Earth: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Planet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}{{Use American English|date=July 2015}}
{{About|the planet|other uses|Earth (disambiguation)|and|Planet Earth (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Third planet|other systems of numbering planets|Planet#History|the song|3rd Planet (song)}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
 
{{Infobox planet
{{Infobox planet
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  This infobox has been formatted in the same way as those for other Solar System
This infobox has been formatted in the same way as those for other Solar System
  planets and bodies, so please do not change it without discussion on the talkpage.
planets and bodies, so please do not change it without discussion on the talkpage.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->|background=#f8f9fa|name=Earth|adjectives=Earthly, terrestrial, terran, tellurian|symbol=[[File:Earth symbol (small, bold).svg|24px|alt=🜨|Astronomical symbol of Earth]]|image=The Blue Marble (remastered).jpg|image_alt="[[The Blue Marble]]" photograph of Earth taken by the ''[[Apollo 17]]'' mission. The Arabian peninsula, Africa and Madagascar lie in the upper half of the disc, whereas Antarctica is at the bottom.|caption=''[[The Blue Marble]]'', the first full-view photograph of the planet <br/>  taken by [[Apollo 17]] [[astronaut]]s in 1972|alt_names=<!--{{Unbulleted list|style=padding-top:0.1em;|li_style=line-height:1.3em; |{{hlist|the Earth|the World}} |{{hlist|Blue Planet|[[The Blue Marble|Blue Marble]]|''[[Terra]]''|[[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]}} }}-->|epoch=[[J2000.0|J2000]]<ref name="epoch">All astronomical quantities vary, both in time (secularly) and frequency (periodically). The quantities given are the values at the instant [[J2000.0]] of the secular variation, ignoring all periodic variations.</ref>|aphelion={{convert|152100000|km|mi AU|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="apsis">aphelion = ''a'' × (1 + ''e''); perihelion = ''a'' × (1&nbsp;– ''e''), where ''a'' is the semi-major axis and ''e'' is the eccentricity. The difference between Earth's perihelion and aphelion is 5 million kilometers.</ref><br /><small>(|)</small>}}|perihelion={{convert|147095000|km|mi AU|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="apsis" /><br /><small>(|)</small>}}|semimajor={{convert|149598023|km|mi AU|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="VSOP87">{{cite journal |title=Numerical expressions for precession formulae and mean elements for the Moon and planets |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=282 |issue=2 |pages=663–83 |date=February 1994 |last1=Simon |first1=J.L. |last2=Bretagnon |first2=P. |last3=Chapront |first3=J. |last4=Chapront-Touzé |first4=M. |last5=Francou |first5=G. |last6=Laskar |first6=J. |bibcode=1994A&A...282..663S}}</ref><br /><small>(|)</small>}}|eccentricity={{val|0.0167086}}<ref name="VSOP87" />|period={{convert|365.256363004|d|years|comma=gaps|abbr=on|lk=out|disp=x|<ref name="IERS"/><br /><small>(|)</small>}}|avg_speed={{convert|29.78|km/s|km/h mph|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="earth_fact_sheet">{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html |title=Earth Fact Sheet |publisher=NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center |first=David R. |last=Williams |date=16 March 2017 |accessdate=26 July 2018}}</ref><br /><small>(|)</small>}}|mean_anomaly={{val|358.617|u=°}}|inclination={{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap |{{val|7.155|u=°}} to the [[Sun]]'s [[equator]]; |{{val|1.57869|u=°}}<ref name="Allen294">{{cite book| last1 = Allen| first1 = Clabon Walter| last2 = Cox| first2 = Arthur N.| title = Allen's Astrophysical Quantities| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=w8PK2XFLLH8C&pg=PA294| accessdate = 13 March 2011| date = 2000| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-0-387-98746-0| page = 294 }}</ref> to [[invariable plane]]; |{{val|0.00005|u=°}} to J2000 [[ecliptic]]}}|asc_node={{val|-11.26064|u=°}}<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> to J2000 ecliptic|arg_peri={{val|114.20783|u=°}}<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />|satellites={{unbulleted list
| background = #f8f9fa
| 1 natural satellite: the [[Moon]]
| name   = Earth
| 5 [[quasi-satellite]]s
| alt_names  = [[Gaia]], [[wikt:Terra|Terra]], [[Terra (mythology)|Tellus]], the [[world]], the [[globe]]
| >1 800 operational [[artificial satellite]]s<ref name="ucs">{{cite web |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/space-weapons/satellite-database |title=UCS Satellite Database |work=Nuclear Weapons & Global Security |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=10 August 2018 |accessdate=27 September 2018}}</ref>
| adjectives = Earthly, terrestrial, terran, tellurian
| >16 000 [[space debris]]<ref name="space_debris">As of 4 January 2018, the United States Strategic Command tracked a total of 18,835 artificial objects, mostly debris. See: {{cite journal |url=https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv22i1.pdf |title=Satellite Box Score |journal=Orbital Debris Quarterly News |editor1-first=Phillip |editor1-last=Anz-Meador |editor2-first=Debi |editor2-last=Shoots |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=12 |date=February 2018 |accessdate=18 April 2018}}</ref>
| symbol  = [[File:Earth symbol (bold).svg|24px|🜨]]
}}|allsatellites=yes|mean_radius={{convert|6371.0|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="hbcp2000">{{cite book| last = Lide| first = David R.| title = Handbook of Chemistry and Physics| url = https://archive.org/details/crchandbookofche0000unse_u9i8| edition = 81st| date = 2000| publisher = CRC| isbn = 978-0-8493-0481-1| editor = David R. Lide }}</ref>|equatorial_radius={{convert|6378.1|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="usno">{{cite web |title=Selected Astronomical Constants, 2011 |work=The Astronomical Almanac |url=http://asa.usno.navy.mil/SecK/2011/Astronomical_Constants_2011.txt |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826043456/http://asa.usno.navy.mil/SecK/2011/Astronomical_Constants_2011.txt |archivedate=26 August 2013 |accessdate=25 February 2011}}</ref><ref name="WGS-84"/>|polar_radius={{convert|6356.8|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="cazenave_ahrens1995">{{cite book |first1=Anny |last1=Cazenave |editor=Ahrens, Thomas J |date=1995 |title=Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants |journal=Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants |issue=1 |publisher=American Geophysical Union |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-87590-851-9 |chapter-url=http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/5_cazenave.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016024803/http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/5_cazenave.pdf |archivedate=16 October 2006 |accessdate=3 August 2008 |chapter=Geoid, Topography and Distribution of Landforms|series=AGU Reference Shelf |volume=1 |doi=10.1029/RF001 |bibcode=1995geph.conf.....A }}</ref>|flattening={{val|0.0033528}}<ref name="IERS2004">{{cite book| author = International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) Working Group| others = Dennis D. McCarthy, Gérard Petit, IERS Convertions Centre| editor-last = McCarthy| editor-first = Dennis D.| editor2-last = Petit| editor2-first = Gérard| title = IERS Conventions (2003| url = http://www.iers.org/SharedDocs/Publikationen/EN/IERS/Publications/tn/TechnNote32/tn32.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1| format = PDF| accessdate = 29 April 2016| year = 2004| publisher = Verlag des Bundesamts für Kartographie und Geodäsie| location = Frankfurt am Main| isbn = 978-3-89888-884-4| page = 12| chapter = General Definitions and Numerical Standards| chapter-url = http://www.iers.org/SharedDocs/Publikationen/EN/IERS/Publications/tn/TechnNote32/tn32_009.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1| work = IERS Technical Note No. 32 }}</ref><br />1/{{val|298.257222101}} ([[ETRS89]])|circumference={{unbulleted list |class=nowrap
| image  = The Blue Marble (remastered).jpg
| {{convert|40075.017|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>[[equator]]ial (|)</small>}}<ref name="WGS-84">[[World Geodetic System]] (''WGS-84''). [http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/ Available online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311023739/https://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/ |date=2020-03-11 }} from [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]].</ref>
| image_alt  =[[Timeline of first images of Earth from space|Photograph of Earth]], taken by the [[Apollo 17]] mission. The Arabian peninsula, Africa and Madagascar lie in the lower half of the disc, whereas Antarctica is at the top.
| {{convert|40007.86|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>[[meridional]] (|)</small>}}<ref name="WGS-84-2">{{cite web |first1=Sigurd |last1=Humerfelt |date=26 October 2010 |title=How WGS 84 defines Earth |url=http://home.online.no/~sigurdhu/WGS84_Eng.html |accessdate=29 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424104419/http://home.online.no/~sigurdhu/WGS84_Eng.html |archivedate=24 April 2011 }}</ref><ref name="circ">Earth's [[circumference]] is almost exactly 40,000&nbsp;km because the metre was calibrated on this measurement—more specifically, 1/10-millionth of the distance between the poles and the equator.</ref>
| caption = A [[Timeline of first images of Earth from space|photograph of Earth]] taken by the crew of [[Apollo 17]] in 1972. A processed version became widely known as ''[[The Blue Marble]]''.<ref name=Petsko>{{cite journal |title=The blue marble |journal=[[Genome Biology]] |last=Petsko |first=Gregory A. |author-link=Gregory Petsko|volume=12 |issue=4 |page=112 |date=28 April 2011 |doi=10.1186/gb-2011-12-4-112 |pmc=3218853 |pmid=21554751}}</ref><ref name="NASAmarble">{{cite web |url=https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo17/html/as17-148-22727.html |title=Apollo Imagery – AS17-148-22727 |publisher=NASA |date=1 November 2012 |access-date=22 October 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420043021/https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo17/html/as17-148-22727.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}|surface_area={{unbulleted list |class=nowrap
| epoch      = [[J2000.0|J2000]]<ref group="n" name="epoch" />
| {{convert|510072000|km2|sqmi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="Pidwirny 2006_8">{{cite journal |last1=Pidwirny |first1=Michael |date=2 February 2006 |title=Surface area of our planet covered by oceans and continents.(Table 8o-1) |publisher=University of British Columbia, Okanagan |url=http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8o.html |accessdate=26 November 2007}}</ref><ref name="cia">{{cite web |author=Staff |date=24 July 2008 |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html |title=World |work=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |accessdate=5 August 2008 |archive-date=5 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105171656/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="surfacecover">Due to natural fluctuations, ambiguities surrounding [[Ice shelf|ice shelves]], and mapping conventions for [[vertical datum]]s, exact values for land and ocean coverage are not meaningful. Based on data from the [[Vector Map]] and [http://www.landcover.org/ Global Landcover] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326085837/http://www.landcover.org/ |date=2015-03-26 }} datasets, extreme values for coverage of lakes and streams are 0.6% and 1.0% of Earth's surface. The ice shields of [[Antarctica]] and [[Greenland]] are counted as land, even though much of the rock that supports them lies below sea level.</ref>
| aphelion  = {{convert|152,100,000|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref group="n" name="apsis" />
| {{convert|148940000|km2|sqmi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| land <small>(|; 29.2%)</small>}}
| perihelion = {{convert|147,095,000|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref group="n" name="apsis" />
| {{convert|361132000|km2|sqmi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| water <small>(|; 70.8%)</small>}}
| time_periastron = 2022-Jan-04<ref name=horizons-perihelion>{{Cite web|url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons_batch.cgi?batch=1&COMMAND=%27399%27&START_TIME=%272022-01-01%27&STOP_TIME=%272022-01-10%27&STEP_SIZE=%271%20hour%27&QUANTITIES=%2720%27&CENTER=%27@Sun%27|title=HORIZONS Batch call for 2022 perihelion|website=ssd.jpl.nasa.gov|publisher=NASA/JPL|access-date=7 September 2021}}</ref>
}}|volume=260 billion cubic miles <ref name="devansh">{{cite web |url= https://factshungry.com/mind-blowing-facts-about-earth/| title= Earth's facts| date= 10 May 2021| publisher= factshungry}}</ref>|mass={{val|5.97237|e=24|u=kg}} <small>({{val|1.31668|e=25|u=lb}})</small><ref name="Luzum2011">{{cite journal |last1=Luzum |first1=Brian |last2=Capitaine |first2=Nicole |last3=Fienga |first3=Agnès |last4=Folkner |first4=William |last5=Fukushima |first5=Toshio |last6=Hilton |first6=James |last7=Hohenkerk |first7=Catherine |last8=Krasinsky |first8=George |last9=Petit |first9=Gérard |last10=Pitjeva |first10=Elena |last11=Soffel |first11=Michael |last12=Wallace |first12=Patrick |display-authors=5 |title=The IAU 2009 system of astronomical constants: The report of the IAU working group on numerical standards for Fundamental Astronomy |journal=Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy |volume=110 |issue=4 |date=August 2011 |pages=293–304 |bibcode=2011CeMDA.110..293L |doi=10.1007/s10569-011-9352-4|s2cid=122755461 }}</ref> <br /> <small>({{val|3.0|e=-6|ul=solar mass}})</small>|density={{convert|5.514|g/cm3|lb/cuin|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />|surface_grav={{convert|9.807|m/s2|ft/s2|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>([[Gravity of Earth|{{val|1|u=''g''}}]]; |)</small>}}<ref name="NIST2008">{{cite book |url=http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf |title=The international system of units (SI) |publisher=United States Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 330 |edition=2008 |page=52 |access-date=2019-06-13 |archive-date=2016-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603215953/http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>|moment_of_inertia_factor=0.3307<ref name="Williams1994">{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=James G. |title=Contributions to the Earth's obliquity rate, precession, and nutation |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=108 |year=1994 |page=711 |issn=0004-6256 |doi=10.1086/117108 |bibcode=1994AJ....108..711W}}</ref>|escape_velocity={{convert|11.186|km/s|km/h mph|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> <br /> <small>(|)</small>}}|sidereal_day={{longitem|{{val|0.99726968|u=d}}<ref name="Allen296">{{cite book| last1 = Allen| first1 = Clabon Walter| last2 = Cox| first2 = Arthur N.| title = Allen's Astrophysical Quantities| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=w8PK2XFLLH8C&pg=PA296| accessdate = 17 August 2010| date = 2000| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-0-387-98746-0| page = 296 }}</ref> <br /> <small>(23h&nbsp;56m&nbsp;4.100s)</small>}}|rot_velocity={{convert|1674.4|km/h|km/s km/h mph|order=out|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="Cox2000">{{cite book| last1 = Allen| first1 = Clabon Walter| last2 = Cox| first2 = Arthur N.| title = Allen's Astrophysical Quantities| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=w8PK2XFLLH8C&pg=PA244| accessdate = 17 August 2010| edition = 4th| date = 2000| publisher = AIP Press| location = New York| isbn = 978-0-387-98746-0| page = 244| editor = Arthur N. Cox }}</ref> <br /> <small>(|)</small>}}|axial_tilt={{val|23.4392811|u=°}}<ref name="IERS"/>|albedo={{Unbulleted list|class=nowrap |0.367 [[Geometric albedo|geometric]]<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> |0.306 [[Bond albedo|Bond]]<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />}}|atmosphere=yes|temp_name1=[[Kelvin]]|min_temp_1=184&nbsp;K<ref name="asu_lowest_temp">{{cite web |url=http://wmo.asu.edu/world-lowest-temperature |title=World: Lowest Temperature |work=[[WMO]] Weather and Climate Extremes Archive |publisher=[[Arizona State University]] |accessdate=7 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616025722/http://wmo.asu.edu/world-lowest-temperature |archivedate=16 June 2010 }}</ref>|mean_temp_1=288&nbsp;K<ref name="kinver20091210">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8406839.stm |title=Global average temperature may hit record level in 2010 |last1=Kinver |first1=Mark |date=10 December 2009 |publisher=BBC |accessdate=22 April 2010}}</ref>|max_temp_1=330&nbsp;K<ref name="asu_highest_temp">{{cite web |url=http://wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature |title=World: Highest Temperature |work=[[WMO]] Weather and Climate Extremes Archive |publisher=[[Arizona State University]] |accessdate=7 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104143844/http://wmo.asu.edu/world-highest-temperature |archivedate=4 January 2013 |df=dmy}}</ref>|temp_name2=Celsius|min_temp_2=−89.2&nbsp;°C|mean_temp_2=14.9&nbsp;°C|max_temp_2=56.9&nbsp;°C|temp_name3=Fahrenheit|min_temp_3=−128.5&nbsp;°F|mean_temp_3=58.7&nbsp;°F|max_temp_3=134.3&nbsp;°F|surface_pressure={{val|101.325|ul=kPa}} (at [[Sea level|MSL]])|atmosphere_composition={{unbulleted list |class=nowrap
| semimajor  = {{convert|149,598,023|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="VSOP87" />
| 78.08% [[nitrogen]] ({{chem2|N2}}; dry air)<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />
| eccentricity = {{val|0.0167086}}<ref name="VSOP87" />
| 20.95% [[oxygen]] ({{chem2|O2}})
| period      = {{convert|365.256363004|d|yr|comma=gaps|abbr=on|lk=out|disp=x|<ref name="IERS" /><br /><small>(|[[julian year (astronomy)|<sub>j</sub>]])</small>}}
| 0.934% [[argon]]
| avg_speed    = {{convert|29.78|km/s|km/h mph|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /><br /><small>(|)</small>}}
| 0.0408% [[carbon dioxide]]<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web |url=https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/gl_trend.html |title=Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: Recent Global {{chem2|CO2}} Trend |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |website=Earth System Research Laboratory |date=26 July 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726210430/https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/gl_trend.html |archivedate=26 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| mean_anomaly = {{val|358.617|u=°}}
| ~&thinsp;1% [[water vapor]] <small>([[climate]] variable)</small>
| inclination  = {{ublist|class=nowrap |{{val|7.155|u=°}} to the [[Sun]]'s equator; |{{val|1.57869|u=°}}<ref name="Allen294" /> to [[invariable plane]]; |{{val|0.00005|u=°}} to J2000 [[ecliptic]]}}
}}|note=no}}
| asc_node  = {{val|-11.26064|u=°}}<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> to J2000 ecliptic
| arg_peri  = {{val|114.20783|u=°}}<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />
| satellites =
{{unbulleted list
| 1 natural satellite: the [[Moon]]
| 5 [[quasi-satellite]]s
| >4 500 operational [[artificial satellite]]s<ref name="ucs" />
| >18 000 tracked [[space debris]]<ref group="n" name="space_debris" />
}}
| allsatellites = yes
| mean_radius  = {{convert|6371.0|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="hbcp2000" />
| equatorial_radius = {{convert|6378.137|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name=usno /><ref name="WGS-84" />
| polar_radius  = {{convert|6356.752|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="cazenave_ahrens1995" />
| flattening    = 1/{{val|298.257222101}} ([[ETRS89]])<ref name="IERS2004" />
| circumference =
{{unbulleted list |class=nowrap
| {{convert|40075.017|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>[[equator]]ial (|)</small>}}<ref name="WGS-84">[[World Geodetic System]] (''WGS-84''). [http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/ Available online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311023739/https://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/ |date=11 March 2020 }} from [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency]].</ref>
| {{convert|40007.86|km|mi|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>[[Meridian (geography)|meridional]] (|)</small>}}<ref name="WGS-84-2" /><ref group="n" name="circ">Earth's [[circumference]] is almost exactly 40,000&nbsp;km because the meter was calibrated on this measurement—more specifically, 1/10-millionth of the distance between the poles and the equator.</ref>
}}
| surface_area =
{{unbulleted list |class=nowrap
| {{convert|510072000|km2|mi2|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="Pidwirny 2006_8" /><ref group="n" name="surfacecover" />
| {{convert|148940000|km2|mi2|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| land <small>(|)</small>}}
| {{convert|361132000|km2|mi2|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| ocean <small>(|)</small>}}
}}
| volume  = {{val|1.08321|e=12|u=km3}} <small>({{val|2.59876|e=11|u=cu mi}})</small><ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />
| mass    = {{val|5.97237|e=24|u=kg}} <small>({{val|1.31668|e=25|u=lb}})</small><ref name="Luzum2011" /> <br /> <small>({{val|3.0|e=-6|ul=solar mass}})</small>
| density  = {{convert|5.514|g/cm3|lb/cuin|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>(|)</small>}}<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />
| surface_grav = {{convert|9.80665|m/s2|ft/s2|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x| <small>([[Gravity of Earth|{{val|1|u=''g''}}]]; |)</small>}}<ref name="NIST2008" />
| moment_of_inertia_factor = 0.3307<ref name="Williams1994" />
| escape_velocity = {{convert|11.186|km/s|km/h mph|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> <small>(|)</small>}}
| rotation = {{longitem|{{val|1.0|u=d}} <br /> <small>(24h&nbsp;00m&nbsp;00s)</small>}}
| sidereal_day = {{longitem|{{val|0.99726968|u=d}}<ref name="Allen296" /> <br /> <small>(23h&nbsp;56m&nbsp;4.100s)</small>}}
| rot_velocity = {{convert|1674.4|km/h|km/s km/h mph|order=out|comma=gaps|abbr=on|disp=x|<ref name="Cox2000" /> <br /> <small>(|)</small>}}
| axial_tilt  = {{val|23.4392811|u=°}}<ref name="IERS" />
| albedo      = {{ublist|class=nowrap |0.367 [[Geometric albedo|geometric]]<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> |0.306 [[Bond albedo|Bond]]<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />}}
| atmosphere  = yes
| temp_name1  = Celsius
| min_temp_1  = −89.2&nbsp;°C<ref name=asu_lowest_temp />
| mean_temp_1  = 14&nbsp;°C ''(1961–90)''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=P. D. |author-link1=Phil Jones (climatologist)|last2=Harpham |first2=C. |title=Estimation of the absolute surface air temperature of the Earth |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |date=2013 |volume=118 |issue=8 |pages=3213–3217 |doi=10.1002/jgrd.50359 |bibcode=2013JGRD..118.3213J |language=en |issn=2169-8996|doi-access=free }}</ref>
| max_temp_1  = 56.7&nbsp;°C<ref name=asu_highest_temp />
| temp_name2  = Fahrenheit
| min_temp_2  = −128.5&nbsp;°F
| mean_temp_2  = 57&nbsp;°F ''(1961–90)''
| max_temp_2  = 134.0&nbsp;°F
| surface_equivalent_dose_rate = {{convert |2.40 |mSv/yr |μSv/h |disp=out}}<ref name="UNSCEAR2008">{{cite book |author=United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation |title=Sources and effects of ionizing radiation |date=2008 |publication-date=2010 |publisher=United Nations |location=New York |isbn=978-92-1-142274-0 |url=http://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/publications/2008_1.html |access-date=9 November 2012 |at=Table 1}}</ref>
| surface_pressure = {{val|101.325|ul=kPa}} (at [[Sea level|MSL]])
| atmosphere_composition =
{{unbulleted list |class=nowrap
| 78.08% [[nitrogen]] ({{chem2|N2}}; dry air)<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />
| 20.95% [[oxygen]] ({{chem2|O2}})
| ~&thinsp;1% [[water vapor]] <small>([[climate]] variable)</small>
| 0.9340% [[argon]]
| 0.0413% [[carbon dioxide]]<ref name="NOAA">{{cite web |url=https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/gl_trend.html |title=Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide: Recent Global CO<sub>2</sub> Trend |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |website=[[Earth System Research Laboratory]] |date=19 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004010704/https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/gl_trend.html |archive-date=4 October 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| 0.00182% [[neon]]<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />
| 0.00052% [[helium]]
| 0.00019% [[methane]]
| 0.00011% [[krypton]]
| 0.00006% [[hydrogen]]
}}
| note = no
}}
 
