The Blue Marble, Apollo 17, December 1972

Designations

Alternative names The world, the globe, Sol III, Terra,

Tellus, Gaia, Mother Earth

Adjectives Earthly, terrestrial, terran, tellurian

Symbol 🜨 and ♁

Orbital characteristics

Epoch J2000[n 1]

Aphelion 152097597 km (94509065 mi)

Perihelion 147098450 km (91402740 mi)[n 2]

Semi-major axis 149598023 km (92955902 mi)[1]

Eccentricity 0.0167086[1]

Orbital period 365.256363004 d[2]

(sidereal)
(1.00001742096 aj)
Average orbital 29.7827 km/s[3]
speed
(107218 km/h; 66622 mph)

Mean anomaly 358.617°

 7.155° – Sun's equator;

Inclination
 1.57869° – invariable plane;[4]
 0.00005° – J2000 ecliptic
Longitude of −11.26064° – J2000 ecliptic[3]
ascending node
Time of perihelion 2023-Jan-04[5]

Argument of 114.20783°[3]
perihelion

Satellites 1, the Moon

Physical characteristics
Mean radius 6371.0 km (3958.8 mi)[6]
Equatorial radius 6378.137 km (3963.191 mi)[7][8]
Polar radius 6356.752 km (3949.903 mi)[9]

Flattening 1/298.257222101 (ETRS89)[10]

Circumference  40075.017 km
(24901.461 mi), equatorial[8]
 40007.86 km
(24859.73 mi), meridional[11][n 3]
Surface area  510072000 km2
(196940000 sq mi)[12][n 4]
 Land: 148940000 km2
(57510000 sq mi)
 Water: 361132000 km2
(139434000 sq mi)

Volume 1.08321×1012 km3 (2.59876×1011 cu mi)

[3]

Mass 5.972168×1024 kg (1.31668×1025 lb)[13]

Mean density 5.513 g/cm3
(0.1992 lb/cu in)[3]
Surface gravity 9.80665 m/s2
 (32.1740 ft/s2)[14]
Moment of inertia 0.3307[15]
factor
Escape velocity 11.186 km/s (40270 km/h; 25020 mph)
[3]

Synodic rotation 1.0 d

period (24h 00 m 00s)
Sidereal rotation 0.99726968 d[16]
period (23h 56 m 4.100s)
Equatorial 0.4651 km/s[17]
rotation velocity
(1674.4 km/h; 1040.4 mph)
Axial tilt 23.4392811°[2]

Albedo  0.367 geometric[3]

 0.306 Bond[3]

Temperature 255 K (−18 °C; −1 °F)

(blackbody temperature)[18]
Surface temp. min mean max
Celsius [n 5]
−89.2 °C 14.76 °C 56.7 °C
Fahrenheit −128.5 °F 58.568 °F 134.0 °F

Surface equivalent 0.274 μSv/h[22]

dose rate
Absolute −3.99
magnitude (H)

Atmosphere
Surface pressure 101.325 kPa (at sea level)

Composition by  78.08% nitrogen (dry air)

volume  20.95% oxygen (dry air)
 ≤1% water vapor (variable)
 0.9340% argon
 0.0415% carbon dioxide
 0.00182% neon
 0.00052% helium
 0.00017% methane
 0.00011% krypton
 0.00006% hydrogen
Source:[3]
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known
to harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in
the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth's water is
contained in its global ocean, covering 70.8% of Earth's crust. The remaining 29.2%
of Earth's crust is land, most of which is located in the form
of continental landmasses within Earth's land hemisphere. Most of Earth's land is
somewhat humid and covered by vegetation, while large sheets of ice at Earth's
polar deserts retain more water than Earth's groundwater, lakes, rivers
and atmospheric water combined. Earth's crust consists of slowly moving tectonic
plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and
earthquakes. Earth has a liquid outer core that generates a magnetosphere capable
of deflecting most of the destructive solar winds and cosmic radiation.

Earth has a dynamic atmosphere, which sustains Earth's surface conditions and
protects it from most meteoroids and UV-light at entry. It has a composition of
primarily nitrogen and oxygen. Water vapor is widely present in the
atmosphere, forming clouds that cover most of the planet. The water vapor acts as
a greenhouse gas and, together with other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,
particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), creates the conditions for both liquid surface water
and water vapor to persist via the capturing of energy from the Sun's light. This
process maintains the current average surface temperature of 14.76 °C (58.57 °F),
at which water is liquid under normal atmospheric pressure. Differences in the
amount of captured energy between geographic regions (as with the equatorial
region receiving more sunlight than the polar regions) drive atmospheric and ocean
currents, producing a global climate system with different climate regions, and a
range of weather phenomena such as precipitation, allowing components such
as nitrogen to cycle.

Earth is rounded into an ellipsoid with a circumference of about 40,000 km. It is

the densest planet in the Solar System. Of the four rocky planets, it is the largest and
most massive. Earth is about eight light-minutes away from the Sun and orbits it,
taking a year (about 365.25 days) to complete one revolution. Earth rotates around
its own axis in slightly less than a day (in about 23 hours and 56 minutes). Earth's
axis of rotation is tilted with respect to the perpendicular to its orbital plane around
the Sun, producing seasons. Earth is orbited by one permanent natural satellite,
the Moon, which orbits Earth at 384,400 km (1.28 light seconds) and is roughly a
quarter as wide as Earth. The Moon's gravity helps stabilize Earth's axis,
causes tides and gradually slows Earth's rotation. Tidal locking has made the Moon
always face Earth with the same side.

Earth, like most other bodies in the Solar System, formed 4.5 billion years ago from
gas and dust in the early Solar System. During the first billion years of Earth's
history, the ocean formed and then life developed within it. Life spread globally and
has been altering Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to the Great Oxidation
Event two billion years ago. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago in Africa and have
spread across every continent on Earth. Humans depend on Earth's biosphere and
natural resources for their survival, but have increasingly impacted the planet's
environment. Humanity's current impact on Earth's climate and biosphere
is unsustainable, threatening the livelihood of humans and many other forms of life,
and causing widespread extinctions.[23]
Etymology
The Modern English word Earth developed, via Middle English, from an Old
English noun most often spelled eorðe.[24] It has cognates in every Germanic
language, and their ancestral root has been reconstructed as *erþō. In its earliest
attestation, the word eorðe was used to translate the many senses
of Latin terra and Greek γῆ gē: the ground, its soil, dry land, the human world, the
surface of the world (including the sea), and the globe itself. As with
Roman Terra/Tellūs and Greek Gaia, Earth may have been a personified
goddess in Germanic paganism: late Norse mythology included Jörð ("Earth"), a
giantess often given as the mother of Thor.[25]

Historically, "Earth" has been written in lowercase. Beginning with the use of Early
Middle English, its definite sense as "the globe" was expressed as "the earth". By the
era of Early Modern English, capitalization of nouns began to prevail, and the
earth was also written the Earth, particularly when referenced along with other
heavenly bodies. More recently, the name is sometimes simply given as Earth, by
analogy with the names of the other planets, though "earth" and forms with "the
earth" remain common.[24] House styles now vary: Oxford spelling recognizes the
lowercase form as the more common, with the capitalized form an acceptable
variant. Another convention capitalizes "Earth" when appearing as a name, such as
a description of the "Earth's atmosphere", but employs the lowercase when it is
preceded by "the", such as "the atmosphere of the earth". It almost always appears
in lowercase in colloquial expressions such as "what on earth are you doing?"[26]

