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Ten (10) Interesting facts about Earth **26th of January 2022**

Lead Image https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/4/2021/08/GettyImages-1215288361-Hero-a892ab9.jpg?quality=90&resize=960%2C408 **10.** **The basics** Earth is the only planet in our Solar System which is not named after 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. Once 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. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/copernicus/:~:text=Nicolaus%20Copernicus%20%281473%E2%80%931543%29%20was%20a%20mathematician%20and%20astronomer,the%20universe%20and%20the **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 the troposphere. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/:~:text=The%20troposphere%20is%20the%20first%20and%20lowest%20layer,aerosols%2C%20and%20is%20where%20most%20weather%20phenomena **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! Recycling the Earth’s crust https://g105lab.sitehost.iu.edu/1425chap12.htm **6. 24 Hours in a day** The Earth does not take 24 hours to revolve around its own axis, it is actually a bit faster. Contrary to the popular belief, it actually takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds! Speaking 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 gaze upon it every night, or most nights, 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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-satellite "**3753 Cruithne** is often referred to as the “second moon”. It is more than 3 miles across and orbits in sync with the earth. **2002 AA29** rotates the Earth in a horseshoe orbit. Every 95 years, it gets a little closer". Source https://www.wise-geek.com/does-earth-have-co-orbital-satellites.htm 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. Source https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/11/science/asteroid-bennu-earth-osiris-rex.html 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 period, 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! https://www.britannica.com/science/:~:text=Precambrian%2C%20period%20of%20time%20extending%20from%20about%204.6,than%2080%20percent%20of%20the%20total%20geologic%25 https://www.britannica.com/science/:~:text=Phanerozoic%20Eon%2C%20the%20span%20of%20geologic%20time%20extending,of%20time%20largely%20on%20the%20basis%20of%20char https://www.encyclopedia.com/earth-and-environment/geology-and-oceanography/geology-and-oceanography/:~:text=In%20geologic%20time%2C%20the%20Holocene%20Epoch%20represents%20the,from%20approximately%2010%2C000%20years%20ago%20unt **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 our chores. Ha-ha. **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! Earth’s inner core https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_inner_core **1. Space debris** Apart from the moon and satellites, Earth has some other objects which orbits it as well. These are known as Space debris, also called “**space junk”-** "*artificial material that is orbiting Earth but is no longer functional. This material can be as large as a discarded rocket stage or as small as a microscopic chip of paint! They may look beautiful on first sight but are extremely dangerous especially to space crafts*". Source https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-debris   *There are many more interesting facts about the earth but I simply decided to limit this list to only 10 facts in a bid to not bore you to death. If you think there’s any important fact I should have mentioned but skipped, feel free to mention in the comment section!* ***Quoted texts have been cited*** ***Images used have been cited***

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