'''Earth''' is the third [[planet]] from the [[Sun]] and the only [[astronomical object]] known to harbor [[life]]. While large [[List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System|volumes of water]] can be found throughout the [[Solar System]], only [[Water distribution on Earth|Earth sustains liquid surface water]]. About 71% of Earth's surface is made up of the [[ocean]], dwarfing Earth's polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29% of Earth's surface is [[land]], consisting of continents and islands. Earth's surface layer is formed of several slowly moving [[plate tectonics|tectonic plates]], interacting to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's liquid [[outer core]] generates the magnetic field that shapes Earth's [[magnetosphere]], deflecting destructive [[solar wind]]s.
 
[[Earth's atmosphere]] consists mostly of [[nitrogen]] and [[oxygen]]. More solar energy is received by tropical regions than polar regions and is redistributed by [[Atmospheric circulation|atmospheric]] and [[ocean circulation]]. [[Water vapor]] is widely present in the atmosphere and [[Cloud formation|forms clouds]] that cover most of the planet. [[Greenhouse gases]] in the atmosphere like [[carbon dioxide]] (CO<sub>2</sub>) trap a part of the [[Solar irradiance|energy from the Sun]] close to the surface. A region's climate is governed by latitude, but also by elevation and proximity to moderating oceans. Severe weather, such as tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, and heatwaves, occurs in most areas and greatly impacts life.
 
[[Earth ellipsoid|Earth is an ellipsoid]] with [[Earth's circumference|a circumference]] of about 40,000&nbsp;km. It is the [[List of Solar System objects by size|densest planet in the Solar System]]. Of the four [[rocky planet]]s, it is the largest and most massive. Earth is about eight [[light minute]]s away from the Sun and [[Earth's orbit|orbits it]], taking a year (about 365.25 days) to complete one revolution. [[Earth's rotation|Earth rotates]] around its own axis in just less than a day (in about 23 hours and 56 minutes). [[#Axial tilt and seasons|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 [[claimed moons of Earth|permanent]] [[natural satellite]], the [[Moon]], which orbits Earth at 380,000&nbsp;km (1.3 light seconds) and is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth. The Moon always faces the Earth with the same side through [[tidal locking]] and causes [[tide]]s, stabilizes Earth's axis, and [[Tidal acceleration|gradually slows its rotation]].
 
Earth formed [[Age of Earth|over 4.5 billion years ago]]. During the first [[billion years]] of [[Earth's history]], the ocean formed and then [[Abiogenesis|life developed]] within it. Life spread globally and began to affect Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to Earth's [[Great Oxidation Event]] two billion years ago. [[Humans]] emerged 300,000 years ago, and have reached a population of almost 8 billion today. Humans depend on Earth's [[biosphere]] and natural resources for their survival, but have [[Human impact on the environment|increasingly impacted Earth's environment]]. Today, humanity's impact on Earth's climate, soils, waters, and ecosystems is [[sustainability|unsustainable]], threatening people's lives and [[Holocene extinction|causing widespread extinction of other life]].
 
== Etymology ==
The [[modern English]] word {{anchor|Name|Etymology}} ''Earth'' developed, via [[Middle English]], from an [[Old English]] noun most often spelled ''{{linktext|eorðe}}''.<ref name=oedearth>{{cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|edition=3|chapter=earth, ''n.¹''|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|place=[[Oxford, England]]|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-957112-3|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199571123.001.0001}}</ref> It has cognates in every [[Germanic languages|Germanic language]], and their [[proto-Germanic|ancestral root]] has been reconstructed as [[wikt:Appendix:Proto-Germanic/erþō|*''erþō'']]. In its earliest attestation, the word ''eorðe'' was already being used to translate the many senses of [[Latin language|Latin]] ''{{linktext|terra}}'' and [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] {{linktext|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 (goddess)|Terra]]/Tellūs and Greek [[Gaia (goddess)|Gaia]], Earth may have been a [[earth goddess|personified goddess]] in [[Germanic religion (aboriginal)|Germanic paganism]]: late [[Norse mythology]] included [[Jörð]] ('Earth'), a giantess often given as the mother of [[Thor]].<ref name="SIMEK179">[[Rudolf Simek|Simek, Rudolf]]. Trans. Angela Hall as ''Dictionary of Northern Mythology'', {{nowrap|p. 179.}} [[Boydell & Brewer|D.S. Brewer]], 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-85991-513-7}}.</ref>
 
Historically, ''earth'' has been written in lowercase. From [[early Middle English]], its [[Definite article|definite sense]] as "the globe" was expressed as ''the'' earth. By [[Early Modern English]], many nouns were capitalized, 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 [[Solar System|other planets]], though ''earth'' and forms with ''the'' remain common.<ref name=oedearth /> [[Style guide|House styles]] now vary: [[Oxford spelling]] recognizes the lowercase form as the most common, with the capitalized form an acceptable variant. Another convention capitalizes "Earth" when appearing as a name (for example, "Earth's atmosphere") but writes it in lowercase when preceded by ''the'' (for example, "the atmosphere of the earth"). It almost always appears in lowercase in colloquial expressions such as "what on earth are you doing?"<ref name="oxford">''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'', {{nowrap|1st ed.}} "earth". Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-19-861263-6}}.</ref>


Occasionally, the name ''Terra'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛr|ə}} is used in scientific writing and especially in science fiction to distinguish humanity's inhabited planet from others,<ref>{{OED|Terra}}</ref> while in poetry ''Tellus'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛ|l|ə|s}} has been used to denote personification of the Earth.<ref>{{OED|Tellus}}</ref> ''Terra'' is also the name of the planet in some [[Romance languages]] (languages that evolved from [[Latin language|Latin]]) like [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], while in other Romance languages the word gave rise to names with slightly altered spellings (like the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''Tierra'' and the [[French language|French]] ''Terre''). The Latinate form ''Gæa'' or ''Gaea'' ({{IPAc-en|lang|'|dʒ|iː|ə}}) of the Greek poetic name ''[[Gaia]]'' ({{lang|grc|Γαῖα}}; {{IPA-el|ɡâi̯.a|anc}} or {{IPA-el|ɡâj.ja|}}) is rare, though the alternative spelling ''Gaia'' has become common due to the [[Gaia hypothesis]], in which case its pronunciation is {{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|aɪ|ə}} rather than the more classical English {{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|eɪ|ə}}.<ref>{{OED|Gaia}}</ref>
'''Earth'''<!-- is the [[planet]] we live on. It--> is the third [[planet]] from the [[Sun]] in the [[Solar System]]. It is the only planet known to have [[life]] on it. The Earth [[Age of the Earth|formed about 4.5 billion years ago]].<ref name="age earth">{{cite journal|url=http://sp.lyellcollection.org/cgi/content/abstract/190/1/205|title=The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved|year=2001 |accessdate=2009-07-28|journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications|doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.190.01.14 |last1=Dalrymple |first1=G. Brent |volume=190 |pages=205–221 |bibcode=2001GSLSP.190..205D |s2cid=130092094 }}</ref><ref>Dalrymple G. Brent 2004. ''Ancient Earth, ancient skies: the age of Earth and its cosmic surroundings''. Stanford. p26, table 3.1</ref> It is one of four [[terrestrial planet|rocky planets]] on the inner side of the [[Solar System]]. The other three are [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], [[Venus]], and [[Mars (planet)|Mars]].