The name Terra /ˈtɛrə/ occasionally is used in scientific writing and especially in
science fiction to distinguish humanity's inhabited planet from others,[27] while in
poetry Tellus /ˈtɛləs/ has been used to denote personification of the Earth.[28] Terra is
also the name of the planet in some Romance languages, languages that evolved
from Latin, like Italian and Portuguese, while in other Romance languages the word
gave rise to names with slightly altered spellings, like the Spanish Tierra and
the French Terre. The Latinate form Gæa or Gaea (English: /ˈdʒiː.ə/) of the Greek
poetic name Gaia (Γαῖα; Ancient Greek: [ɡâi̯ .a] or [ɡâj.ja]) is rare, though the alternative
spelling Gaia has become common due to the Gaia hypothesis, in which case its
pronunciation is /ˈɡaɪ.ə/ rather than the more classical English /ˈɡeɪ.ə/.[29]

There are a number of adjectives for the planet Earth. The word "earthly" is derived
from "Earth". From the Latin Terra comes terran /ˈtɛrən/,[30] terrestrial /təˈrɛstriəl/,
[31]
and (via French) terrene /təˈriːn/,[32] and from the Latin Tellus comes tellurian /tɛ
ˈlʊəriən/[33] and telluric.[34]

Natural history
Main articles: History of Earth and Timeline of natural history
Formation
Further information: Early Earth and Hadean
 A 2012 artistic impression of the early Solar
System's protoplanetary disk from which Earth and other Solar System bodies were
formed
The oldest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5682+0.0002
−0.0004 Ga (billion years) ago.[35] By 4.54±0.04 Ga the primordial Earth had formed.
[36]
The bodies in the Solar System formed and evolved with the Sun. In theory,
a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse,
which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, and then the planets grow
out of that disk with the Sun. A nebula contains gas, ice grains,
and dust (including primordial nuclides). According to nebular
theory, planetesimals formed by accretion, with the primordial Earth being estimated
as likely taking anywhere from 70 to 100 million years to form.[37]
Estimates of the age of the Moon range from 4.5 Ga to significantly younger.
[38]
A leading hypothesis is that it was formed by accretion from material loosed from
Earth after a Mars-sized object with about 10% of Earth's mass, named Theia,
collided with Earth.[39] It hit Earth with a glancing blow and some of its mass merged
with Earth.[40][41] Between approximately 4.1 and 3.8 Ga, numerous asteroid
impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the
greater surface environment of the Moon and, by inference, to that of Earth.[42]

After formation
Main article: Geological history of Earth
Earth's atmosphere and oceans were formed by volcanic activity and outgassing.
[43]
Water vapor from these sources condensed into the oceans, augmented by water
and ice from asteroids, protoplanets, and comets.[44] Sufficient water to fill the oceans
may have been on Earth since it formed.[45] In this model, atmospheric greenhouse
gases kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70% of
its current luminosity.[46] By 3.5 Ga, Earth's magnetic field was established, which
helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind.[47]
 Pale orange dot, an artist's impression
of Early Earth, featuring its tinted orange methane-rich early atmosphere[48]
As the molten outer layer of Earth cooled it formed the first solid crust, which is
thought to have been mafic in composition. The first continental crust, which was
more felsic in composition, formed by the partial melting of this mafic crust.[49] The
presence of grains of the mineral zircon of Hadean age in Eoarchean sedimentary
rocks suggests that at least some felsic crust existed as early as 4.4 Ga,
only 140 Ma after Earth's formation.[50] There are two main models of how this initial
small volume of continental crust evolved to reach its current abundance:[51] (1) a
relatively steady growth up to the present day,[52] which is supported by the
radiometric dating of continental crust globally and (2) an initial rapid growth in the
volume of continental crust during the Archean, forming the bulk of the continental
crust that now exists,[53][54] which is supported by isotopic evidence
from hafnium in zircons and neodymium in sedimentary rocks. The two models and
the data that support them can be reconciled by large-scale recycling of the
continental crust, particularly during the early stages of Earth's history.[55]

New continental crust forms as a result of plate tectonics, a process ultimately driven
by the continuous loss of heat from Earth's interior. Over the period of hundreds of
millions of years, tectonic forces have caused areas of continental crust to group
together to form supercontinents that have subsequently broken apart. At
approximately 750 Ma, one of the earliest known supercontinents, Rodinia, began to
break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia at 600–540 Ma, then
finally Pangaea, which also began to break apart at 180 Ma.[56]

The most recent pattern of ice ages began about 40 Ma,[57] and then intensified
during the Pleistocene about 3 Ma.[58] High- and middle-latitude regions have since
undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating about every 21,000,
41,000 and 100,000 years.[59] The Last Glacial Period, colloquially called the "last ice
age", covered large parts of the continents, to the middle latitudes, in ice and ended
about 11,700 years ago.[60]

Origin of life and evolution

Main articles: Origin of life, Earliest known life forms, and History of life
Chemical reactions led to the first self-replicating molecules about four billion years
ago. A half billion years later, the last common ancestor of all current life arose.
[61]
The evolution of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly
by life forms. The resultant molecular oxygen (O2) accumulated in the atmosphere
and due to interaction with ultraviolet solar radiation, formed a protective ozone
layer (O3) in the upper atmosphere.[62] The incorporation of smaller cells within larger
ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes.[63] True
multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly
specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone
layer, life colonized Earth's surface.[64] Among the earliest fossil evidence for life
is microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone in Western Australia,
[65]
biogenic graphite found in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks in Western
Greenland,[66] and remains of biotic material found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in
Western Australia.[67][68] The earliest direct evidence of life on Earth is contained in
3.45 billion-year-old Australian rocks showing fossils of microorganisms.[69][70]

An artist's
impression of the Archean, the eon after Earth's formation, featuring
round stromatolites, which are early oxygen-producing forms of life from billions of
years ago. After the Late Heavy Bombardment, Earth's crust had cooled, its water-
rich barren surface is marked by continents and volcanoes, with the Moon still
orbiting Earth half as far as it is today, appearing 2.8 times larger and producing
strong tides.[71]
During the Neoproterozoic, 1000 to 539 Ma, much of Earth might have been covered
in ice. This hypothesis has been termed "Snowball Earth", and it is of particular
interest because it preceded the Cambrian explosion, when multicellular life forms
significantly increased in complexity.[72][73] Following the Cambrian explosion, 535 Ma,
there have been at least five major mass extinctions and many minor ones.[74] Apart
from the proposed current Holocene extinction event, the most recent was 66 Ma,
when an asteroid impact triggered the extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and other
large reptiles, but largely spared small animals such as insects, mammals, lizards
and birds. Mammalian life has diversified over the past 66 Mys, and several million
years ago, an African ape species gained the ability to stand upright.[75][76] This
facilitated tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and
stimulation needed for a larger brain, which led to the evolution of humans.
The development of agriculture, and then civilization, led to humans having
an influence on Earth and the nature and quantity of other life forms that continues to
this day.[77]

