties and cultures;
politically, the world is divided into about 200 sovereign states.

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