There are a number of adjectives for the planet Earth. From ''Earth'' itself comes ''earthly''. From the Latin ''Terra'' comes ''terran'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɛr|ə|n}},<ref>{{OED|Terran}}</ref> terrestrial {{IPAc-en|t|ə|ˈ|r|ɛ|s|t|r|i|ə|l}},<ref>{{OED|terrestrial}}</ref> and (via French) ''terrene'' {{IPAc-en|t|ə|ˈ|r|iː|n}},<ref>{{OED|terrene}}</ref> and from the Latin ''Tellus'' comes ''tellurian'' {{IPAc-en|t|ɛ|ˈ|l|ʊər|i|ə|n}}<ref>{{OED|tellurian}}</ref> and ''telluric''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/telluric|title=Telluric|work=Lexico|publisher=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|access-date=7 November 2020}}</ref>
The large [[mass]] of the Sun keeps the Earth in [[orbit]] through the force of [[gravity]].<ref>See [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System]] for an account</ref> Earth also turns around in space, so that different parts face the Sun at different times. Earth goes around the Sun once (one [[year]]) for every 365{{Frac|4}} times it turns around (one [[day]]).


== Chronology ==
Earth is the only [[planet]] in the Solar System that has a large amount of [[liquid]] [[water]] on its surface.<ref>name="Gomes">{{cite journal | url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7041/pdf/nature03676.pdf | title=Origin of the cataclysmic Late Heavy Bombardment period of the terrestrial planets | author=R. Gomes H.F. |display-authors = etal | journal=Nature | year=2005 | volume=435 | pages=466–469 | doi=10.1038/nature03676| pmid=15917802 | issue=7041| bibcode=2005Natur.435..466G | s2cid=4398337 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author= A. Morbidelli J. |display-authors = etal | title= Source regions and timescales for the delivery of water to the Earth | journal= Meteoritics & Planetary Science | volume=35 | pages=1309–1320 | issn= 1086-9379 | year=2000|issue = 6 |doi=10.1111/j.1945-5100.2000.tb01518.x |bibcode = 2000M&PS...35.1309M |s2cid = 129817341 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Rover reveals Mars was once wet enough for life|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4202901/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040210011241/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4202901/|archive-date=February 10, 2004|accessdate=28 July 2009|website=|publisher=[[Microsoft]]}}</ref> About 74% of the surface of Earth is covered by liquid or frozen water. Because of this, people sometimes call it the blue planet.{{refn|''Blue Planet'' is a poetic title for the Earth used in [[movie]]s, in [[magazine|cheap paper book]]s, in [[poetry]], and in government reports (such as the [[European Space Agency]]'s [http://www.esa.int/esapub/bulletin/bulletin137/bul137b_drinkwater.pdf Exploring the water cycle of the Blue Planet])}}
{{Main|History of Earth}}


=== Formation ===
Because of its water, Earth is home to millions of [[species]] of [[plant]]s and [[animal]]s which need water to survive.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988Sci...241.1441M|title= How many species are there on Earth.|publisher=Harvard University|bibcode= 1988Sci...241.1441M|accessdate=2009-07-28|last1= May|first1= Robert M.|journal= Science|year= 1988|volume= 241|issue= 4872|pages= 1441–1449|doi= 10.1126/science.241.4872.1441|pmid= 17790039|s2cid= 34992724}}</ref><ref name="purves_et_al2001">{{cite book| last = Purves| first = William Kirkwood| title = Life, the science of biology| year = 2001| publisher = Macmillan| isbn = 978-0-7167-3873-2| page = 455 }}</ref> The things that live on Earth have changed its surface greatly. For example, early [[cyanobacteria]] changed the [[Atmosphere of Earth#History of Earth's atmosphere|air]] and gave it [[oxygen]]. The living part of Earth's surface is called the "[[biosphere]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/searchforlife/life_origins_001205.html|title=Origins of life on Earth|accessdate=2009-07-28|publisher=Space.com|archive-date=2009-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728104629/http://www.space.com/searchforlife/life_origins_001205.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:TW Hydrae protoplanetary disc horizontal.jpg|left|thumb|[[Planetary disk]] of a star, the inner ring has a radius equal to Earth and the Sun]]
The oldest material found in the Solar System is dated to {{val|4.5682|0.0002|0.0004}} [[Gigaannum|Ga]] (billion years) ago.<ref name=bouvier_wadhwa2010 /> By {{val|4.54|0.04|u=Ga}} the primordial Earth had formed.<ref name="age_earth1" /> The bodies in [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System|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 [[Cosmic dust|dust]] (including [[primordial nuclide]]s). According to [[nebular theory]], [[planetesimal]]s formed by [[accretion (astrophysics)|accretion]], with the primordial Earth being estimated as likely taking anywhere from 70 to 100 million years to form.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20180002991|title=Ag Isotopic Evolution of the Mantle During Accretion: New Constraints from Pd and Ag Metal-Silicate Partitioning|journal=Differentiation: Building the Internal Architecture of Planets|last1=Righter|first1=K.|first2=M.|last2=Schonbachler|date=7 May 2018|volume=2084|page=4034|bibcode=2018LPICo2084.4034R|access-date=25 October 2020}}</ref>


Estimates of the age of the Moon range from 4.5 Ga to significantly younger.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tartèse|first1=Romain|last2=Anand|first2=Mahesh|last3=Gattacceca|first3=Jérôme|last4=Joy|first4=Katherine H.|author-link4=Katherine Joy|last5=Mortimer|first5=James I.|last6=Pernet-Fisher|first6=John F.|last7=Russell|first7=Sara|last8=Snape|first8=Joshua F.|last9=Weiss|first9=Benjamin P.|date=2019|title=Constraining the Evolutionary History of the Moon and the Inner Solar System: A Case for New Returned Lunar Samples|journal=Space Science Reviews|language=en|volume=215|issue=8|page=54|doi=10.1007/s11214-019-0622-x|bibcode=2019SSRv..215...54T|issn=1572-9672|doi-access=free}}</ref> A [[giant impact hypothesis|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 (planet)|Theia]], collided with Earth.<ref name=reilly20091022 /> It hit Earth with a glancing blow and some of its mass merged with Earth.<ref name=canup_asphaug2001b /><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1410/1410.3819.pdf|title=On the origin and composition of Theia: Constraints from new models of the Giant Impact|journal=Icarus|last1=Meier|first1=M. M. M.|last2=Reufer|first2=A.|last3=Wieler|first3=R.|date=4 August 2014|volume=242|access-date=25 October 2020|page=5|doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2014.08.003|arxiv=1410.3819|bibcode=2014Icar..242..316M|s2cid=119226112}}</ref> Between approximately 4.1 and {{val|3.8|u=Ga}}, numerous [[Impact event|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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Astrobiology|first1=Philippe|last1= Claeys|first2=Alessandro|last2=Morbidelli|author-link2=Alessandro Morbidelli (astronomer)|editor-first1=Muriel|editor-last1= Gargaud|editor-first2=Prof Ricardo|editor-last2=Amils|editor-first3= José Cernicharo|editor-last3= Quintanilla|editor-first4= Henderson James (Jim) |editor-last4= Cleaves II|editor-first5=William M.|editor-last5=Irvine|editor-first6= Prof Daniele L.|editor-last6= Pinti|editor-first7= Michel|editor-last7= Viso|year= 2011|publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|pages=909–12|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_869|chapter=Late Heavy Bombardment|isbn= 978-3-642-11271-3}}</ref>
==Orbit and turning==
[[File:AxialTiltObliquity.png|thumb|350px|Earth turns at an angle (an "[[axial tilt]]") in relation to its path around the Sun]]


=== Geological history ===
Earth is one of the eight [[planet]]s in the Solar System. There are also thousands of small bodies which move around the Sun. The Solar System is moving through the [[Orion Arm]] of the [[Milky Way]] [[galaxy]], and will be for about the next 10,000 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/030827a.html|title=Earth's location in the Milky Way|accessdate=2009-08-06|publisher=NASA}}</ref><ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2016/04/01/how-fast-does-earth-move-through-the-universe/#42d2c37e4d5c Forbes: How fast does the Earth move through the universe?]</ref>
{{Main|Geological history of Earth}}
[[File:Archean.png|left|thumb|300x300px|Artist's impression of earth during the [[Archean]] eon, showing falling [[meteor]], erupting [[volcano]], round [[stromatolite]]s, and barren landscape]]
[[Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]] and [[ocean]]s were formed by [[volcanic activity]] and [[outgassing]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/timeline/gallery/slide_17.html |title=Earth's Early Atmosphere and Oceans |work=[[Lunar and Planetary Institute]] |publisher=[[Universities Space Research Association]] |access-date=27 June 2019}}</ref> Water vapor from these sources [[Origin of water on Earth|condensed]] into the oceans, augmented by water and ice from asteroids, [[protoplanet]]s, and [[comet]]s.<ref name="watersource" /> Sufficient water to fill the oceans may have been on Earth since it formed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Piani|first1=Laurette|last2=Marrocchi|first2=Yves|last3=Rigaudier|first3=Thomas|last4=Vacher|first4=Lionel G.|last5=Thomassin|first5=Dorian|last6=Marty|first6=Bernard|date=2020|title=Earth's water may have been inherited from material similar to enstatite chondrite meteorites|url=https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba1948|journal=Science|language=en|volume=369|issue=6507|pages=1110–13|doi=10.1126/science.aba1948|issn=0036-8075|pmid=32855337|bibcode=2020Sci...369.1110P|s2cid=221342529}}</ref> In this model, atmospheric [[greenhouse gas]]es kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun [[Faint young Sun paradox|had only 70%]] of its [[solar luminosity|current luminosity]].<ref name=asp2002 /> By {{val|3.5|u=Ga}}, [[Earth's magnetic field]] was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the [[solar wind]].<ref name=physorg20100304 />


As the molten outer layer of Earth cooled it [[Phase transition|formed]] the first solid [[Earth's crust|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. The presence of grains of the [[Hadean zircon|mineral zircon of Hadean age]] in [[Eoarchean]] [[sedimentary rock]]s suggests that at least some felsic crust existed as early as {{val|4.4|u=Ga}}, only {{val|140|u=[[Megaannum|Ma]]}} after Earth's formation.<ref name="science310_5756_1947" /> There are two main models of how this initial small volume of continental crust evolved to reach its current abundance:<ref name="williams_santosh2004" /> (1) a relatively steady growth up to the present day,<ref name="science164_1229" /> 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,<ref name="ajes38_613" /><ref name="tp322_19" /> which is supported by isotopic evidence from [[hafnium]] in [[zircon]]s and [[neodymium]] in sedimentary rocks. The two models and the data that support them can be reconciled by large-scale [[crustal recycling|recycling of the continental crust]], particularly during the early stages of Earth's history.<ref name="Dhuime_etal_2018" />
Earth is about {{convert|150,000,000|km|mi|abbr=off|disp=or}} away from the Sun (this distance is called an "[[Astronomical Unit]]"). It moves on its [[orbit]] at an [[average]] speed of about {{convert|30|km/s|mi/s|abbr=on|lk=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html|title=NASA- an Earth fact sheet|accessdate=2009-08-06|publisher=NASA}}</ref> Earth turns all the way around about 365{{Frac|4}} times in the time it takes for Earth to go all the way around the Sun.<ref name="IERS">{{cite web | author=Staff | date=2007-08-07 | url=http://hpiers.obspm.fr/eop-pc/models/constants.html | title=Useful Constants | publisher=International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service| accessdate=2008-09-23 }}</ref> To make up this extra bit of a day every year, an [[leap day|additional day]] is used every four years. This is named a "[[leap year]]".


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 [[Geologic time scale|the period]] of hundreds of millions of years, tectonic forces have caused areas of continental crust to group together to form [[supercontinent]]s that have subsequently broken apart. At approximately {{val|750|u=Ma}}, one of the earliest known supercontinents, [[Rodinia]], began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form [[Pannotia]] at {{val|600||540|u=Ma}}, then finally [[Pangaea]], which also began to break apart at {{val|180|u=Ma}}.<ref name="bradley_2011" />
The [[Moon]] goes around Earth at an [[average]] distance of {{convert|250,000|mi|km|abbr=off|order=flip|disp=or}}. It is locked to Earth, so that it always has the same half facing Earth; the other half is called the "dark side of the moon". It takes about 27{{Frac|3}} days for the Moon to go all the way around Earth, but because Earth is moving around the Sun at the same time, it takes about 29{{Frac|2}} days for the Moon to go from dark to bright to dark again. This is where the word "[[month]]" came from, even though most months now have 30 or 31 days.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Espenak|first=Fred|title=Eclipses and the Moon's Orbit|url=https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/moonorbit.html|access-date=2022-08-10|website=|publisher=[[NASA]]}}</ref>


The most recent pattern of [[ice age]]s began about {{val|40|u=Ma}},<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/earth/ask-a-scientist-about-our-environment/how-did-the-ice-age-end |title=When and how did the ice age end? Could another one start? |first=Ro |last=Kinzler |access-date=27 June 2019 |work=[[American Museum of Natural History]]}}</ref> and then intensified during the [[Pleistocene]] about {{val|3|u=Ma}}.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Causes of ice age intensification across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition |journal=[[Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]] |date=12 December 2007 |volume=114 |issue=50 |pages=13114–19 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1702143114 |pmc=5740680 |pmid=29180424 |first1=Thomas B. |last1=Chalk |first2=Mathis P. |last2=Hain |first3=Gavin L. |last3=Foster |first4=Eelco J. |last4=Rohling |first5=Philip F. |last5=Sexton |first6=Marcus P. S. |last6=Badger |first7=Soraya G. |last7=Cherry |first8=Adam P. |last8=Hasenfratz |first9=Gerald H. |last9=Haug |first10=Samuel L. |last10=Jaccard |first11=Alfredo |last11=Martínez-García |first12=Heiko |last12=Pälike |first13=Richard D. |last13=Pancost |first14=Paul A. |last14=Wilson |url=https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/114/50/13114.full.pdf |access-date=28 June 2019|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[High latitude|High-]] and [[middle latitude|middle-latitude]] regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating about every 21,000, 41,000 and 100,000 years.<ref name=psc /> The [[Last Glacial Period]], colloquially called the "last ice age", covered large parts of the continents, up to the middle latitudes, in ice and ended about 11,700 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277379110003197|title=The potential of New Zealand kauri (Agathis australis) for testing the synchronicity of abrupt climate change during the Last Glacial Interval (60,000–11,700 years ago)|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|publisher=Elsevier|last1=Turner|first1=Chris S.M.|display-authors=et al|year=2010|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.08.017|volume=29|issue=27–28|pages=3677–3682|bibcode=2010QSRv...29.3677T|access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref>
== History of Earth ==
{{Other pages|Historical geology|Age of the Earth|Giant impact hypothesis|Great Oxygenation Event}}