Future
Main article: Future of Earth
See also: Global catastrophic risk
 Conjectured illustration of the scorched
Earth after the Sun has entered the red giant phase, about 5–7 billion years from
now
Earth's expected long-term future is tied to that of the Sun. Over the next 1.1 billion
years, solar luminosity will increase by 10%, and over the next 3.5 billion years by
40%.[78] Earth's increasing surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic carbon
cycle, possibly reducing CO2 concentration to levels lethally low for current plants
(10 ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in approximately 100–900 million years.[79][80] A lack of
vegetation would result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, making current
animal life impossible.[81] Due to the increased luminosity, Earth's mean temperature
may reach 100 °C (212 °F) in 1.5 billion years, and all ocean water will evaporate
and be lost to space, which may trigger a runaway greenhouse effect, within an
estimated 1.6 to 3 billion years.[82] Even if the Sun were stable, a fraction of the water
in the modern oceans will descend to the mantle, due to reduced steam venting from
mid-ocean ridges.[82][83]

The Sun will evolve to become a red giant in about 5 billion years. Models predict
that the Sun will expand to roughly 1 AU (150 million km; 93 million mi), about 250
times its present radius.[78][84] Earth's fate is less clear. As a red giant, the Sun will lose
roughly 30% of its mass, so, without tidal effects, Earth will move to an orbit 1.7 AU
(250 million km; 160 million mi) from the Sun when the star reaches its maximum
radius, otherwise, with tidal effects, it may enter the Sun's atmosphere and be
vaporized.[78]

Physical characteristics
Further information: Geophysics
Size and shape
Main article: Figure of the Earth
Further information: Earth radius, Earth's circumference, Earth curvature,
and Geomorphology
See also: List of highest mountains on Earth
 Earth's western hemisphere showing
topography relative to Earth's center instead of to mean sea level, as in common
topographic maps
Earth has a rounded shape, through hydrostatic equilibrium,[85] with an average
diameter of 12,742 kilometers (7,918 mi), making it the fifth largest planetary
sized and largest terrestrial object of the Solar System.[86]

Due to Earth's rotation it has the shape of an ellipsoid, bulging at its Equator; its
diameter is 43 kilometers (27 mi) longer there than at its poles.[87][88] Earth's shape
furthermore has local topographic variations. Though the largest local variations, like
the Mariana Trench (10,925 meters or 35,843 feet below local sea level),[89] only
shortens Earth's average radius by 0.17% and Mount Everest (8,848 meters or
29,029 feet above local sea level) lengthens it by only 0.14%.[n 6][91] Since Earth's
surface is farthest out from Earth's center of mass at its equatorial bulge, the summit
of the volcano Chimborazo in Ecuador (6,384.4 km or 3,967.1 mi) is its farthest point
out.[92][93] Parallel to the rigid land topography the Ocean exhibits a more dynamic
topography.[94]

To measure the local variation of Earth's topography, geodesy employs an idealized

Earth producing a shape called a geoid. Such a geoid shape is gained if the ocean is
idealized, covering Earth completely and without any perturbations such as tides and
winds. The result is a smooth but gravitational irregular geoid surface, providing a
mean sea level (MSL) as a reference level for topographic measurements.[95]

Surface
Further information: Planetary surface, Land
cover, Land, Pedosphere, Ocean, Sea, Cryosphere, and Peplosphere
 A composite image of Earth, with its different types of
surface discernible: Earth's surface dominating Ocean (blue), Africa with lush (green)
to dry (brown) land and Earth's polar ice in the form of Antarctic sea ice (grey)
covering the Antarctic or Southern Ocean and the Antarctic ice sheet (white)

covering Antarctica. Relief of Earth's crust

Earth's surface is the boundary between the atmosphere, and the solid Earth and
oceans. Defined in this way, it has an area of about
510 million km2 (197 million sq mi).[12] Earth can be divided into two hemispheres:
by latitude into the polar Northern and Southern hemispheres; or by longitude into
the continental Eastern and Western hemispheres.

Most of Earth's surface is ocean water: 70.8% or 361 million km2 (139 million sq mi).
[96]
This vast pool of salty water is often called the world ocean,[97][98] and makes Earth
with its dynamic hydrosphere a water world[99][100] or ocean world.[101][102] Indeed, in
Earth's early history the ocean may have covered Earth completely.[103] The world
ocean is commonly divided into the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian
Ocean, Antarctic or Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean, from largest to smallest. The
ocean covers Earth's oceanic crust, with the shelf seas covering the shelves of
the continental crust to a lesser extent. The oceanic crust forms large oceanic
basins with features like abyssal plains, seamounts, submarine volcanoes,[87] oceanic
trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus, and a globe-spanning mid-ocean
ridge system.[104] At Earth's polar regions, the ocean surface is covered by seasonally
variable amounts of sea ice that often connects with polar land, permafrost and ice
sheets, forming polar ice caps.

Earth's land covers 29.2%, or 149 million km2 (58 million sq mi) of Earth's surface.
The land surface includes many islands around the globe, but most of the land
surface is taken by the four continental landmasses, which are (in descending
order): Africa-Eurasia, America (landmass), Antarctica, and Australia (landmass).[105]
 These landmasses are further broken down and grouped into the continents.
[106][107]

The terrain of the land surface varies greatly and consists of

mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other landforms. The elevation of the land
surface varies from a low point of −418 m (−1,371 ft) at the Dead Sea, to a maximum
altitude of 8,848 m (29,029 ft) at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land
above sea level is about 797 m (2,615 ft).[108]

Land can be covered by surface water, snow, ice, artificial structures or vegetation.
Most of Earth's land hosts vegetation,[109] but considerable amounts of land are ice
sheets (10%,[110] not including the equally large area of land under permafrost)
[111]
or deserts (33%)[112]

The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's land surface and is composed of
soil and subject to soil formation processes. Soil is crucial for land to be arable.
Earth's total arable land is 10.7% of the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent
cropland.[113][114] Earth has an estimated 16.7 million km2 (6.4 million sq mi) of cropland
and 33.5 million km2 (12.9 million sq mi) of pastureland.[115]

The land surface and the ocean floor form the top of Earth's crust, which together
with parts of the upper mantle form Earth's lithosphere. Earth's crust may be divided
into oceanic and continental crust. Beneath the ocean-floor sediments, the oceanic
crust is predominantly basaltic, while the continental crust may include lower density
materials such as granite, sediments and metamorphic rocks.[116] Nearly 75% of the
continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they form about 5%
of the mass of the crust.[117]

Earth's surface topography comprises both the topography of the ocean surface, and
the shape of Earth's land surface. The submarine terrain of the ocean floor has an
average bathymetric depth of 4 km, and is as varied as the terrain above sea level.
Earth's surface is continually being shaped by internal plate tectonic processes
including earthquakes and volcanism; by weathering and erosion driven by ice,
water, wind and temperature; and by biological processes including the growth and
decomposition of biomass into soil.[118][119]

