Planet Earth

The planet earth is the third planet from the sun. The important thing in earth is the earth's gravitational field which is sufficient for humans to stand on its surface easily.

Earth has a thin atmosphere composed of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, which plants produce through photosynthesis. The biosphere includes all life forms on earth; some forms are essential for maintaining it. Earth’s biosphere significantly altered the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions, enabling the proliferation of aerobic organisms and their proliferation on land and in freshwater. This allows life to survive on land or water under many different conditions. The planet contains a vast diversity of plant and animal species, including humans. These are important things on earth. In this article, you will learn some important things in earth and some facts about earth.

Important Things in Earth

Earth’s Details

Earth is the third planet from the sun, orbiting once every 365 days at an average distance of 93 million miles (150 million kilometres). It’s almost exactly spherical and orbits at an angle of 23 degrees to the plane of the earth’s orbit around the sun. This tilt allows us to experience many seasons’ different weather even though they’re not always exactly 90 days apart.

Because the earth is so large compared to other planets in our solar system, it has enough earth’s gravitational field to hold on to an atmosphere and water on its surface. The moon also helps keep the earth’s axis tilted toward the sun, creating seasons. Without this tilt, our planet would be too hot or cold for liquid water and life to exist. If you compare the earth with others in our solar system, you will find that it is smaller than Jupiter but larger than Mercury. Moon is much smaller than other moons in the solar system, the biggest moon being Ganymede.

Life Formation

The planet formed 4.567 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within one billion years. The biochemical reactions produced about 20 amino acids, including alanine, asparagine, glutamine, arginine, leucine, lysine and phenylalanine. The fossil record includes a progression from early bacterial life forms to multicellular eukaryotes. The emergence of fungi was particularly significant since they formed symbiotic relationships with algae or cyanobacteria (blue-green bacteria). This led to a major diversification of plant structures that resulted in various interactions between organisms. The planet earth is a beautiful place. The planet has an atmosphere that protects lives from deadly radiation emitted by the sun and other radiation sources. It also has an ocean covering over 70% of its surface, making it habitable for humans, animals, and plants.

Species on Earth

There are many different species on earth. A species is a group of organisms with similar characteristics and can produce offspring that can reproduce in the wild. Species are classified by physical attributes, such as body size, colouration and habitat. There are millions of different species of plants and animals on earth.

One way to classify species is by kingdom, phylum, class and order. These levels are based on how closely related two organisms are. For example, humans are more closely related to other animals than plants; therefore, they belong to the Animalia kingdom. Within this kingdom, there are three species (animals with backbones), six classes (animals with no backbones) and seven orders (insects).

Facts About Earth

1. The Earth is also known as the Blue Planet because of its vast oceans, covering 71% of its surface. The name “Earth” comes from Old English and is a translation of Erthe, and the ancient Germanic people first used it to refer to their world.

2. The Earth is a terrestrial planet, but it is not exactly spherical; it bulges at the equator due to its rotation around its axis. At its widest point (the equatorial diameter), the earth’s diameter is 12,757 km (7,925 mi).

3. The earth’s crust comprises several plates that move over a viscous asthenosphere. This causes earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountains and oceanic trenches. Meteorites have melted the earth’s outermost layer, which is thin and solid, to form an iron core at its centre.

4. The gravitational interaction between the earth’s gravitational field and the moon causes ocean tides, which are effects that influence the shape of oceanic basins, particularly the Pacific Ocean basin. The gravitational pull on earth’s gravitational field varies by latitude and location. 

Conclusion

The most important thing on earth is the only planet in our solar system where human life exists. It is located in the Milky Way galaxy, between the Orion Arm and the Sagittarius Arm. The sun is at the centre of the solar system and orbits around the Milky Way galaxy. Another important thing on earth is a very thin layer of the atmosphere that protects us from harmful radiation from space, such as ultraviolet rays. Carbon dioxide gas traps heat close to the earth, which keeps our planet warm enough for life to exist without any external source of heat, light, or energy like the sun, moon, etc. Without this greenhouse effect, you would live in a frozen world with no life forms.

faq

Frequently asked questions

Get answers to the most common queries related to the UPSC Examination Preparation.

How many types of weather patterns will you find on earth?

Ans. Earth has two types of weather patterns: tropical and polar. Tropical weather occurs near the equator, while po...Read full

What are the layers of the earth?

Ans. Earth comprises layers like crust, mantle, outer core and inner core. Earth’s crust is divided into conti...Read full

What affects the earth's climate?

Ans. The large landmasses and oceans influence climate by acting as heat sinks that moderate temperature fluctuation...Read full

Why are there so many seasons on earth?

Ans. Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from an axis perpendicular to its orbital plane. Producing...Read full