=== Origin of life and evolution ===
[[Age of the Earth|Earth]] and the other [[planet]]s formed about 4.6 billion years ago.<ref>{{cite journal| last=Dalrymple | first=G. Brent| title=The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved | journal=Special Publications, Geological Society of London| year=2001 | volume=190| issue=1 | pages=205–221| doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.190.01.14 |bibcode = 2001GSLSP.190..205D | s2cid=130092094}}
{{Main|Origin of life|Evolutionary history of life}}{{Life timeline}}
</ref> Their origin was quite different from that of the [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System|Sun]]. The Sun was formed almost entirely of [[hydrogen]], while the planets were formed mostly from higher elements. The smaller "rocky" planets are made almost entirely of higher elements. The Sun must have moved through areas where [[Supernova|supernovae]] had previously exploded.<ref>Sun's motion and in general the motion of stars in the [[Milky Way]] is known from [[Gaia (spacecraft)|Gaia]] data release #2.</ref> All the planets have higher elements which are only made in supernovae.<ref>Burbidge, E.M; Burbidge G.R.; Fowler W.A.; Hoyle F. 1957. Synthesis of the elements in stars. Reviews of Modern Physics. '''29''' (4): 547–650.[https://journals.aps.org/rmp/abstract/10.1103/RevModPhys.29.547]</ref><ref>Clayton D. 2003. ''Handbook of isotopes in the cosmos''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82381-4</ref><ref> Kasen D; Metzger B; Barnes J; Quataert E; Ramirez-Ruiz, E. 2017. Origin of the heavy elements in binary neutron-star mergers from a gravitational-wave event. ''Nature''. '''551''' (7678): 80–84.</ref> Only the so-called "[[gas giants]]" have much hydrogen and [[helium]].
[[Chemical reaction]]s led to the first self-replicating molecules about four billion years ago. A half billion years later, the [[last universal common ancestor|last common ancestor of all current life]] arose.<ref name="sa282_6_90" /> The evolution of [[photosynthesis]] allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms. The resultant [[molecular oxygen]] ({{chem2|O2}}) accumulated in the atmosphere and due to interaction with ultraviolet solar radiation, formed a protective [[ozone layer]] ({{chem2|O3}}) in the upper atmosphere.<ref name="NYT-20131003">{{cite news |last=Zimmer |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Zimmer |title=Earth's Oxygen: A Mystery Easy to Take for Granted |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/science/earths-oxygen-a-mystery-easy-to-take-for-granted.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003121909/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/science/earths-oxygen-a-mystery-easy-to-take-for-granted.html |archive-date=3 October 2013 |url-access=limited |date=3 October 2013 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=3 October 2013}}</ref> The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the [[endosymbiotic theory|development of complex cells]] called [[eukaryote]]s.<ref name="jas22_3_225" /> True multicellular organisms formed as cells within [[Colony (biology)|colonies]] became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful [[ultraviolet radiation]] by the ozone layer, life colonized Earth's surface.<ref name="burton20021129" /> Among the earliest [[fossil]] evidence for [[life]] is [[microbial mat]] fossils found in 3.48&nbsp;billion-year-old [[sandstone]] in [[Western Australia]],<ref name="AST-20131108">{{cite journal |last1=Noffke |first1=Nora |last2=Christian |first2=Daniel |last3=Wacey |first3=David |last4=Hazen |first4=Robert M. |title=Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures Recording an Ancient Ecosystem in the ca. 3.48 Billion-Year-Old Dresser Formation, Pilbara, Western Australia |date=8 November 2013 |journal=[[Astrobiology (journal)|Astrobiology]] |doi=10.1089/ast.2013.1030 |bibcode=2013AsBio..13.1103N |pmid=24205812 |pmc=3870916 |volume=13 |issue=12 |pages=1103–24}}</ref> [[Biogenic substance|biogenic]] [[graphite]] found in 3.7&nbsp;billion-year-old [[metasediment]]ary rocks in [[Western Greenland]],<ref name="NG-20131208">{{cite journal |last1=Ohtomo |first1=Yoko |last2=Kakegawa |first2=Takeshi |last3=Ishida |first3=Akizumi |last4=Nagase |first4=Toshiro |last5=Rosing |first5=Minik T. |s2cid=54767854 |display-authors=3 |date=January 2014 |title=Evidence for biogenic graphite in early Archaean Isua metasedimentary rocks |journal=[[Nature Geoscience]] |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=25–28 |bibcode=2014NatGe...7...25O |doi=10.1038/ngeo2025 |issn=1752-0894}}</ref> and remains of [[biotic material]] found in 4.1&nbsp;billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia.<ref name="AP-20151019">{{cite news |last=Borenstein |first=Seth |title=Hints of life on what was thought to be desolate early Earth |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20151019/us-sci--earliest_life-a400435d0d.html |date=19 October 2015 |work=[[Excite (web portal)|Excite]] |location=Yonkers, NY |publisher=[[Mindspark Interactive Network]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=20 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818063111/https://apnews.excite.com/article/20151019/us-sci--earliest_life-a400435d0d.html |archive-date=18 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="PNAS-20151014-pdf">{{cite journal |last1=Bell |first1=Elizabeth A. |last2=Boehnike |first2=Patrick |last3=Harrison |first3=T. Mark |author-link3=T. Mark Harrison |last4=Mao |first4=Wendy L. |display-authors=3 |date=19 October 2015 |title=Potentially biogenic carbon preserved in a 4.1&nbsp;billion-year-old zircon |url=http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/10/14/1517557112.full.pdf |journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. |doi=10.1073/pnas.1517557112 |issn=1091-6490 |access-date=20 October 2015 |pmid=26483481 |pmc=4664351 |volume=112 |issue=47 |pages=14518–21 |bibcode=2015PNAS..11214518B |doi-access=free |archive-date=6 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106021508/http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/10/14/1517557112.full.pdf |url-status=dead }} Early edition, published online before print.</ref> The [[Earliest known life forms|earliest direct evidence of life]] on Earth is contained in 3.45 billion-year-old [[Australia]]n rocks showing fossils of [[microorganism]]s.<ref name="WU-20171218">{{cite web |last=Tyrell |first=Kelly April |title=Oldest fossils ever found show life on Earth began before 3.5 billion years ago |url=https://news.wisc.edu/oldest-fossils-ever-found-show-life-on-earth-began-before-3-5-billion-years-ago/ |date=18 December 2017 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] |access-date=18 December 2017}}</ref><ref name="PNAS-2017">{{cite journal |last1=Schopf |first1=J. William |last2=Kitajima |first2=Kouki |last3=Spicuzza |first3=Michael J. |last4=Kudryavtsev |first4=Anatolly B. |last5=Valley |first5=John W. |title=SIMS analyses of the oldest known assemblage of microfossils document their taxon-correlated carbon isotope compositions |year=2017 |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS]] |volume=115 |issue=1 |pages=53–58 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1718063115 |pmid=29255053 |pmc=5776830 |bibcode=2018PNAS..115...53S|doi-access=free }}</ref>


During the [[Neoproterozoic]], {{val|1000|to|539|u=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.<ref>{{cite book|page=42|title=Climate Change and the Course of Global History|last1=Brooke|first1=John L.|year= 2014|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-87164-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|page=56|title=Epigenetic Mechanisms of the Cambrian Explosion|last1=Cabej|first1=Nelson R.|year=2019|publisher=Elsevier Science|isbn=978-0-12-814312-4}}</ref> Following the Cambrian explosion, {{val|535|u=Ma}}, there have been at least five major [[Extinction event|mass extinctions]] and many minor ones.<ref name="sci215_4539_1501" /><ref name=Stanley_2016 /> Apart from the proposed current [[Holocene extinction]] event, the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event|most recent]] was {{val|66|u=Ma}}, when [[Chicxulub impactor|an asteroid impact]] triggered the extinction of the non-avian [[dinosaur]]s and other large reptiles, but largely spared small animals such as [[insect]]s, [[mammal]]s, [[lizard]]s and [[bird]]s. Mammalian life has diversified over the past {{val|66|u=Mys}}, and several million years ago an African ape gained the ability to stand upright.<ref name="gould1994" /> This facilitated tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which led to the [[Human evolution|evolution of humans]]. The [[History of agriculture|development of agriculture]], and then [[List of ancient civilizations|civilization]], led to humans having an [[Human impact on the environment|influence on Earth]] and the nature and quantity of other life forms that continues to this day.<ref name="bgsa119_1_140" />
The Moon may have been formed after a collision between the early Earth and a smaller planet (sometimes called ''[[Theia]]''). Scientists believe that parts of both planets broke off {{ndash}} becoming (by [[gravity]]) the Moon.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v412/n6848/abs/412708a0.html|title=Origin of the Moon in a giant impact near the end of the Earth's formation|year=2001|accessdate=2009-07-28|publisher=Nature.com|doi=10.1038/35089010|last1=Canup|first1=Robin M.|last2=Asphaug|first2=Erik|journal=Nature|volume=412|issue=6848|pages=708–712|pmid=11507633|bibcode=2001Natur.412..708C|s2cid=4413525}}</ref>


=== Future ===
Earth's water came from different places. [[Condensation|Condensing]] [[water vapour]], and [[comet]]s and [[asteroid]]s hitting Earth, made the [[ocean]]s. Within a billion years (that is at about 3.6 billion years ago) the first [[life]] [[evolution|evolved]], in the [[Archaean]] [[era]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=258|title=Earth life appeared on land 1.5 billion years earlier than previously thought|accessdate=2009-07-03|publisher=SpaceRef.com}}</ref><ref>Ghosh, Pallab 2017. Earliest evidence of life on Earth 'found'. BBC News Science & Environment. [2]</ref> Some [[bacteria]] developed [[photosynthesis]], which let them make [[food]] from the Sun's [[light]] and [[water]]. This released a lot of [[oxygen]], which was first taken up by [[iron]] in [[solution]]. Eventually, free oxygen got into the [[atmosphere]] or air, making Earth's surface [[wikt:suitable|suitable]] for [[aerobic]] life (see [[Great Oxygenation Event]]). This oxygen also formed the [[ozone]] [[wikt:layer|layer]] which protects life from [[ultraviolet]] [[radiation]] from the Sun. Complex life on the surface of the land did not exist before the ozone layer.
{{Main|Future of Earth}}
{{See also|Global catastrophic risk}}Because [[carbon dioxide]] ({{CO2}}) has a long lifespan in the atmosphere, moderate human {{CO2}} emissions may postpone the next glacial inception by 100,000 years.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ganopolski|first1=A.|last2=Winkelmann|first2=R.|last3=Schellnhuber|first3=H. J.|date=2016|title=Critical insolation – CO<sub>2</sub> relation for diagnosing past and future glacial inception|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/nature16494|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=529|issue=7585|pages=200–03|doi=10.1038/nature16494|pmid=26762457|bibcode=2016Natur.529..200G|s2cid=4466220|issn=1476-4687}}</ref>


Earth's expected long-term future is tied to that of the Sun. Over the next {{val|1.1|u=billion years}}, solar luminosity will increase by 10%, and over the next {{val|3.5|u=billion years}} by 40%.<ref name="sun_future" /> Earth's increasing surface temperature will accelerate the [[carbonate–silicate cycle|inorganic carbon cycle]], reducing {{chem2|CO2}} concentration to levels lethally low for plants ({{val|10|ul=ppm}} for [[C4 carbon fixation|C4 photosynthesis]]) in approximately {{val|100|–|900|u=million years}}.<ref name="britt2000" /><ref name=pnas1_24_9576 /> The lack of vegetation will result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, making animal life impossible.<ref name=ward_brownlee2002 /> Due to the increased luminosity, Earth's mean temperature may reach {{convert|100|C|F|0|abbr=}} 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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Mello|first1=Fernando de Sousa|last2=Friaça|first2=Amâncio César Santos|date=2020|title=The end of life on Earth is not the end of the world: converging to an estimate of life span of the biosphere?|journal=International Journal of Astrobiology|language=en|volume=19|issue=1|pages=25–42|doi=10.1017/S1473550419000120|bibcode=2020IJAsB..19...25D|issn=1473-5504|doi-access=free}}</ref> Even if the Sun were stable, a fraction of the water in the modern oceans will descend to the [[Mantle (geology)|mantle]], due to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=hess5_4_569 />
Earth's land and [[climate]] has been very different in the past. About 3 to 3.5 billion years ago almost all land was in one place. This is called a [[continent|supercontinent]]. The earliest known supercontinent was called [[Vaalbara]]. Much later, there was a time (the [[Cryogenian]]) when Earth was almost entirely covered by thick ice sheets ([[glacier]]s).<ref name="snearth">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=August 8, 1999|title=The Snowball Earth|url=http://www.eps.harvard.edu/people/faculty/hoffman/snowball_paper.html|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910075356/http://www.eps.harvard.edu/people/faculty/hoffman/snowball_paper.html|archivedate=2009-09-10|accessdate=2009-07-28|work=Paul F. Hoffman and Daniel P. Schrag|publisher=Harvard University}}</ref> This is discussed as the [[Snowball Earth]] [[theory]].<ref name=snearth />


The Sun will [[stellar evolution|evolve]] to become a [[red giant]] in about {{val|5|u=billion years}}. Models predict that the Sun will expand to roughly {{convert|1|AU|e6km e6mi|lk=in|abbr=unit}}, about 250 times its present radius.<ref name="sun_future" /><ref name="sun_future_schroder" /> 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 {{convert|1.7|AU|e6km e6mi|lk=off|abbr=unit}} from the Sun when the star reaches its maximum radius, otherwise, with tidal effects, it may enter the Sun's atmosphere and be vaporized.<ref name="sun_future" />
== What it is made of ==
[[File:Terrestrial planet size comparisons.jpg|thumb|right|Size of Earth compared with the other [[terrestrial planet|rocky planets]] in the [[Solar System]]: [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], [[Venus]], and [[Mars]]]]


== Physical characteristics<!--linked from 'Earth physical characteristics tables'--> ==
Earth is [[Rock (geology)|rocky]]. It is the largest of the rocky planets moving around the Sun by mass and by size. It is much smaller than the [[gas giant]]s such as [[Jupiter]].


=== Size and shape ===
=== Chemical make-up ===
{{Main|Figure of the Earth}}
Overall, Earth is made of [[iron]] (32.1[[percent|%]]), [[oxygen]] (30.1[[percent|%]]), [[silicon]] (15.1[[percent|%]]), [[magnesium]] (13.9[[percent|%]]), [[sulfur]] (2.9[[percent|%]]), [[nickel]] (1.8[[percent|%]]), [[calcium]] (1.5[[percent|%]]), and [[aluminium]] (1.4[[percent|%]]). The 1.2[[percent|%]] left over is made of many different kinds of other chemicals. Some rare metals (not just [[gold]] and [[platinum]]) are very valuable. [[Rare earth element|Rare Earth]] metals are used in all types of  electronic phones and computers.
{{further|Earth radius|Earth's circumference|Earth curvature}}
{{See also|List of highest mountains on Earth}}
[[File:Earth2014shape SouthAmerica small.jpg|thumb|Earth [[topological map]], the area is redder if it is raised higher in real-life|left]]
The shape of Earth is nearly spherical. There is a small flattening at the poles and [[equatorial bulge|bulging]] around the [[equator]] due to [[Earth's rotation]].<ref name="milbert_smith96" /> Therefore, a better approximation of Earth's shape is an [[oblate spheroid]], whose equatorial diameter is {{convert|43|km|mi|sp=us}} larger than the [[Geographical pole|pole]]-to-pole diameter.<ref name="ngdc2006" />