Tectonic plates
Main article: Plate tectonics

Earth's major plates, which are:[120]

 Pacific Plate
 African Plate[n 7]
 North American Plate
 Eurasian Plate
 Antarctic Plate
  Indo-Australian Plate
 South American Plate
Earth's mechanically rigid outer layer of Earth's crust and upper mantle,
the lithosphere, is divided into tectonic plates. These plates are rigid segments that
move relative to each other at one of three boundaries types: at convergent
boundaries, two plates come together; at divergent boundaries, two plates are pulled
apart; and at transform boundaries, two plates slide past one another laterally. Along
these plate boundaries, earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building,
and oceanic trench formation can occur.[121] The tectonic plates ride on top of
the asthenosphere, the solid but less-viscous part of the upper mantle that can flow
and move along with the plates.[122]

As the tectonic plates migrate, oceanic crust is subducted under the leading edges of
the plates at convergent boundaries. At the same time, the upwelling of mantle
material at divergent boundaries creates mid-ocean ridges. The combination of these
processes recycles the oceanic crust back into the mantle. Due to this recycling,
most of the ocean floor is less than 100 Ma old. The oldest oceanic crust is located
in the Western Pacific and is estimated to be 200 Ma old.[123][124] By comparison, the
oldest dated continental crust is 4,030 Ma,[125] although zircons have been found
preserved as clasts within Eoarchean sedimentary rocks that give ages up
to 4,400 Ma, indicating that at least some continental crust existed at that time.[50]

The seven major plates are the Pacific, North

American, Eurasian, African, Antarctic, Indo-Australian, and South American. Other
notable plates include the Arabian Plate, the Caribbean Plate, the Nazca Plate off
the west coast of South America and the Scotia Plate in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
The Australian Plate fused with the Indian Plate between 50 and 55 Ma. The fastest-
moving plates are the oceanic plates, with the Cocos Plate advancing at a rate of
75 mm/a (3.0 in/year)[126] and the Pacific Plate moving 52–69 mm/a (2.0–2.7 in/year).
At the other extreme, the slowest-moving plate is the South American Plate,
progressing at a typical rate of 10.6 mm/a (0.42 in/year).[127]

Internal structure
Main article: Internal structure of Earth

Geologic layers of Earth[128]

Illustration of Earth's cutaway, not to scale

Depth [129]
Component Density
 Geologic layers of Earth[128]

Illustration of Earth's cutaway, not to scale

(km) layer name (g/cm3)

0–60 Lithosphere[n 8] —

0–35 Crust[n 9] 2.2–2.9

35–660 Upper mantle 3.4–4.4

660–2890 Lower mantle 3.4–5.6

100–700 Asthenosphere —

2890–5100 Outer core 9.9–12.2

5100–6378 Inner core 12.8–13.1

Earth's interior, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by
their chemical or physical (rheological) properties. The outer layer is a chemically
distinct silicate solid crust, which is underlain by a highly viscous solid mantle. The
crust is separated from the mantle by the Mohorovičić discontinuity.[130] The thickness
of the crust varies from about 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) under the oceans to 30–50 km
(19–31 mi) for the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper
mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere, which is divided into independently
moving tectonic plates.[131]

Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on

which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle
occur at 410 and 660 km (250 and 410 mi) below the surface, spanning a transition
zone that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely
low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core.[132] Earth's inner core may
be rotating at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet,
advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year, although both somewhat higher and much lower
rates have also been proposed.[133] The radius of the inner core is about one-fifth of
that of Earth. The density increases with depth. Among the Solar System's planetary-
sized objects, Earth is the object with the highest density.

Chemical composition
Further information: Abundance of the chemical elements § Earth
See also: Abundance of elements in Earth's crust
Earth's mass is approximately 5.97×1024 kg (5,970 Yg). It is composed mostly of iron
(32.1% by
mass), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1
.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%), with the remaining 1.2% consisting of
trace amounts of other elements. Due to gravitational separation, the core is
primarily composed of the denser elements: iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of
nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements.[134][49] The most
common rock constituents of the crust are oxides. Over 99% of the crust is
composed of various oxides of eleven elements, principally oxides containing silicon
(the silicate minerals), aluminium, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium.
[135][134]

Internal heat
Main article: Earth's internal heat budget

A map of heat flow from Earth's interior to

the surface of Earth's crust, mostly along the oceanic ridges
The major heat-producing isotopes within Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238,
and thorium-232.[136] At the center, the temperature may be up to 6,000 °C
(10,830 °F),[137] and the pressure could reach 360 GPa (52 million psi).[138] Because
much of the heat is provided by radioactive decay, scientists postulate that early in
Earth's history, before isotopes with short half-lives were depleted, Earth's heat
production was much higher. At approximately 3 Gyr, twice the present-day heat
would have been produced, increasing the rates of mantle convection and plate
tectonics, and allowing the production of uncommon igneous rocks such
as komatiites that are rarely formed today.[139][140]
The mean heat loss from Earth is 87 mW m−2, for a global heat loss of 4.42×1013 W.
[141]
A portion of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by mantle
plumes, a form of convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock.
These plumes can produce hotspots and flood basalts.[142] More of the heat in Earth is
lost through plate tectonics, by mantle upwelling associated with mid-ocean ridges.
The final major mode of heat loss is through conduction through the lithosphere, the
majority of which occurs under the oceans.[143]

Gravitational field
Main article: Gravity of Earth
The gravity of Earth is the acceleration that is imparted to objects due to the
distribution of mass within Earth. Near Earth's surface, gravitational acceleration is
approximately 9.8 m/s2 (32 ft/s2). Local differences in topography, geology, and
deeper tectonic structure cause local and broad regional differences in Earth's
gravitational field, known as gravity anomalies.[144]

Magnetic field
Main article: Earth's magnetic field

A schematic view of Earth's magnetosphere

with solar wind flowing from left to right
The main part of Earth's magnetic field is generated in the core, the site of
a dynamo process that converts the kinetic energy of thermally and compositionally
driven convection into electrical and magnetic field energy. The field extends
outwards from the core, through the mantle, and up to Earth's surface, where it is,
approximately, a dipole. The poles of the dipole are located close to Earth's
geographic poles. At the equator of the magnetic field, the magnetic-field strength at
the surface is 3.05×10−5 T, with a magnetic dipole moment of 7.79×1022 Am2 at epoch
2000, decreasing nearly 6% per century (although it still remains stronger than its
long time average).[145] The convection movements in the core are chaotic; the
magnetic poles drift and periodically change alignment. This causes secular
variation of the main field and field reversals at irregular intervals averaging a few
times every million years. The most recent reversal occurred approximately 700,000
years ago.[146][147]
The extent of Earth's magnetic field in space defines the magnetosphere. Ions and
electrons of the solar wind are deflected by the magnetosphere; solar wind pressure
compresses the day-side of the magnetosphere, to about 10 Earth radii, and extends
the night-side magnetosphere into a long tail.[148] Because the velocity of the solar
wind is greater than the speed at which waves propagate through the solar wind, a
supersonic bow shock precedes the day-side magnetosphere within the solar wind.
[149]
Charged particles are contained within the magnetosphere; the plasmasphere is
defined by low-energy particles that essentially follow magnetic field lines as Earth
rotates.[150][151] The ring current is defined by medium-energy particles that drift relative
to the geomagnetic field, but with paths that are still dominated by the magnetic field,
[152]
and the Van Allen radiation belts are formed by high-energy particles whose
motion is essentially random, but contained in the magnetosphere.[153]
[154]
During magnetic storms and substorms, charged particles can be deflected from
the outer magnetosphere and especially the magnetotail, directed along field lines
into Earth's ionosphere, where atmospheric atoms can be excited and ionized,
causing an aurora.[155]

Orbit and rotation

Rotation
Main article: Earth's rotation

Satellite time lapse imagery of Earth's

rotation showing axis tilt
Earth's rotation period relative to the Sun—its mean solar day—is 86,400 seconds of
mean solar time (86,400.0025 SI seconds).[156] Because Earth's solar day is now
slightly longer than it was during the 19th century due to tidal deceleration, each day
varies between 0 and 2 ms longer than the mean solar day.[157][158]

Earth's rotation period relative to the fixed stars, called its stellar day by
the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS),
is 86,164.0989 seconds of mean solar time (UT1), or 23 56 4.0989 .[2][n 10] Earth's
h m s

rotation period relative to the precessing or moving mean March equinox (when the
Sun is at 90° on the equator), is 86,164.0905 seconds of mean solar time
(UT1) (23 56 4.0905 ).[2] Thus the sidereal day is shorter than the stellar day by
h m s

about 8.4 ms.[159]

Apart from meteors within the atmosphere and low-orbiting satellites, the main
apparent motion of celestial bodies in Earth's sky is to the west at a rate of 15°/h =
15'/min. For bodies near the celestial equator, this is equivalent to an apparent
diameter of the Sun or the Moon every two minutes; from Earth's surface, the
apparent sizes of the Sun and the Moon are approximately the same.[160][161]

Orbit
Main articles: Earth's orbit and Earth's location

Exaggerated illustration of Earth's elliptical

orbit around the Sun, marking that the orbital extreme points
(apoapsis and periapsis) are not the same as the four seasonal extreme points,
the equinox and solstice
Earth orbits the Sun, making Earth the third-closest planet to the Sun and part of
the inner Solar System. Earth's average orbital distance is about 150 million km
(93 million mi), which is the basis for the astronomical unit (AU) and is equal to
roughly 8.3 light minutes or 380 times Earth's distance to the Moon. Earth orbits the
Sun every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. With an apparent
movement of the Sun in Earth's sky at a rate of about 1°/day eastward, which is one
apparent Sun or Moon diameter every 12 hours. Due to this motion, on average it
takes 24 hours—a solar day—for Earth to complete a full rotation about its axis so
that the Sun returns to the meridian.

The orbital speed of Earth averages about 29.78 km/s (107,200 km/h; 66,600 mph),
which is fast enough to travel a distance equal to Earth's diameter, about 12,742 km
(7,918 mi), in seven minutes, and the distance from Earth to the Moon, 384,400 km
(238,900 mi), in about 3.5 hours.[3]

The Moon and Earth orbit a common barycenter every 27.32 days relative to the
background stars. When combined with the Earth–Moon system's common orbit
around the Sun, the period of the synodic month, from new moon to new moon, is
29.53 days. Viewed from the celestial north pole, the motion of Earth, the Moon, and
their axial rotations are all counterclockwise. Viewed from a vantage point above the
Sun and Earth's north poles, Earth orbits in a counterclockwise direction about the
Sun. The orbital and axial planes are not precisely aligned: Earth's axis is tilted some
23.44 degrees from the perpendicular to the Earth–Sun plane (the ecliptic), and the
Earth-Moon plane is tilted up to ±5.1 degrees against the Earth–Sun plane. Without
this tilt, there would be an eclipse every two weeks, alternating between lunar
eclipses and solar eclipses.[3][162]

The Hill sphere, or the sphere of gravitational influence, of Earth is about

1.5 million km (930,000 mi) in radius.[163][n 11] This is the maximum distance at which
Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than that of the more distant Sun and
planets. Objects must orbit Earth within this radius, or they can become unbound by
the gravitational perturbation of the Sun.[163] Earth, along with the Solar System, is
situated in the Milky Way and orbits about 28,000 light-years from its center. It is
about 20 light-years above the galactic plane in the Orion Arm.[164]

Axial tilt and seasons

Main article: Axial tilt § Earth

Earth's axial tilt causing different angles of

seasonal illumination at different orbital positions around the Sun
The axial tilt of Earth is approximately 23.439281°[2] with the axis of its orbit plane,
always pointing towards the Celestial Poles. Due to Earth's axial tilt, the amount of
sunlight reaching any given point on the surface varies over the course of the year.
This causes the seasonal change in climate, with summer in the Northern
Hemisphere occurring when the Tropic of Cancer is facing the Sun, and in
the Southern Hemisphere when the Tropic of Capricorn faces the Sun. In each
instance, winter occurs simultaneously in the opposite hemisphere.

During the summer, the day lasts longer, and the Sun climbs higher in the sky. In
winter, the climate becomes cooler and the days shorter.[165] Above the Arctic
Circle and below the Antarctic Circle there is no daylight at all for part of the year,
causing a polar night, and this night extends for several months at the poles
themselves. These same latitudes also experience a midnight sun, where the sun
remains visible all day.[166][167]

By astronomical convention, the four seasons can be determined by the solstices—

the points in the orbit of maximum axial tilt toward or away from the Sun—and
the equinoxes, when Earth's rotational axis is aligned with its orbital axis. In the
Northern Hemisphere, winter solstice currently occurs around 21 December; summer
solstice is near 21 June, spring equinox is around 20 March and autumnal equinox is
about 22 or 23 September. In the Southern Hemisphere, the situation is reversed,
with the summer and winter solstices exchanged and the spring and autumnal
equinox dates swapped.[168]

The angle of Earth's axial tilt is relatively stable over long periods of time. Its axial tilt
does undergo nutation; a slight, irregular motion with a main period of 18.6 years.
[169]
The orientation (rather than the angle) of Earth's axis also changes over
time, precessing around in a complete circle over each 25,800-year cycle; this
precession is the reason for the difference between a sidereal year and a tropical
year. Both of these motions are caused by the varying attraction of the Sun and the
Moon on Earth's equatorial bulge. The poles also migrate a few meters across
Earth's surface. This polar motion has multiple, cyclical components, which
collectively are termed quasiperiodic motion. In addition to an annual component to
this motion, there is a 14-month cycle called the Chandler wobble. Earth's rotational
velocity also varies in a phenomenon known as length-of-day variation.[170]
Earth's annual orbit is elliptical rather than circular, and its closest approach to the
Sun is called perihelion. In modern times, Earth's perihelion occurs around 3
January, and its aphelion around 4 July. These dates shift over time due to
precession and changes to the orbit, the latter of which follows cyclical patterns
known as Milankovitch cycles. The annual change in the Earth–Sun distance causes
an increase of about 6.8% in solar energy reaching Earth at perihelion relative to
aphelion.[171][n 12] Because the Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun at about
the same time that Earth reaches the closest approach to the Sun, the Southern
Hemisphere receives slightly more energy from the Sun than does the northern over
the course of a year. This effect is much less significant than the total energy change
due to the axial tilt, and most of the excess energy is absorbed by the higher
proportion of water in the Southern Hemisphere.[172]