The average diameter of the reference spheroid is {{convert|12742|km|mi|sp=us}}. Local [[topography]] deviates from this idealized spheroid, although on a global scale these deviations are small compared to Earth's radius: the maximum deviation of only 0.17% is at the [[Mariana Trench]] ({{convert|10925|m|ft|disp=or|abbr=|sp=us}} below local sea level),<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Stewart|first1=Heather A.|last2=Jamieson|first2=Alan J.|date=2019|title=The five deeps: The location and depth of the deepest place in each of the world's oceans|journal=Earth-Science Reviews|language=en|volume=197|pages=102896|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102896|bibcode=2019ESRv..19702896S|issn=0012-8252|doi-access=free}}</ref> whereas [[Mount Everest]] ({{convert|8848|m|ft|disp=or|sp=us}} above local sea level) represents a deviation of 0.14%.{{refn|group=n| If Earth were shrunk to the size of a [[billiard ball]], some areas of Earth such as large mountain ranges and oceanic trenches would feel like tiny imperfections, whereas much of the planet, including the [[Great Plains]] and the [[abyssal plain]]s, would feel smoother.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2013/june13.pdf |title=Is a Pool Ball Smoother than the Earth? |publisher=Billiards Digest |date=1 June 2013 |access-date=26 November 2014}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://serc.carleton.edu/quantskills/activities/botec_himalayas.html|title=Back-of-the-Envelope Calculations: Scale of the Himalayas|work=[[Carleton University]]|last1=Tewksbury|first1=Barbara|access-date=19 October 2020}}</ref> The point on the surface farthest from Earth's [[center of mass]] is the summit of the equatorial [[Chimborazo (volcano)|Chimborazo]] volcano in [[Ecuador]] ({{Convert|6384.4|km|mi|1|abbr=on|disp=or}}).<ref name=ps20_5_16 /><ref name=lancet365_9462_831 /><ref name="The 'Highest' Spot on Earth">{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9428163 |title=The 'Highest' Spot on Earth |last1=Krulwich|first1=Robert|author-link=Robert Krulwich|work=NPR |date=7 April 2007 |access-date=31 July 2012}}</ref>
The structure of Earth changes from the inside to the outside. The [[Planetary core|center of earth]] ([[Earth's core]]) is mostly iron (88.8%), nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% other things.<ref>Morgan J.W. & Anders E. 1980. Chemical composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury. ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Science'' '''77''' (12): 6973–6977. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC350422/?tool=pmcentrez Chemical composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury] Full free text</ref> The [[Earth's crust]]  is largely [[oxygen]] (47[[percent|%]]). Oxygen is normally a gas but it can [[oxide|join]] with other [[chemicals]] to make [[chemical compound|compounds]] like [[water]] and rocks. 99.22[[percent|%]] of rocks have [[oxygen]] in them. The most common [[oxygen]]-having rocks are [[silica]] (made with [[silicon]]), [[alumina]] (made with [[aluminum|aluminium]]), [[rust]] (made with [[iron]]), [[lime (chemical)|lime]] (made with [[calcium]]), [[magnesia]] (made with [[magnesium]]), [[potash]] (made with [[potassium]]), and [[sodium]] oxide, and there are others as well.<ref>Chisholm, Hugh (editor). 1911. "Petrology" in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 11th edition. Cambridge University Press.</ref>


In [[geodesy]], the exact shape that Earth's oceans would adopt in the absence of land and perturbations such as tides and winds is called the [[geoid]]. More precisely, the geoid is the surface of gravitational equipotential at [[mean sea level]] (MSL).<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is the geoid?|url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/geoid.html|access-date=10 October 2020|publisher=[[National Ocean Service]]|language=EN-US}}</ref> [[Sea surface topography]] are water deviations from MSL, analogous to land topography.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ocean Surface Topography |url=https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/ocean-observation/ocean-surface-topography |access-date=16 June 2022 |website=Ocean Surface Topography from Space | publisher = NASA |language=en}}</ref>
==== Density ====
*The Earth is the [[density|densest]] of all the planets.<ref>Planetary Fact Sheet - Ratio to Earth Values</ref> It has a lot of heavy metals in it.<ref>Williams, David R. (16 March 2017). "Earth Fact Sheet". NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Retrieved 26 July 2018. [https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html]</ref>


=== Internal structure ===
=== Shape ===
{{Main|Structure of the Earth}}
[[Geoid|Earth's shape]] is a [[spheroid]]: not quite a [[sphere]] because it is slightly [[oblate|squashed]] on the top and bottom. The shape is called an [[oblate spheroid]]. As Earth spins around itself, [[centrifugal force]] forces the [[equator]] out a little and pulls the [[geographical pole|poles]] in a little. The equator, around the middle of Earth's surface, is about {{convert|40,075|km|mi|sp=us|disp=or|sigfig=4}} long.<ref>Measuring the Earth is part of [[geodesy]]</ref> The reason the Earth is roughly a [[sphere]] (and so are all planets and stars) is [[gravity]].<ref>Tipler, Paul A. 1999. ''Physics for scientists and engineers''. 4th ed, New York: W.H. Freeman/Worth Publishers. pp. 336–337. ISBN 9781572594913</ref> Meteorites, on the other hand may be any shape because, in their case, the force of gravity is too weak to change their shape.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 2em; text-align:center;"
|+Geologic layers of Earth<ref name=pnas76_9_4192>{{cite journal |last1=Jordan |first1=T. H. |title=Structural geology of the Earth's interior |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |year=1979 |volume=76 |issue=9 |pages=4192–4200 |doi=10.1073/pnas.76.9.4192 |pmid=16592703 |pmc=411539 |bibcode=1979PNAS...76.4192J|doi-access=free }}</ref>
! colspan="3" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;" |[[File:Earth-cutaway-schematic-english.svg|center|frameless]]Illustration of Earth's cutaway, not to scale
|-
!Depth<span style="font-size: smaller;"><ref name=robertson2001>{{cite web |last1=Robertson |first1=Eugene C. |date=26 July 2001 |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/interior/ |title=The Interior of the Earth |publisher=USGS |access-date=24 March 2007}}</ref></span>
<span style="font-size: smaller;">(km)</span>
! style="vertical-align: top;" |Component
layer name
!Density
<span style="font-size: smaller;">(g/cm<sup>3</sup>)</span>
|-
|0–60
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's lithosphere|Lithosphere]]<ref group="n">Locally varies between {{val|5|and|200|u=km}}.</ref>
|—
|- style="background:#FEFEFE;"
|0–35
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's crust|Crust]]<ref group="n">Locally varies between {{val|5|and|70|u=km}}.</ref>
|2.2–2.9
|- style="background:#FEFEFE;"
|35–660
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Upper mantle (Earth)|Upper mantle]]
|3.4–4.4
|-
|660-2890
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Lower mantle (Earth)|Lower mantle]]
|3.4–5.6
|- style="background:#FEFEFE;"
|100–700
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Asthenosphere]]
|—
|-
|2890–5100
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's outer core|Outer core]]
|9.9–12.2
|-
|5100–6378
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Earth's inner core|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 ([[Rheology|rheological]]) properties. The outer layer is a chemically distinct [[Silicate minerals|silicate]] solid crust, which is underlain by a highly [[viscous]] solid mantle. The crust is separated from the mantle by the [[Mohorovičić discontinuity]].<ref name="GeolSoc" /> The thickness of the crust varies from about {{convert|6|km|mi|sp=us}} under the oceans to {{convert|30|-|50|km|mi|abbr=on}} 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/lithosphere/|title=Lithosphere|work=[[National Geographic]]|last1=Micalizio|first1=Caryl-Sue|last2=Evers|first2=Jeannie|date=20 May 2015|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>


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 {{convert|410|and|660|km|mi|abbr=on}} below the surface, spanning a [[Transition zone (Earth)|transition zone]] that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid [[outer core]] lies above a solid [[Earth's inner core|inner core]].<ref name=tanimoto_ahrens1995 /> 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.<ref name="Deuss_2014" /> The radius of the inner core is about one-fifth of that of Earth.
The highest mountain above [[sea level]]&mdash;the well-known [[Mount Everest]] (which is {{convert|8848|m|abbr=off|disp=or}} [[elevation|above sea level]])&mdash;is ''not'' actually the one that is the farthest away from the center of the Earth. Instead, the sleeping [[volcano]] [[Mount Chimborazo]] in [[Ecuador]] is; it is only {{convert|
{{anchor|Density}}Density increases with depth, as described in the table on the right.
6263|m|abbr=off|disp=or}} [[elevation|above sea level]] but it is almost at the [[equator]]. Because of this, Mount Chimborazo is {{convert|6,384|km|abbr=off|disp=or}} from the center of the Earth, while [[Mount Everest]] is {{convert|2|km|abbr=off|disp=or}} closer to it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.profsurv.com/archive.php?issue=42&article=589|title=Did Edmund Hillary climb the wrong mountain?|work = Professional Surveyor Magazine | volume=20 |issue=5 |first = Joseph H. |last = Senne| date = May 2000|accessdate = 2008-10-24}}</ref><ref name="lancet365_9462_831">{{cite journal | last=Sharp | first=David | title=Chimborazo and the old kilogram | journal=The Lancet | date=2005-03-05 | volume=365 | issue=9462 | pages=831–832 | doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71021-7 | pmid=15752514 | s2cid=41080944 }}</ref><ref name="tall_tales">{{cite web | url=http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1086384.htm | title=Tall tales about highest peaks | date=16 April 2004 | publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | accessdate=2008-12-29}}</ref> Similarly, the lowest point below sea level that we are conscious of is the [[Challenger Deep]] in the [[Mariana Trench]] in the [[Pacific Ocean]]. It is about {{convert|10971|m|abbr=off|disp=or}} [[depth|below sea level]],<ref name="kaiko7000">{{cite web|title=7,000&nbsp;m Class Remotely Operated Vehicle ''KAIKO 7000''|url=http://www.jamstec.go.jp/e/about/equipment/ships/kaiko7000.html|publisher=Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)|accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref> but, again, there are probably places at the bottom of the [[Arctic Ocean]] that are nearer to the center of the Earth.


=== Chemical composition ===
=== Earth’s core ===
{{See also|Abundance of elements on Earth}}
[[File:Earth-crust-cutaway-english.svg|thumb|right|220px|A picture of the inside of the Earth, showing the different levels. In fact, the air and the outside levels are much thinner than shown here]]


[[Earth mass|Earth's mass]] is approximately {{val|5.97|e=24|ul=kg}} (5,970 [[yottagram|Yg]]). It is composed mostly of [[iron]] (32.1%), [[oxygen]] (30.1%), [[silicon]] (15.1%), [[magnesium]] (13.9%), [[sulfur]] (2.9%), [[nickel]] (1.8%), [[calcium]] (1.5%), and [[aluminum]] (1.4%), with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. Due to [[mass segregation]], the core region is estimated to be primarily composed of iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements.<ref name="pnas71_12_6973" />
The [[Kola superdeep borehole|deepest hole ever dug]] is only about {{convert|12.3|km|mi|disp=or|sp=us|sigfig=2}}. We know something about the inside of the Earth, though, because we can learn things from [[earthquake]]s and the times when [[volcano]]es [[Volcanic eruption|erupt]]. We are able to see how quickly the [[shock wave]]s move through Earth in different places.


The most common rock constituents of the crust are nearly all [[oxide]]s: chlorine, sulfur, and fluorine are the important exceptions to this and their total amount in any rock is usually much less than 1%. Over 99% of the crust is composed of 11 oxides, principally silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, [[potash]], and soda.<ref name="brown_mussett1981" /><ref name="pnas71_12_6973" />
The inside of Earth is very different from the outside. Almost all of Earth's liquid water is in the [[ocean|sea]]s or close to the surface. The surface also has a lot of [[oxygen]], which comes from plants. Small and simple kinds of life can live far under the surface, but animals and plants only live on the surface or in the seas. The rocks on the surface of Earth ([[Earth's crust]]) are well known. They are thicker where there is land, between {{convert|30|to|50|km|mi|disp=or|sp=us|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} thick. Under the [[ocean|sea]]s they are sometimes only {{convert|6|km|mi|disp=or|sp=us|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} thick.<ref>{{cite web|author=Toshiro Tanimoto|date=|title=Crustal Surface of the Earth|url=http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/15_tanimoto.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030410215144/http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/15_tanimoto.pdf|archive-date=April 10, 2003|accessdate=2009-08-02|website=|publisher=American Geophysical Union}}</ref> There are three groups of rocks that make up most of the Earth's crust. Some rock is made when the hot liquid rock comes from inside the earth ([[igneous rock]]s); another type of rock is made when [[sediment]] is laid down, usually under the sea ([[sedimentary rock]]s); and a third kind of rock is made when the other two are changed by very high [[temperature]] or [[pressure]] ([[metamorphic rock]]s). A very few rocks also fall out of the sky ([[meteorite]]s).


=== Heat ===
Below the crust is hot and almost-[[liquid]] rock which is always moving around (the [[Earth's mantle]]). Then, there is a thin liquid layer of heated rock (the [[outer core]]). This is very hot: {{convert|7000|°C|°F K|disp=or|sigfig=2}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chianti.geol.ucl.ac.uk/~dario/pubblicazioni/PTRSA2002.pdf|title=The ab initio simulation of the Earth's core|date=2002-04-25|accessdate=2009-08-02|publisher=The Royal Society|author=D. Alfé}}</ref> The middle of the inside of the Earth would be liquid as well but all the pressure of the rock above it makes it a  solid. This solid middle part (the [[inner core]]) is almost all [[iron]]. It is what makes the Earth [[magnetic field|magnetic]].
{{Main|Earth's internal heat budget}}
[[File:Earth heat flow.jpg|left|thumb|Global map of [[heat flow]] from Earth's interior to the surface]]
The major heat-producing [[isotope]]s within Earth are [[potassium-40]], [[uranium-238]], and [[thorium-232]].<ref name=sanders20031210 /> At the center, the temperature may be up to {{convert|6000|C|F}},<ref>{{cite web |title=The Earth's Centre is 1000 Degrees Hotter than Previously Thought |url=http://www.esrf.eu/news/general/Earth-Center-Hotter |website=The European Synchrotron (ESRF) |access-date=12 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130628075455/http://www.esrf.eu/news/general/Earth-Center-Hotter/Earth-Centre-Hotter/ |archive-date=28 June 2013 |date=25 April 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the pressure could reach {{convert|360|GPa|e6psi|abbr=unit|lk=on}}.<ref name=ptrsl360_1795_1227 /> 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 {{val|3|ul=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 rock]]s such as [[komatiite]]s that are rarely formed today.<ref name="T&S 137" /><ref name=epsl121_1 />


The mean heat loss from Earth is {{val|87|u=mW m<sup>−2</sup>}}, for a global heat loss of {{val|4.42|e=13|u=W}}.<ref name=jg31_3_267 /> A portion of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by [[mantle plume]]s, a form of convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock. These plumes can produce [[Hotspot (geology)|hotspots]] and [[flood basalt]]s.<ref name=science246_4926_103 /> More of the heat in Earth is lost through plate tectonics, by mantle upwelling associated with [[mid-ocean ridge]]s. The final major mode of heat loss is through conduction through the lithosphere, the majority of which occurs under the oceans because the crust there is much thinner than that of the continents.<ref name="heat loss" />
=== Pieces of the crust form plates ===
[[File:Plates tect2 en.svg|thumb|right|A [[map|picture]] showing the Earth's largest and most important plates.]]
{{main|Plate tectonics}}


=== Tectonic plates ===
The [[Earth's crust]] is solid but made of [[plate tectonics|parts]] which move very slowly.<ref name="jour">{{cite journal| last=Tackley | first=Paul J.| title=Mantle convection and plate tectonics: towards an integrated physical and chemical theory| journal=Science | date=2000-06-16| volume=288 | issue=5473 | pages=2002–2007| doi=10.1126/science.288.5473.2002| pmid=10856206 | bibcode=2000Sci...288.2002T}}</ref> The thin skin of hard rock on the outside of the Earth rests on hot liquid material below it in the deeper [[mantle (geology)|mantle]].<ref name="TecPlates">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The Crust|url=http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/education/vwlessons/lessons/Earths_layers/Earths_layers4.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213011245/http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/education/vwlessons/lessons/Earths_layers/Earths_layers4.html|archive-date=December 13, 2009|accessdate=2009-07-03|website=|publisher=Oregon State University}}</ref> This liquid material moves because it gets heat from the hot center of the Earth. The slow movement of the plates is what causes [[earthquake]]s, [[volcano]]es and large groups of mountains on the Earth.
{{Main|Plate tectonics}}
[[File:Tectonic plates (empty).svg|alt=Shows the extent and boundaries of tectonic plates, with superimposed outlines of the continents they support|thumb|[[List of tectonic plates|Earth's major plates]], which are:<ref name="brown_wohletz2005" />{{Hlist|{{Legend inline|#fee6aa|[[Pacific Plate]]}}|{{Legend inline|#fb9a7a|[[African Plate]]<ref group="n" name="jaes41_3_379" />}}|{{Legend inline|#ac8d7f|[[North American Plate]]}}|{{Legend inline|#7fa172|[[Eurasian Plate]]}}|{{Legend inline|#8a9dbe|[[Antarctic Plate]]}}|{{Legend inline|#fcb482|[[Indo-Australian Plate]]}}|{{Legend inline|#ad82b0|[[South American Plate]]}}}}]]
Earth's mechanically rigid outer layer, 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 boundary|convergent boundaries]], two plates come together; at [[Divergent boundary|divergent boundaries]], two plates are pulled apart; and at [[Transform boundary|transform boundaries]], two plates slide past one another laterally. Along these plate boundaries, [[earthquake]]s, [[Volcanism|volcanic activity]], [[Orogeny|mountain-building]], and [[oceanic trench]] formation can occur.<ref name="kious_tilling1999" /> 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.<ref name="seligman2008" />