Earth–Moon system
Further information: Satellite system (astronomy)
Moon
Main articles: Moon, Lunar theory, and Orbit of the Moon

Earth and the Moon as seen from Mars by the Mars

Reconnaissance Orbiter View of Earth from the Moon

by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Moon is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like natural satellite, with a diameter
about one-quarter of Earth's. It is the largest moon in the Solar System relative to the
size of its planet, although Charon is larger relative to the dwarf planet Pluto.[173]
[174]
The natural satellites of other planets are also referred to as "moons", after
Earth's.[175] The most widely accepted theory of the Moon's origin, the giant-impact
hypothesis, states that it formed from the collision of a Mars-size protoplanet called
Theia with the early Earth. This hypothesis explains the Moon's relative lack of iron
and volatile elements and the fact that its composition is nearly identical to that of
Earth's crust.[40] Computer simulations suggest that two blob-like remnants of this
prototype could be inside the Earth.[176][177]

The gravitational attraction between Earth and the Moon causes lunar tides on Earth.
[178]
The same effect on the Moon has led to its tidal locking: its rotation period is the
same as the time it takes to orbit Earth. As a result, it always presents the same face
to the planet.[179] As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts of its face are illuminated by
the Sun, leading to the lunar phases.[180] Due to their tidal interaction, the Moon
recedes from Earth at the rate of approximately 38 mm/a (1.5 in/year). Over millions
of years, these tiny modifications—and the lengthening of Earth's day by about
23 μs/yr—add up to significant changes.[181] During the Ediacaran period, for
example, (approximately 620 Ma) there were 400±7 days in a year, with each day
lasting 21.9±0.4 hours.[182]

The Moon may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the
planet's climate. Paleontological evidence and computer simulations show that
Earth's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with the Moon.[183] Some theorists
think that without this stabilization against the torques applied by the Sun and
planets to Earth's equatorial bulge, the rotational axis might be chaotically unstable,
exhibiting large changes over millions of years, as is the case for Mars, though this is
disputed.[184][185]

Viewed from Earth, the Moon is just far enough away to have almost the same
apparent-sized disk as the Sun. The angular size (or solid angle) of these two bodies
match because, although the Sun's diameter is about 400 times as large as the
Moon's, it is also 400 times more distant.[161] This allows total and annular solar
eclipses to occur on Earth.[186]

Asteroids and artificial satellites

Main articles: Near-Earth object and Claimed moons of Earth

A computer-generated image mapping the

prevalence of artificial satellites and space debris around Earth
in geosynchronous and low Earth orbit
Earth's co-orbital asteroids population consists of quasi-satellites: objects with
a horseshoe orbit and trojans. There are at least five quasi-satellites,
including 469219 Kamoʻoalewa.[187][188] A trojan asteroid companion, 2010 TK7,
is librating around the leading Lagrange triangular point, L4, in Earth's orbit around
the Sun.[189] The tiny near-Earth asteroid 2006 RH120 makes close approaches to the
Earth–Moon system roughly every twenty years. During these approaches, it can
orbit Earth for brief periods of time.[190]

As of September 2021, there are 4,550 operational, human-made satellites orbiting

Earth.[191] There are also inoperative satellites, including Vanguard 1, the oldest
satellite currently in orbit, and over 16,000 pieces of tracked space debris.[n 13] Earth's
largest artificial satellite is the International Space Station (ISS).[192]

Hydrosphere
Main article: Hydrosphere

A view of Earth with its global ocean and cloud cover,

which dominate Earth's surface and hydrosphere; at Earth's polar regions, its
hydrosphere forms larger areas of ice cover.
Earth's hydrosphere is the sum of Earth's water and its distribution. Most of Earth's
hydrosphere consists of Earth's global ocean. Earth's hydrosphere also consists of
water in the atmosphere and on land, including clouds, inland seas, lakes, rivers,
and underground waters. The mass of the oceans is approximately 1.35×1018 metric
tons or about 1/4400 of Earth's total mass. The oceans cover an area of
361.8 million km2 (139.7 million sq mi) with a mean depth of 3,682 m (12,080 ft),
resulting in an estimated volume of 1.332 billion km3 (320 million cu mi).[193]
If all of Earth's crustal surface were at the same elevation as a smooth sphere, the
depth of the resulting world ocean would be 2.7 to 2.8 km (1.68 to 1.74 mi).[194] About
97.5% of the water is saline; the remaining 2.5% is fresh water.[195][196] Most fresh
water, about 68.7%, is present as ice in ice caps and glaciers.[197] The remaining 30%
is ground water, 1% surface water (covering only 2.8% of Earth's land)[198] and other
small forms of fresh water deposits such as permafrost, water vapor in the
atmosphere, biological binding, etc.[199][200]

In Earth's coldest regions, snow survives over the summer and changes into ice.
This accumulated snow and ice eventually forms into glaciers, bodies of ice that flow
under the influence of their own gravity. Alpine glaciers form in mountainous areas,
whereas vast ice sheets form over land in polar regions. The flow of glaciers erodes
the surface, changing it dramatically, with the formation of U-shaped valleys and
other landforms.[201] Sea ice in the Arctic covers an area about as big as the United
States, although it is quickly retreating as a consequence of climate change.[202]

The average salinity of Earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of
seawater (3.5% salt).[203] Most of this salt was released from volcanic activity or
extracted from cool igneous rocks.[204] The oceans are also a reservoir of dissolved
atmospheric gases, which are essential for the survival of many aquatic life forms.
[205]
Sea water has an important influence on the world's climate, with the oceans
acting as a large heat reservoir.[206] Shifts in the oceanic temperature distribution can
cause significant weather shifts, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.[207]

The abundance of water, particularly liquid water, on Earth's surface is a unique

feature that distinguishes it from other planets in the Solar System. Solar System
planets with considerable atmospheres do partly host atmospheric water vapor, but
they lack surface conditions for stable surface water.[208] Despite
some moons showing signs of large reservoirs of extraterrestrial liquid water, with
possibly even more volume than Earth's ocean, all of them are large bodies of
water under a kilometers thick frozen surface layer.[209]

Atmosphere
Main article: Atmosphere of Earth

A view of Earth with different layers of its atmosphere

visible: the troposphere with its clouds casting shadows, a band of stratospheric blue
sky at the horizon, and a line of green airglow of the lower thermosphere around
an altitude of 100 km, at the edge of space
The atmospheric pressure at Earth's sea level averages 101.325 kPa (14.696 psi),
[210]
with a scale height of about 8.5 km (5.3 mi).[3] A dry atmosphere is composed of
78.084% nitrogen, 20.946% oxygen, 0.934% argon, and trace amounts of carbon
dioxide and other gaseous molecules.[210] Water vapor content varies between 0.01%
and 4%[210] but averages about 1%.[3] Clouds cover around two-thirds of Earth's
surface, more so over oceans than land.[211] The height of the troposphere varies with
latitude, ranging between 8 km (5 mi) at the poles to 17 km (11 mi) at the equator,
with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors.[212]

Earth's biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic

photosynthesis evolved 2.7 Gya, forming the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere
of today.[62] This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms and,
indirectly, the formation of the ozone layer due to the subsequent conversion of
atmospheric O2 into O3. The ozone layer blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting
life on land.[213] Other atmospheric functions important to life include transporting
water vapor, providing useful gases, causing small meteors to burn up before they
strike the surface, and moderating temperature.[214] This last phenomenon is
the greenhouse effect: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to
capture thermal energy emitted from the surface, thereby raising the average
temperature. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone are
the primary greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Without this heat-retention effect,
the average surface temperature would be −18 °C (0 °F), in contrast to the current
+15 °C (59 °F),[215] and life on Earth probably would not exist in its current form.[216]

Weather and climate

Main articles: Weather and Climate

The ITCZ's band of clouds over the Eastern Pacific and the Americas as seen from space

Worldwide Köppen climate classifications

Earth's atmosphere has no definite boundary, gradually becoming thinner and fading
into outer space.[217] Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass is contained within the
first 11 km (6.8 mi) of the surface; this lowest layer is called the troposphere.
[218]
Energy from the Sun heats this layer, and the surface below, causing expansion
of the air. This lower-density air then rises and is replaced by cooler, higher-density
air. The result is atmospheric circulation that drives the weather and climate through
redistribution of thermal energy.[219]

The primary atmospheric circulation bands consist of the trade winds in the
equatorial region below 30° latitude and the westerlies in the mid-latitudes between
30° and 60°.[220] Ocean heat content and currents are also important factors in
determining climate, particularly the thermohaline circulation that distributes thermal
energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions.[221]

Earth receives 1361 W/m2 of solar irradiance.[222][223] The amount of solar energy that
reaches Earth's surface decreases with increasing latitude. At higher latitudes, the
sunlight reaches the surface at lower angles, and it must pass through thicker
columns of the atmosphere. As a result, the mean annual air temperature at sea
level decreases by about 0.4 °C (0.7 °F) per degree of latitude from the equator.
[224]
Earth's surface can be subdivided into specific latitudinal belts of approximately
homogeneous climate. Ranging from the equator to the polar regions, these are the
tropical (or equatorial), subtropical, temperate and polar climates.[225]
Further factors that affect a location's climates are its proximity to oceans, the
oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and topology.[226] Places close to oceans
typically have colder summers and warmer winters, due to the fact that oceans can
store large amounts of heat. The wind transports the cold or the heat of the ocean to
the land.[227] Atmospheric circulation also plays an important role: San Francisco and
Washington DC are both coastal cities at about the same latitude. San Francisco's
climate is significantly more moderate as the prevailing wind direction is from sea to
land.[228] Finally, temperatures decrease with height causing mountainous areas to be
colder than low-lying areas.[229]

Water vapor generated through surface evaporation is transported by circulatory

patterns in the atmosphere. When atmospheric conditions permit an uplift of warm,
humid air, this water condenses and falls to the surface as precipitation.[219] Most of
the water is then transported to lower elevations by river systems and usually
returned to the oceans or deposited into lakes. This water cycle is a vital mechanism
for supporting life on land and is a primary factor in the erosion of surface features
over geological periods. Precipitation patterns vary widely, ranging from several
meters of water per year to less than a millimeter. Atmospheric circulation,
topographic features, and temperature differences determine the average
precipitation that falls in each region.[230]

The commonly used Köppen climate classification system has five broad groups
(humid tropics, arid, humid middle latitudes, continental and cold polar), which are
further divided into more specific subtypes.[220] The Köppen system rates regions
based on observed temperature and precipitation.[231] Surface air temperature can
rise to around 55 °C (131 °F) in hot deserts, such as Death Valley, and can fall as
low as −89 °C (−128 °F) in Antarctica.[232][233]

Upper atmosphere

Earth's night-side upper atmosphere

appearing from the bottom as bands of afterglow illuminating the troposphere in
orange with silhouettes of clouds, and the stratosphere in white and blue. Next
the mesosphere (pink area) extends to the orange and faintly green line of the
lowest airglow, at about one hundred kilometers at the edge of space and the lower
edge of the thermosphere (invisible). Continuing with green and red bands
of aurorae stretching over several hundred kilometers.
The upper atmosphere, the atmosphere above the troposphere,[234] is usually divided
into the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.[214] Each layer has a different
lapse rate, defining the rate of change in temperature with height. Beyond these,
the exosphere thins out into the magnetosphere, where the geomagnetic fields
interact with the solar wind.[235] Within the stratosphere is the ozone layer, a
component that partially shields the surface from ultraviolet light and thus is
important for life on Earth. The Kármán line, defined as 100 km (62 mi) above
Earth's surface, is a working definition for the boundary between the atmosphere
and outer space.[236]

Thermal energy causes some of the molecules at the outer edge of the atmosphere
to increase their velocity to the point where they can escape from Earth's gravity.
This causes a slow but steady loss of the atmosphere into space. Because
unfixed hydrogen has a low molecular mass, it can achieve escape velocity more
readily, and it leaks into outer space at a greater rate than other gases.[237] The
leakage of hydrogen into space contributes to the shifting of Earth's atmosphere and
surface from an initially reducing state to its current oxidizing one. Photosynthesis
provided a source of free oxygen, but the loss of reducing agents such as hydrogen
is thought to have been a necessary precondition for the widespread accumulation of
oxygen in the atmosphere.[238] Hence the ability of hydrogen to escape from the
atmosphere may have influenced the nature of life that developed on Earth.[239] In the
current, oxygen-rich atmosphere most hydrogen is converted into water before it has
an opportunity to escape. Instead, most of the hydrogen loss comes from the
destruction of methane in the upper atmosphere.[240]

Life on Earth
Main articles: Biosphere and History of life

An animation of the changing density

of productive vegetation on land (low in brown; heavy in dark green) and
phytoplankton at the ocean surface (low in purple; high in yellow)
Earth is the only known place that has ever been habitable for life. Earth's life
developed in Earth's early bodies of water some hundred million years after Earth
formed. Earth's life has been shaping and inhabiting many particular ecosystems on
Earth and has eventually expanded globally forming an overarching biosphere.[241]

Therefore, life has impacted Earth, significantly altering Earth's atmosphere and
surface over long periods of time, causing changes like the Great Oxidation Event.
[242]
Earth's life has also over time greatly diversified, allowing the biosphere to have
different biomes, which are inhabited by comparatively similar plants and animals.
[243]
The different biomes developed at distinct elevations or water depths, planetary
temperature latitudes and on land also with different humidity. Earth's species
diversity and biomass reaches a peak in shallow waters and with forests, particularly
in equatorial, warm and humid conditions. While freezing polar regions and high
altitudes, or extremely arid areas are relatively barren of plant and animal life.[244]