As the tectonic plates migrate, [[oceanic crust]] is [[Subduction|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 {{val|100|u=Myr}} old. The oldest oceanic crust is located in the Western Pacific and is estimated to be {{val|200|u=Myr}} old.<ref name=duennebier1999 /><ref name=noaa20070307 /> By comparison, the oldest dated [[continental crust]] is {{val|4030|u=Myr|fmt=commas}},<ref name=cmp134_3 /> although zircons have been found preserved as clasts within Eoarchean sedimentary rocks that give ages up to {{val|4400|u=Myr|fmt=commas}}, indicating that at least some continental crust existed at that time.<ref name=science310_5756_1947 />
There are three ways plates can come together. Two plates can move towards each other ("convergent" plate edges). This can form [[island]]s, [[volcanoes]], and high [[mountain range]]s (such as the [[Andes]] and [[Himalayas]]).<ref name="book1">{{cite book| last1 = Seyfert| first1 = Carl K.| last2 = Seyfert| first2 = Carl| last3 = Seyfert| first3 = Claus| title = The encyclopedia of structural geology and plate tectonics| url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofst0000unse| year = 1987| publisher = Springer| isbn = 978-0-442-28125-0 }}</ref> Two plates can move away from each other ("divergent" plate edges). This gives the [[magma|warm liquid rock inside the earth]] a place to come out. This makes [[mid-ocean ridge|special mountain range]]s below the sea or large low lands like [[Africa]]'s [[Great Rift Valley]].<ref name="'platetectonics.com'">{{cite web |title=Plate Tectonics: plate boundaries |url=http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_5.asp |publisher=platetectonics.com |accessdate=12 June 2010 |archive-date=16 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100616062513/http://www.platetectonics.com/book/page_5.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="'usgs.understanding.com'">{{cite web |title=Understanding plate motions |url= http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html|publisher=USGS|accessdate=12 June 2010}}</ref> Plates are able to move beside each other as well ("transform" plate edges, such as the [[San Andreas Fault]]). This makes their edges crush against each other and makes many [[earthquakes|shocks as they move]].<ref name="book2">{{cite book|title=Plate tectonics: an insider's history of the modern theory of the Earth|isbn=0813341329|last=Oreskes|first=Naomi|publisher=Westview Press|year=2003}}</ref>
 
The seven major plates are the [[Pacific Plate|Pacific]], [[North American Plate|North American]], [[Eurasian Plate|Eurasian]], [[African Plate|African]], [[Antarctic Plate|Antarctic]], [[Indo-Australian Plate|Indo-Australian]], and [[South American Plate|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 {{val|50|and|55|u=Ma}}. The fastest-moving plates are the oceanic plates, with the [[Cocos Plate]] advancing at a rate of {{convert|75|mm/year|in/year|abbr=on}}<ref name=podp2000 /> and the Pacific Plate moving {{convert|52|–|69|mm/year|in/year|abbr=on}}. At the other extreme, the slowest-moving plate is the South American Plate, progressing at a typical rate of {{convert|10.6|mm/year|in/year|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Argus_etal_2011">{{Cite journal |last1=Argus |first1=D.F. |last2=Gordon |first2=R.G. |last3=DeMets |first3=C. |date=2011 |title=Geologically current motion of 56 plates relative to the no‐net‐rotation reference frame |journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems |volume=12 |issue=11 |pages=n/a |doi=10.1029/2011GC003751|bibcode=2011GGG....1211001A |doi-access=free }}</ref>


=== Surface ===
=== Surface ===
{{Main|Earth's crust|Landform|Extreme points of Earth|}}
The outside of the Earth is not even. There are high places called [[mountain]]s, and high flat places called [[plateau]]s. There are low places called [[valley]]s and [[canyon]]s. For the most part, moving [[wind|air]] and [[rain|water from the sky]] and [[tide|sea]]s [[erosion|damages rocks in high places and breaks them into small pieces]]. The air and water then move these pieces to lower places. Because of this, the Earth would have been very flat a long time before now. The fundamental cause of the differences in the Earth's surface is [[plate tectonics]]. The shape of the entire planet itself is not even a ball. Because of its velocity, Earth has a slight bulge at the [[Equator]]. Other than that, Earth is shaped more like a pear than an actual sphere.
{{See also|Planetary surface|Geomorphology}}
[[File:Upsala Glacier, Argentina.jpg|thumb|Satellite picture of [[Upsala Glacier]], showing [[mountain]]s, [[iceberg]]s, [[lake]]s, and [[cloud]]s|left]]
The total [[Spheroid#Area|surface area]] of Earth is about {{convert|510|e6km2|e6sqmi|0|abbr=unit}}.<ref name="Pidwirny 2006_8" /> Of this, 70.8%,<ref name="Pidwirny 2006_8" /> or {{convert|361.13|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}}, is below sea level and covered by ocean water.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/ |title=World Factbook |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=2 November 2012}}</ref> Below the ocean's surface are much of the [[continental shelf]], mountains, volcanoes,<ref name="ngdc2006" /> oceanic trenches, [[submarine canyon]]s, [[oceanic plateau]]s, abyssal plains, and a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system. The remaining 29.2%, or {{convert|148.94|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}}, not covered by water has [[terrain]] that varies greatly from place to place and consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other [[landform]]s. The elevation of the land surface varies from the low point of {{convert|-418|m|ft|abbr=on}} at the [[Dead Sea]], to a maximum altitude of {{convert|8848|m|ft|abbr=on}} at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is about {{convert|797|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|last=Center|first=National Geophysical Data|title=Hypsographic Curve of Earth's Surface from ETOPO1|url=https://ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/etopo1_surface_histogram.html|website=ngdc.noaa.gov}}</ref>
 
The continental crust consists of lower density material such as the igneous rocks [[granite]] and [[andesite]]. Less common is [[basalt]], a denser volcanic rock that is the primary constituent of the ocean floors.<ref name=layers_earth /> Sedimentary rock is formed from the accumulation of sediment that becomes buried and [[Diagenesis|compacted together]]. Nearly 75% of the continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they form about 5% of the crust.<ref name=jessey /> The third form of rock material found on Earth is [[metamorphic rock]], which is created from the transformation of pre-existing rock types through high pressures, high temperatures, or both. The most abundant [[silicate mineral]]s on Earth's surface include [[quartz]], [[feldspar]]s, [[amphibole]], [[mica]], [[pyroxene]] and [[olivine]].<ref name=de_pater_lissauer2010 /> Common [[carbonate mineral]]s include [[calcite]] (found in [[limestone]]) and [[Dolomite (mineral)|dolomite]].<ref name=wekn_bulakh2004 />
 
[[Erosion and tectonics]], [[Types of volcanic eruptions|volcanic eruptions]], [[flooding]], [[weathering]], [[glaciation]], the growth of [[coral reef]]s, and meteorite impacts are among the processes that constantly reshape Earth's surface over [[geological time]].<ref name="kring" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Ronald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agaOKrvAoeAC|title=Earth's Evolving Systems: The History of Planet Earth|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2011|isbn=978-0-7637-8001-2|oclc=635476788}}</ref> The [[pedosphere]] is the outermost layer of Earth's continental surface and is composed of soil and subject to [[pedogenesis|soil formation processes]]. The total [[arable land]] is 10.9% of the land surface, with 1.3% being permanent cropland.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank arable land |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.ARBL.ZS/countries/1W?display=graph |publisher=World Bank |access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=World Bank permanent cropland |url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.CROP.ZS/countries?display=graph |publisher=World Bank |access-date=19 October 2015}}</ref> Close to 40% of Earth's land surface is used for agriculture, or an estimated {{convert|16.7|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} of cropland and {{convert|33.5|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} of pastureland.<ref name="Hooke2012">{{cite journal |url=https://www.geosociety.org/gsatoday/archive/22/12/pdf/gt1212.pdf |title=Land transformation by humans: A review |journal=GSA Today |first1=Roger LeB. |last1=Hooke |first2=José F. |last2=Martín-Duque |first3=Javier |last3=Pedraza |volume=22 |issue=12 |pages=4–10 |date=December 2012 |doi=10.1130/GSAT151A.1}}</ref>
 
=== Gravitational field ===
{{Main|Gravity of Earth}}{{Expand section|date=March 2022}}
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 {{convert|9.8|m/s2|abbr=on}}. Local differences in topography, [[geology]], and deeper tectonic structure cause local and broad regional differences in Earth's gravitational field, known as [[Gravity anomaly|gravity anomalies]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=A. B. |last1=Watts |first2=S. F. |last2=Daly |title=Long wavelength gravity and topography anomalies |journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences |volume=9 |pages=415–18 |date=May 1981 |doi=10.1146/annurev.ea.09.050181.002215 |bibcode=1981AREPS...9..415W}}</ref>
 
=== Magnetic field ===
{{Main|Earth's magnetic field}}
[[File:Magnetosphere Levels-en.svg|alt=Diagram showing the magnetic field lines of Earth's magnetosphere. The lines are swept back in the anti-solar direction under the influence of the solar wind.|thumb|Schematic of Earth's magnetosphere, with the solar wind flows from left to right]]
The main part of Earth's magnetic field is generated in the core, the site of a [[Dynamo theory|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 {{nowrap|3.05{{e|−5}} [[Tesla (unit)|T]]}}, with a [[magnetic dipole moment]] of {{nowrap|7.79{{e|22}} Am{{sup|2}}}} at epoch 2000, decreasing nearly 6% per century.<ref name="dipole">{{cite journal |last1=Olson |first1=Peter |last2=Amit |first2=Hagay |title=Changes in earth's dipole |url=https://pages.jh.edu/~polson1/pdfs/ChangesinEarthsDipole.pdf |journal=Naturwissenschaften |volume=93 |issue=11 |year=2006 |pages=519–42 |doi=10.1007/s00114-006-0138-6 |pmid=16915369 |bibcode=2006NW.....93..519O|s2cid=22283432 }}</ref> The convection movements in the core are chaotic; the magnetic poles drift and periodically change alignment. This causes [[Geomagnetic secular variation|secular variation]] of the main field and [[geomagnetic reversal|field reversals]] at irregular intervals averaging a few times every million years. The most recent reversal occurred approximately 700,000 years ago.<ref name="fitzpatrick2006" /><ref name="campbelwh" />
 
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 dayside of the magnetosphere, to about 10 Earth radii, and extends the nightside magnetosphere into a long tail.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ganushkina|first1=N. Yu|last2=Liemohn|first2=M. W.|last3=Dubyagin|first3=S.|date=2018|title=Current Systems in the Earth's Magnetosphere|url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/2017RG000590|journal=Reviews of Geophysics|language=en|volume=56|issue=2|pages=309–32|doi=10.1002/2017RG000590|bibcode=2018RvGeo..56..309G|hdl=2027.42/145256|s2cid=134666611|issn=1944-9208|hdl-access=free}}</ref> 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 dayside magnetosphere within the solar wind.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sci.esa.int/jump.cfm?oid=40994 |title=Cluster reveals the reformation of the Earth's bow shock |publisher=European Space Agency |first=Arnaud |last=Masson |date=11 May 2007 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> [[Charged particle]]s are contained within the magnetosphere; the plasmasphere is defined by low-energy particles that essentially follow magnetic field lines as Earth rotates.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://plasmasphere.nasa.gov/ |title=The Earth's Plasmasphere |publisher=NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center |last=Gallagher |first=Dennis L. |date=14 August 2015 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://plasmasphere.nasa.gov/formed.html |title=How the Plasmasphere is Formed |publisher=NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center |last=Gallagher |first=Dennis L. |date=27 May 2015 |access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> 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,<ref name="BaumjohannTreumann1997">{{cite book |title=Basic Space Plasma Physics |publisher=World Scientific |first1=Wolfgang |last1=Baumjohann |first2=Rudolf A. |last2=Treumann |pages=8, 31 |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-86094-079-8}}</ref> and the [[Van Allen radiation belt]]s are formed by high-energy particles whose motion is essentially random, but contained in the magnetosphere.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/ionosphere-and-magnetosphere/Magnetosphere |title=Ionosphere and magnetosphere |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |first=Michael B. |last=McElroy |year=2012}}</ref><ref name="Van Allen">{{cite book |title=Origins of Magnetospheric Physics |publisher=University of Iowa Press |last=Van Allen |first=James Alfred |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-87745-921-7 |oclc=646887856}}</ref>
 
During [[magnetic storm]]s and [[substorm]]s, 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 the [[Aurora (astronomy)|aurora]].<ref name="stern2005" />
 
== Orbit and rotation ==
 
=== Rotation ===
{{Main|Earth's rotation}}
[[File:EpicEarth-Globespin-tilt-23.4.gif|thumb|Earth's rotation imaged by [[Deep Space Climate Observatory]], showing axis tilt|left]]
 
Earth's rotation period relative to the Sun—its mean solar day—is {{nowrap|86,400 seconds}} of mean solar time ({{nowrap|86,400.0025 [[SI]] seconds}}).<ref name="aj136_5_1906" /> Because Earth's solar day is now slightly longer than it was during the 19th century due to [[tidal acceleration|tidal deceleration]], each day varies between {{nowrap|0 and 2 [[millisecond|ms]]}} longer than the mean solar day.<ref name="USNO_TSD" /><ref>{{cite journal |title=Rapid Service/Prediction of Earth Orientation |journal=IERS Bulletin-A |date=9 April 2015 |volume=28 |issue=15 |url=http://maia.usno.navy.mil/ser7/ser7.dat |access-date=12 April 2015 |format=.DAT file (displays as plaintext in browser) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314182157/http://maia.usno.navy.mil/ser7/ser7.dat |archive-date=14 March 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
Earth's rotation period relative to the [[fixed star]]s, called its ''stellar day'' by the [[International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service]] (IERS), is {{nowrap|86,164.0989 seconds}} of mean solar time ([[UT1]]), or {{nowrap |23{{smallsup|h}} 56{{smallsup|m}} 4.0989{{smallsup|s}}.}}<ref name="IERS" /><ref group="n" name="Aoki" /> Earth's rotation period relative to the [[precession (astronomy)|precessing]] or moving mean [[March equinox]] (when the Sun is at 90° on the equator)<!-- , misnamed its ''[[sidereal day]]'' [don't know what is this] -->, is {{nowrap|86,164.0905 seconds}} of mean solar time (UT1) {{nowrap|(23{{smallsup|h}} 56{{smallsup|m}} 4.0905{{smallsup|s}})}}.<ref name="IERS" /> Thus the sidereal day is shorter than the stellar day by about 8.4&nbsp;ms.<ref name="seidelmann1992" />
 
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.<ref name="zeilik1998" /><ref name="angular" />
 
=== Orbit ===
{{Main|Earth's orbit|Earth's location}}
[[File:North season.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Illustration of the Earth, Earth's orbit, the Sun and the four [[season]]s]]
Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of about {{convert|150|e6km|e6mi|abbr=unit}} every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one [[sidereal year]]. This gives an apparent movement of the Sun eastward with respect to the stars at a rate of about 1°/day, which is one apparent Sun or Moon diameter every 12&nbsp;hours. Due to this motion, on average it takes 24&nbsp;hours—a [[Solar time|solar day]]—for Earth to complete a full rotation about its axis so that the Sun returns to the [[Meridian (astronomy)|meridian]]. The orbital speed of Earth averages about {{convert|29.78|km/s|km/h mph|abbr=on}}, which is fast enough to travel a distance equal to Earth's diameter, about {{convert|12742|km|mi|abbr=on}}, in seven minutes, and the distance to the Moon, {{convert|384000|km|mi|abbr=on}}, in about 3.5 hours.<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" />
 
The Moon and Earth orbit a common [[barycenter]] every 27.32&nbsp;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&nbsp;days. Viewed from the [[celestial pole|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 [[axial tilt|axis is tilted]] some 23.44&nbsp;degrees from the perpendicular to the Earth-Sun plane (the [[ecliptic]]), and the Earth-Moon plane is tilted up to ±5.1&nbsp;degrees against the Earth-Sun plane. Without this tilt, there would be an eclipse every two weeks, alternating between [[lunar eclipse]]s and [[solar eclipse]]s.<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /><ref name="moon_fact_sheet" />
 
The [[Hill sphere]], or the sphere of [[Gravity|gravitational]] influence, of Earth is about {{convert|1.5|e6km|mi|abbr=unit}} in radius.<ref name="vazquez_etal2006" /><ref group="n" name="hill_radius" /> This is the maximum distance at which Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than 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.<ref name="vazquez_etal2006" /> Earth, along with the Solar System, is situated in the [[Milky Way]] and orbits about 28,000&nbsp;[[light-year]]s from its center. It is about 20&nbsp;light-years above the [[galactic plane]] in the [[Orion Arm]].<ref name="nasa20051201" />
 
=== Axial tilt and seasons ===
{{Main|Axial tilt#Earth}}
[[File:Axialtilt.svg|thumb|Earth's axial tilt and its relation to the [[rotation]] axis and [[Orbital plane (astronomy)|planes of orbit]]|left]]
The axial tilt of Earth is approximately 23.439281°<ref name="IERS" /> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohli|first1=Robert. V.|title=Climatology|last2=Vega|first2=Anthony J.|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2018|isbn=978-1-284-12656-3|edition=fourth|pages=291–92}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Burn|first=Chris|title=The Polar Night|url=http://nwtresearch.com/sites/default/files/the-polar-night.pdf|work=The Aurora Research Institute|date=March 1996|access-date=28 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/weather-and-climate/weather/sunlight-hours/|title=Sunlight Hours|work=Australian Antarctic Programme|date=24 June 2020|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>
 
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 [[equinox]]es, 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 [[September equinox|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.<ref name="bromberg2008" />
 
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&nbsp;years.<ref name="lin2006" /> The orientation (rather than the angle) of Earth's axis also changes over time, [[axial precession|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.<ref name="fisher19960205" />
 
In modern times, Earth's [[perihelion]] occurs around 3 January, and its [[aphelion]] around 4 July. These dates change over time due to precession and other orbital factors, which follow cyclical patterns known as [[Milankovitch cycles]]. The changing Earth-Sun distance causes an increase of about 6.8% in solar energy reaching Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2948/milankovitch-orbital-cycles-and-their-role-in-earths-climate/|title=Milankovitch (Orbital) Cycles and Their Role in Earth's Climate|work=NASA|last1=Buis|first1=Alan|date=27 February 2020|access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref><ref group="n" name="solar_energy" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ocp.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/pub/seager/Kang_Seager_subm.pdf|title=Croll Revisited: Why is the Northern Hemisphere Warmer than the Southern Hemisphere?|work=Columbia University|last1=Kang|first1=Sarah M.|last2=Seager|first2=Richard|location=New York|access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>
 
== Earth–Moon system ==
=== Moon ===
{{Main|Moon|Lunar theory|Orbit of the Moon}}
[[File:MarsReconnaissanceOrbiter-Views-EarthMoon-20220422.jpg|thumb|Earth–Moon system seen from Mars]]
The Moon is a relatively large, [[Terrestrial planet|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 (moon)|Charon]] is larger relative to the [[dwarf planet]] [[Pluto]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://astronomy.com/news/2019/06/whats-so-special-about-our-moon-anyway|title=What's so special about our Moon, anyway?|work=[[Astronomy (magazine)|Astronomy]]|last1=Klemetti|first1=Erik|date=17 June 2019|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/pluto-moons/charon/in-depth/#:~:text=At%20half%20the%20size%20of,phenomenon%20called%20mutual%20tidal%20locking.|title=Charon|website=NASA|date=19 December 2019|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref> The natural satellites of other planets are also referred to as "moons", after Earth's.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-is-the-moon-called-the-moon-127899|title=Curious Kids: Why is the moon called the moon?|website=The Conversation|last1=Brown|first1=Toby|date=2 December 2019|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref> 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 (among other things) 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.<ref name="canup_asphaug2001b" />
 
The gravitational attraction between Earth and the Moon causes [[tide]]s on Earth.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Coughenour|first1=Christopher L.|last2=Archer|first2=Allen W.|last3=Lacovara|first3=Kenneth J.|author-link3=Kenneth Lacovara|date=2009|title=Tides, tidalites, and secular changes in the Earth–Moon system|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825209001445|journal=Earth-Science Reviews|language=en|volume=97|issue=1|pages=59–79|doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2009.09.002|bibcode=2009ESRv...97...59C|issn=0012-8252}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kelley|first=Peter|date=17 August 2017|title=Tidally locked exoplanets may be more common than previously thought|url=https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/08/14/tidally-locked-exoplanets-may-be-more-common-than-previously-thought/|access-date=8 October 2020|newspaper=Uw News|language=en}}</ref> As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts of its face are illuminated by the Sun, leading to the [[lunar phase]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lunar Phases and Eclipses {{!}} Earth's Moon|url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/moons/earths-moon/lunar-phases-and-eclipses|access-date=8 October 2020|website=NASA Solar System Exploration}}</ref> Due to their tidal interaction, the Moon recedes from Earth at the rate of approximately {{convert|38|mm/yr|in/yr|abbr=on}}. Over millions of years, these tiny modifications—and the lengthening of Earth's day by about 23&nbsp;[[Microsecond|µs]]/yr—add up to significant changes.<ref name="espenak_meeus20070207" /> During the [[Ediacaran]] period, for example, (approximately {{val|620|u=Ma}}) there were 400±7 days in a year, with each day lasting 21.9±0.4 hours.<ref name="Williams_2000">{{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=G.E. |date=2000 |title=Geological constraints on the Precambrian history of Earth's rotation and the Moon's orbit |journal=Reviews of Geophysics |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=37–59 |doi=10.1029/1999RG900016|bibcode=2000RvGeo..38...37W |s2cid=51948507 }}</ref>
 
The Moon may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the planet's climate. [[Paleontology|Paleontological]] evidence and computer simulations show that Earth's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with the Moon.<ref name="aaa428_261" /> Some theorists think that without this stabilization against the [[torque]]s 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2015-01-earth-moon-critical-life.html#:~:text=Lissauer's%20team%20found%20that%20without,day%20angle%20of%2023.5%20degrees.|title=Earth's moon may not be critical to life|work=[[Phys.org]]|last1=Cooper|first1=Keith|date=27 January 2015|access-date=26 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://web.mit.edu/perron/www/files/Daradich08.pdf|title=Equilibrium rotational stability and figure of Mars|journal=Icarus|last1=Dadarich|first1=Amy|first2=Jerry X.|last2=Mitrovica|author-link2=Jerry X. Mitrovica|first3=Isamu|last3=Matsuyama|first4=J. Taylor|last4=Perron|first5=Michael|last5=Manga|author-link5=Michael Manga|first6=Mark A.|last6=Richards|date=22 November 2007|volume=194|issue=2|pages=463–75|access-date=26 October 2020|doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2007.10.017|archive-date=1 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201094104/http://web.mit.edu/perron/www/files/Daradich08.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
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.<ref name="angular" /> This allows total and annular solar eclipses to occur on Earth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/the-solar-eclipse-coincidence/|title=The Solar Eclipse Coincidence|work=[[Scientific American]]|last1=Sharf|first1=Caleb A.|date=18 May 2012|access-date=13 October 2020|author1-link=Caleb Scharf}}</ref>
 
=== Asteroids and artificial satellites ===
{{Main|Near-Earth object|Claimed moons of Earth}}
[[File:HST-SM4.jpeg|alt=Telescope in the background of space|thumb|[[Hubble Space Telescope]] seen in orbit from [[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'']]]]
Earth's [[Co-orbital configuration|co-orbital asteroids]] population consists of [[quasi-satellite]]s, objects with a [[horseshoe orbit]] and [[Trojan (celestial body)|trojans]]. There are at least five quasi-satellites, including [[469219 Kamoʻoalewa]].<ref name="christou_asher2011" /><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/462/4/3441/2589984|title=Asteroid (469219) 2016 HO3, the smallest and closest Earth quasi-satellite|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society|last1=Marcos|first1=C. de la Fuente|last2=Marcos|first2=R. de la Fuente|date=8 August 2016|doi=10.1093/mnras/stw1972|pages=3441–3456|volume=462|issue=4|arxiv=1608.01518|bibcode=2016MNRAS.462.3441D|s2cid=118580771|access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> A [[Earth trojan|trojan asteroid]] companion, {{mpl|2010 TK|7}}, is [[Libration|librating]] around the leading [[Lagrangian point|Lagrange triangular point]], L4, in [[Earth's orbit]] around the Sun.<ref name="Connors" /><ref name="Choi" /> The tiny [[near-Earth asteroid]] {{mpl|2006 RH|120}} makes close approaches to the Earth–Moon system roughly every twenty years. During these approaches, it can orbit Earth for brief periods of time.<ref>{{cite web |title=2006 RH120 ( = 6R10DB9) (A second moon for the Earth?) |url=http://www.birtwhistle.org/Gallery6R10DB9.htm |website=Great Shefford Observatory|access-date=17 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206154817/http://www.birtwhistle.org/Gallery6R10DB9.htm |archive-date=6 February 2015}}</ref>
 
{{As of|2021|9}}, there are 4,550 operational, human-made [[satellite]]s orbiting Earth.<ref name="ucs" /> There are also inoperative satellites, including [[Vanguard 1]], the oldest satellite currently in orbit, and over 16,000 pieces of tracked [[space debris]].<ref group="n" name="space_debris" /> Earth's largest artificial satellite is the [[International Space Station]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Welch|first1=Rosanne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aWGHDwAAQBAJ&q=largest+artificial+satellite&pg=RA2-PA126|title=Technical Innovation in American History: An Encyclopedia of Science and Technology [3 volumes]|last2=Lamphier|first2=Peg A.|year=2019|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-61069-094-2|page=126|language=en}}</ref>
 
== Hydrosphere ==
{{Main|Hydrosphere}}
[[File:HydrologicalCycle1.png|alt=Water typically evaporates over water surfaces like oceans and is transported to land via the atmosphere. Precipitation, such as rain and snow, then brings it back to the surface. A system of rivers brings the water back to oceans and seas.|left|thumb|300x300px|Processes leading to movements and [[Phase transition|phase changes]] in Earth's water]]
Earth's hydrosphere consists chiefly of the oceans, but technically includes all water surfaces in the world, including inland seas, lakes, rivers, and underground waters down to a depth of {{convert|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The mass of the oceans is approximately 1.35{{e|18}}&nbsp;[[metric ton]]s or about 1/4400 of Earth's total mass. The oceans cover an area of {{convert|361.8|e6km2|e6mi2|abbr=unit}} with a mean depth of {{convert|3682|m|ft|abbr=on}}, resulting in an estimated volume of {{convert|1.332|e9km3|e6cumi|abbr=unit}}.<ref name="ocean23_2_112" /> 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 {{convert|2.7|to|2.8|km|mi|2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Third rock from the Sun&nbsp;– restless Earth|url=https://ase.tufts.edu/cosmos/print_chapter.asp?id=4|access-date=12 April 2015|work=NASA's Cosmos}}</ref> About 97.5% of the water is [[saline water|saline]]; the remaining 2.5% is [[fresh water]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=On Water|url=https://www.eib.org/en/publications/eib-big-ideas-on-water|access-date=7 December 2020|website=European Investment Bank|year=2019|doi=10.2867/509830|language=en|author1=European Investment Bank|publisher=European Investment Bank|isbn=9789286143199}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Chart: Globally, 70% of Freshwater is Used for Agriculture|url=https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/chart-globally-70-freshwater-used-agriculture|access-date=7 December 2020|website=World Bank Blogs|date=22 March 2017|last1=Khokhar|first1=Tariq|language=en}}</ref> Most fresh water, about 68.7%, is present as ice in [[ice cap]]s and [[glacier]]s.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Perlman|first1=Howard|date=17 March 2014|title=The World's Water|url=https://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherewater.html|access-date=12 April 2015|work=USGS Water-Science School}}</ref>
 
In Earth's coldest regions, snow survives over the summer and [[Ice formation|changes into ice]]. This accumulated snow and ice eventually forms into [[glacier]]s, 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 valley]]s and other landforms.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hendrix|first=Mark|title=Earth Science: An Introduction|publisher=Cengage|year=2019|isbn=978-0-357-11656-2|location=Boston|page=330}}</ref> [[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.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hendrix|first=Mark|title=Earth Science: An Introduction|publisher=Cengage|year=2019|isbn=978-0-357-11656-2|location=Boston|page=329}}</ref>
 
The average [[salinity]] of Earth's oceans is about 35&nbsp;grams of salt per kilogram of seawater (3.5% salt).<ref name=kennish2001 /> Most of this salt was released from volcanic activity or extracted from cool igneous rocks.<ref name=mullen2002 /> The oceans are also a reservoir of dissolved atmospheric gases, which are essential for the survival of many aquatic life forms.<ref name=natsci_oxy4 /> Sea water has an important influence on the world's climate, with the oceans acting as a large [[heat reservoir]].<ref name=michon2006 /> Shifts in the oceanic temperature distribution can cause significant weather shifts, such as the [[El Niño–Southern Oscillation]].<ref name=sample2005 />
 
The abundance of [[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.<ref name="Center 2021">{{cite web | last=Center | first=Astrogeology Science | title=Tour of Water in the Solar System – U.S. Geological Survey | website=USGS.gov | date=14 October 2021 | url=https://www.usgs.gov/news/tour-water-solar-system | access-date=19 January 2022}}</ref> Despite some [[Natural satellite|moons]] showing signs of large reservoirs of [[extraterrestrial liquid water]], with possibly even more volume than Earth's ocean, all of them are [[List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System|large bodies of water]] under a kilometers thick frozen surface layer.<ref name="NOAAs National Ocean Service 2013">{{cite web | title=Are there oceans on other planets? | website=NOAA's National Ocean Service | date=1 June 2013 | url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/et-oceans.html | access-date=19 January 2022}}</ref>
 