Earth provides liquid water—an environment where complex organic molecules can
assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain a metabolism.[245] Plants and
other organisms take up nutrients from water, soils and the atmosphere. These
nutrients are constantly recycled between different species.[246]

A High Desert storm in the Mojave

Extreme weather, such as tropical cyclones (including hurricanes and typhoons),
occurs over most of Earth's surface and has a large impact on life in those areas.
From 1980 to 2000, these events caused an average of 11,800 human deaths per
year.[247] Many places are subject to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic
eruptions, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities and
disasters.[248] Human impact is felt in many areas due to pollution of the air and
water, acid rain, loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss
of wildlife, species extinction, soil degradation, soil depletion and erosion.[249] Human
activities release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which cause global
warming.[250] This is driving changes such as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets,
a global rise in average sea levels, increased risk of drought and wildfires, and
migration of species to colder areas.[251]

Human geography
Main article: Human geography
See also: World

A composite image of artificial light

emissions at night on a map of Earth
Originating from earlier primates in Eastern Africa 300,000 years ago humans have
since been migrating and with the advent of agriculture in the 10th millennium BC
increasingly settling Earth's land.[252] In the 20th century Antarctica had been the last
continent to see a first and until today limited human presence.

Human population has since the 19th century grown exponentially to seven billion in
the early 2010s,[253] and is projected to peak at around ten billion in the second half of
the 21st century.[254] Most of the growth is expected to take place in sub-Saharan
Africa.[254]

Distribution and density of human population varies greatly around the world with the
majority living in south to eastern Asia and 90% inhabiting only the Northern
Hemisphere of Earth,[255] partly due to the hemispherical predominance of the world's
land mass, with 68% of the world's land mass being in the Northern Hemisphere.
[256]
Furthermore, since the 19th century humans have increasingly converged into
urban areas with the majority living in urban areas by the 21st century.[257]

Beyond Earth's surface humans have lived on a temporary basis, with only a few
special-purpose deep underground and underwater presences and a few space
stations. The human population virtually completely remains on Earth's surface, fully
depending on Earth and the environment it sustains. Since the second half of the
20th century, some hundreds of humans have temporarily stayed beyond Earth, a
tiny fraction of whom have reached another celestial body, the Moon.[258][259]

Earth has been subject to extensive human settlement, and humans have developed
diverse societies and cultures. Most of Earth's land has been territorially claimed
since the 19th century by sovereign states (countries) separated by political borders,
and 205 such states exist today,[260] with only parts of Antarctica and a few small
regions remaining unclaimed.[261] Most of these states together form the United
Nations, the leading worldwide intergovernmental organization,[262] which extends
human governance over the ocean and Antarctica, and therefore all of Earth.

Natural resources and land use

Main articles: Natural resource and Land use

Earth's land use for human agriculture in

2019
Earth has resources that have been exploited by humans.[263] Those termed non-
renewable resources, such as fossil fuels, are only replenished over geological
timescales.[264] Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Earth's crust,
consisting of coal, petroleum, and natural gas.[265] These deposits are used by
humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production.
[266]
Mineral ore bodies have also been formed within the crust through a process
of ore genesis, resulting from actions of magmatism, erosion, and plate tectonics.
[267]
These metals and other elements are extracted by mining, a process which often
brings environmental and health damage.[268]

Earth's biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including
food, wood, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and the recycling of organic waste. The land-
based ecosystem depends upon topsoil and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem
depends on dissolved nutrients washed down from the land.[269] In 2019,
39 million km2 (15 million sq mi) of Earth's land surface consisted of forest and
woodlands, 12 million km2 (4.6 million sq mi) was shrub and grassland,
40 million km2 (15 million sq mi) were used for animal feed production and grazing,
and 11 million km2 (4.2 million sq mi) were cultivated as croplands.[270] Of the 12–14%
of ice-free land that is used for croplands, 2 percentage points were irrigated in 2015.
[271]
Humans use building materials to construct shelters.[272]

Humans and the environment

Main articles: Human impact on the environment and Climate change

Change in average surface air temperature

and drivers for that change. Human activity has caused increased temperatures, with
natural forces adding some variability.[273]
Human activities have impacted Earth's environments. Through activities such as the
burning of fossil fuels, humans have been increasing the amount of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere, altering Earth's energy budget and climate.[250][274] It is
estimated that global temperatures in the year 2020 were 1.2 °C (2.2 °F) warmer
than the preindustrial baseline.[275] This increase in temperature, known as global
warming, has contributed to the melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, increased risk
of drought and wildfires, and migration of species to colder areas.[251]

The concept of planetary boundaries was introduced to quantify humanity's impact

on Earth. Of the nine identified boundaries, five have been crossed: Biosphere
integrity, climate change, chemical pollution, destruction of wild habitats and
the nitrogen cycle are thought to have passed the safe threshold.[276][277] As of 2018, no
country meets the basic needs of its population without transgressing planetary
boundaries. It is thought possible to provide all basic physical needs globally within
sustainable levels of resource use.[278]

Cultural and historical viewpoint

Main articles: Earth in culture and Earth in science fiction
 Tracy Caldwell Dyson, a NASA astronaut,
observing Earth from the Cupola module at the International Space Station on
11 September 2010
Human cultures have developed many views of the planet.[279] The
standard astronomical symbols of Earth are a quartered circle, ,[280] representing
the four corners of the world, and a globus cruciger, . Earth is
sometimes personified as a deity. In many cultures it is a mother goddess that is also
the primary fertility deity.[281] Creation myths in many religions involve the creation of
Earth by a supernatural deity or deities.[281] The Gaia hypothesis, developed in the
mid-20th century, compared Earth's environments and life as a single self-regulating
organism leading to broad stabilization of the conditions of habitability.[282][283][284]

Images of Earth taken from space, particularly during the Apollo program, have been
credited with altering the way that people viewed the planet that they lived on, called
the overview effect, emphasizing its beauty, uniqueness and apparent fragility.[285]
[286]
In particular, this caused a realization of the scope of effects from human activity
on Earth's environment. Enabled by science, particularly Earth observation,
[287]
humans have started to take action on environmental issues globally,
[288]
acknowledging the impact of humans and the interconnectedness of Earth's
environments.

Scientific investigation has resulted in several culturally transformative shifts in

people's view of the planet. Initial belief in a flat Earth was gradually displaced
in Ancient Greece by the idea of a spherical Earth, which was attributed to both the
philosophers Pythagoras and Parmenides.[289][290] Earth was generally believed to
be the center of the universe until the 16th century, when scientists first concluded
that it was a moving object, one of the planets of the Solar System.[291]

It was only during the 19th century that geologists realized Earth's age was at least
many millions of years.[292] Lord Kelvin used thermodynamics to estimate the age of
Earth to be between 20 million and 400 million years in 1864, sparking a vigorous