== Atmosphere ==
{{Main|Atmosphere of Earth}}The [[atmospheric pressure]] at Earth's [[sea level]] averages {{convert|101.325|kPa|psi|3|abbr=on}},<ref name="Exline2006">{{cite book|last1=Exline|first1=Joseph D.|url=https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/288978main_Meteorology_Guide.pdf|title=Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5–9|last2=Levine|first2=Arlene S.|last3=Levine|first3=Joel S.|date=2006|publisher=NASA/Langley Research Center|page=6|id=NP-2006-08-97-LaRC}}</ref> with a [[scale height]] of about {{convert|8.5|km|mi|abbr=on}}.<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> 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.<ref name="Exline2006" /> [[Water vapor]] content varies between 0.01% and 4%<ref name="Exline2006" /> but averages about 1%.<ref name="earth_fact_sheet" /> The height of the [[troposphere]] varies with latitude, ranging between {{convert|8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} at the poles to {{convert|17|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} at the equator, with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors.<ref name=geerts_linacre97 />
 
Earth's [[biosphere]] has significantly altered its [[Atmosphere of Earth|atmosphere]]. [[Oxygen evolution#Oxygen evolution in nature|Oxygenic photosynthesis]] evolved {{val|2.7|u=Gya}}, [[oxygen catastrophe|forming]] the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere of today.<ref name="NYT-20131003" /> This change enabled the proliferation of [[aerobic organisms]] and, indirectly, the formation of the ozone layer due to the subsequent [[Ozone–oxygen cycle|conversion of atmospheric {{chem2|O2}} into {{chem2|O3}}]]. The ozone layer blocks [[ultraviolet]] [[solar radiation]], permitting life on land.<ref name="Harrison 2002" /> Other atmospheric functions important to life include transporting water vapor, providing useful gases, causing small [[meteor]]s to burn up before they strike the surface, and moderating temperature.<ref name="atmosphere" /> This last phenomenon is known as the [[greenhouse effect]]: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to capture [[thermal energy]] emitted from the ground, 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 {{convert|−18|C|F}}, in contrast to the current {{convert|+15|C|F}},<ref name="Pidwirny2006_7" /> and life on Earth probably would not exist in its current form.<ref name=Narottam2008 />
 
=== Weather and climate ===
{{Main|Weather|Climate}}{{multiple image
| align            = right
| direction        = vertical
| width            = 220
| image1            = Felix from ISS 03 sept 2007 1138Z.jpg
| caption1          = [[Hurricane Felix]] seen from low Earth orbit, September 2007
| image2            = 3D-Clouds.jpg
| caption2          = Massive clouds above the [[Mojave Desert]], February 2016
}}
Earth's atmosphere has no definite boundary, gradually becoming thinner and fading into outer space.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/where-is-the-edge-of-space-and-what-is-the-karman-line|title=Where, exactly, is the edge of space? It depends on who you ask|website=[[National Geographic]]|last1=Drake|first1=Nadia|author-link1=Nadia Drake|date=20 December 2018|accessdate=4 December 2021}}</ref> Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass is contained within the first {{convert|11|km|mi|abbr=on}} of the surface; this lowest layer is called the troposphere.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/troposphere/en/|title=Troposphere|website=SpacePlace|publisher=[[NASA]]|last1=Erickson|first1=Kristen|last2=Doyle|first2=Heather|date=28 June 2019|accessdate=4 December 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref name="moran2005" />
 
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°.<ref name="berger2002" /> [[Ocean heat content]] and [[Ocean current|currents]] are also important factors in determining climate, particularly the [[thermohaline circulation]] that distributes thermal energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions.<ref name=rahmstorf2003 />
 
Earth receives 1361&nbsp;W/m<sup>2</sup> of&nbsp;[[solar irradiance]].<ref name="nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov">{{cite web | title=Earth Fact Sheet | website=NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive | date=21 December 2021 | url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html | access-date=13 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Coddington|first1=O.|last2=Lean|first2=J. L.|last3=Pilewskie|first3=P.|last4=Snow|first4=M.|last5=Lindholm|first5=D.|date=2016|title=A Solar Irradiance Climate Data Record|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|volume=97|issue=7|pages=1265–1282|bibcode=2016BAMS...97.1265C|doi=10.1175/bams-d-14-00265.1|doi-access=free}}</ref> The amount of solar energy that reaches the 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 {{convert|0.4|C-change|F-change|1}} per degree of latitude from the equator.<ref name="sadava_heller2006" /> 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 [[Tropics|tropical]] (or equatorial), [[Subtropics|subtropical]], [[temperate]] and [[Polar region|polar]] climates.<ref name="climate_zones" />
 
Further factors that affect a location's climates are its [[Continentality|proximity to oceans]], the oceanic and atmospheric circulation, and topology.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohli|first1=Robert. V.|title=Climatology|last2=Vega|first2=Anthony J.|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2018|isbn=978-1-284-12656-3|edition=fourth|page=49}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohli|first1=Robert. V.|title=Climatology|last2=Vega|first2=Anthony J.|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2018|isbn=978-1-284-12656-3|edition=fourth|page=32}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohli|first1=Robert. V.|title=Climatology|last2=Vega|first2=Anthony J.|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2018|isbn=978-1-284-12656-3|edition=fourth|page=34}}</ref> Finally, temperatures [[Lapse rate|decrease with height]] causing mountainous areas to be colder than low-lying areas.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohli|first1=Robert. V.|title=Climatology|last2=Vega|first2=Anthony J.|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2018|isbn=978-1-284-12656-3|edition=fourth|page=46}}</ref>
 
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.<ref name="moran2005" /> 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.<ref name="hydrologic_cycle" />
 
The commonly used [[Köppen climate classification]] system has five broad groups ([[tropical climate|humid tropics]], [[arid]], [[humid subtropical climate|humid middle latitudes]], [[Continental climate|continental]] and cold [[polar climate|polar]]), which are further divided into more specific subtypes.<ref name="berger2002" /> The Köppen system rates regions based on observed temperature and precipitation.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohli|first1=Robert. V.|title=Climatology|last2=Vega|first2=Anthony J.|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|year=2018|isbn=978-1-284-12656-3|edition=fourth|page=159}}</ref> Surface [[Highest temperature recorded on Earth|air temperature can rise to]] around {{convert|55|C|F}} in [[hot desert]]s, such as [[Death Valley National Park|Death Valley]], and [[Lowest temperature recorded on Earth|can fall as low as]] {{convert|-89|C|F}} in [[Antarctica]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=El Fadli|first1=Khalid I.|display-authors=et al|date=2013|title=World Meteorological Organization Assessment of the Purported World Record 58°C Temperature Extreme at El Azizia, Libya (13 September 1922)|journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|language=en|volume=94|issue=2|pages=199–204|doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00093.1|bibcode=2013BAMS...94..199E|issn=0003-0007|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Turner|first1=John|display-authors=et al|date=2009|title=Record low surface air temperature at Vostok station, Antarctica|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres|language=en|volume=114|issue=D24|page=D24102|doi=10.1029/2009JD012104|bibcode=2009JGRD..11424102T|issn=2156-2202|doi-access=free}}</ref>
 
=== Upper atmosphere ===
[[File:Top of Atmosphere.jpg|thumb|Top of Earth's blue-tinted atmosphere, with the Moon at the background|left]]
Above the troposphere, the atmosphere is usually divided into the [[stratosphere]], [[mesosphere]], and [[thermosphere]].<ref name="atmosphere" /> 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.<ref name=sciweek2004 /> 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 {{Convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} above Earth's surface, is a working definition for the boundary between the atmosphere and [[outer space]].<ref name=cordoba2004 />
 
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 [[Atmospheric escape|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.<ref name=jas31_4_1118 /> The leakage of hydrogen into space contributes to the shifting of Earth's atmosphere and surface from an initially [[redox|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.<ref name=sci293_5531_839 /> Hence the ability of hydrogen to escape from the atmosphere may have influenced the nature of life that developed on Earth.<ref name=abedon1997 /> 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.<ref name=arwps4_265 />
 
== Life on Earth ==
{{Main|Life}}
[[File:Mycena interrupta.jpg|thumb|[[Fungus|Fungi]] are one of the kingdoms of life on Earth.]]
A planet's life forms inhabit [[ecosystem]]s, whose total forms the [[biosphere]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/biosphere/|title=Biosphere|first1=Kim|last1=Rutledge|display-authors=et al|date=24 June 2011|work=National Geographic|access-date=1 November 2020}}</ref> The biosphere is divided into a number of [[biome]]s, inhabited by broadly similar plants and animals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zmyj6sg/revision/3 |title=Interdependency between animal and plant species |page=3 |work=[[BBC Bitesize]] |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> On land, biomes are separated primarily by differences in latitude, [[elevation|height above sea level]] and [[humidity]]. Terrestrial [[tundra|biomes]] lying within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles, at [[Alpine tundra|high altitudes]] or in [[desert|extremely arid areas]] are relatively barren of plant and animal life; [[Latitudinal gradients in species diversity|species diversity]] reaches a peak in [[tropical rainforest|humid lowlands at equatorial latitudes]].<ref name="amnat163_2_192" /> Estimates of the [[number of species]] on Earth today vary; most species have not been [[Species description|described]].<ref name="Sweetlove_2011">{{Cite journal |last=Sweetlove |first=L. |date=24 August 2011 |title=Number of species on Earth tagged at 8.7 million |url=https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110823/full/news.2011.498.html |access-date=28 October 2020 |journal=Nature |pages=news.2011.498 |doi=10.1038/news.2011.498}}</ref> Over 99% of all [[species]] that ever lived on Earth are [[extinct]].<ref name="NYT-20141108">{{cite news|last=Novacek|first=Michael J.|date=8 November 2014|title=Prehistory's Brilliant Future|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/prehistorys-brilliant-future.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/opinion/sunday/prehistorys-brilliant-future.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited|access-date=1 November 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Jablonski2004">{{cite journal|last=Jablonski|first=David|author-link1=David Jablonski|year=2004|title=Extinction: past and present|journal=Nature|volume=427|issue=6975|page=589|bibcode=2004Natur.427..589J|doi=10.1038/427589a|pmid=14961099|s2cid=4412106}}</ref>
 
A planet that can sustain life is termed [[Planetary habitability|habitable]], even if life did not originate there. The distance of Earth from the Sun, as well as its orbital eccentricity, rate of rotation, axial tilt, geological history, sustaining atmosphere, and magnetic field all contribute to the current climatic conditions at the surface.<ref name="dole1970" /> Earth provides liquid water—an environment where complex [[Organic compound|organic molecules]] can assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain [[metabolism]].<ref name="ab2003" /> Plants can take up [[nutrient]]s from the atmosphere, soils and water. These nutrients are constantly recycled between different species.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Singh|first1=J. S.|author-link1=Jamuna Sharan Singh|last2=Singh|first2=S. P.|author-link2=S. P. Singh (biochemist)|last3=Gupta|first3=S.R.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/896866658|title=Ecology environmental science and conservation|publisher=S. Chand & Company|year=2013|isbn=978-93-83746-00-2|edition=First|location=New Delhi|oclc=896866658}}</ref>
 
Extreme weather, such as [[tropical cyclone]]s (including [[hurricane]]s and [[typhoon]]s), 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Oceans and Human Health|first1=Sharon|last1=Smith|first2=Lora|last2=Fleming|first3=Helena|last3=Solo-Gabriele|first4=William H.|last4=Gerwick|publisher=Elsevier Science|year= 2011|isbn=978-0-08-087782-2|page=212}}</ref> Many places are subject to earthquakes, [[landslide]]s, [[tsunami]]s, volcanic eruptions, [[tornado]]es, [[blizzard]]s, floods, droughts, [[wildfire]]s, and other calamities and disasters.<ref>{{cite book|title=Natural Disasters|last1=Alexander|first1=David|page=3|year= 1993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wnt0DwAAQBAJ&q=Natural+Disasters&pg=PT11|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-1-317-93881-1}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite book|pages=52, 66, 69, 137, 142, 185, 202, 355, 366|title=The Human Impact on the Natural Environment|last1=Goudie|first1=Andrew|author-link1=Andrew Goudie (geographer)|year=2000|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-57138-8}}</ref> Human activities release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere which cause [[global warming]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cook|first1=John|last2=Oreskes|first2=Naomi|author-link2=Naomi Oreskes|last3=Doran|first3=Peter T.|author-link3=Peter Doran|last4=Anderegg|first4=William R. L.|last5=Verheggen|first5=Bart|last6=Maibach|first6=Edward W.|author-link6=Edward Maibach|last7=Carlton|first7=J. Stuart|last8=Lewandowsky|first8=Stephan|author-link8=Stephan Lewandowsky|last9=Skuce|first9=Andrew G.|last10=Green|first10=Sarah A.|last11=Nuccitelli|first11=Dana|date=2016|title=Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming|journal=Environmental Research Letters|language=en|volume=11|issue=4|page=048002|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002|bibcode=2016ERL....11d8002C|issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free}}</ref> This is driving [[Effects of climate change|changes]] such as the [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|melting of glaciers and ice sheets]], a [[Sea level rise|global rise in average sea levels]], increased risk of drought and wildfires, and migration of species to colder areas.<ref name="Global Warming Effects">{{Cite web|date=14 January 2019|title=Global Warming Effects|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-effects/|access-date=16 September 2020|website=National Geographic|language=en}}</ref>
 
== Human geography ==
{{Main|Human geography|World}}
[[File:CIA WorldFactBook-Political world.pdf|thumb|left|300px|{{resize|105%|Sovereign states of the world}}]]
[[world population|Earth's human population]] passed seven billion in the early 2010s,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/various-7-billionth-babies-celebrated-worldwide-064439018.html |title=Various '7 billionth' babies celebrated worldwide |date=31 October 2011|agency=Associated Press|access-date=31 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031182613/http://news.yahoo.com/various-7-billionth-babies-celebrated-worldwide-064439018.html |work=Yahoo News|last1=Gomez|first1=Jim|last2=Sullivan|first2=Tim|archive-date=31 October 2011}}</ref> and is projected to peak at around ten billion in the second half of the 21st century.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Harvey|first=Fiona|date=15 July 2020|title=World population in 2100 could be 2 billion below UN forecasts, study suggests|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/15/world-population-in-2100-could-be-2-billion-below-un-forecasts-study-suggests|access-date=18 September 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Most of the growth is expected to take place in [[sub-Saharan Africa]].<ref name=":1" /> [[Population density#Human population density|Human population density]] varies widely around the world, but a majority live in [[Asia]]. By 2050, 68% of the world's population is expected to be living in urban, rather than rural, areas.<ref name="OWID_urbanization_2019" /> The Northern Hemisphere contains 68% of the world's land mass.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://phl.upr.edu/library/notes/distributionoflandmassesofthepaleo-earth |title=Distribution of landmasses of the Paleo-Earth |first1=Abel|last1=Méndez|author-link1=Abel Méndez |date=6 July 2011 |publisher=University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref> Partly due to the predominance of land mass, 90% of humans live in the Northern Hemisphere.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/90-of-people-live-in-the-northern-hemisphere-2012-5 |title=MAP OF THE DAY: Pretty Much Everyone Lives In The Northern Hemisphere |date=4 May 2012 |work=Business Insider|last1=Lutz|first1=Ashley|access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>
 
It is estimated that one-eighth of Earth's surface is suitable for humans to live on—three-quarters of Earth's surface is covered by oceans, leaving one-quarter as land. Half of that land area is desert (14%),<ref name="hessd4_439" /> high mountains (27%),<ref name="biodiv" /> or other unsuitable terrains. Humans have developed diverse [[Society|societies]] and [[culture]]s; politically, the world has about [[List of sovereign states|206 sovereign states]].<ref name="unms">{{cite web|title=United Nations Member States|url=https://www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml|publisher=United Nations|author=Press Release ORG/1469|access-date=3 November 2019|date=3 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230101646/http://www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml|archive-date=30 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> [[State (polity)|States]] claim the planet's entire land surface, except for parts of Antarctica and a few other [[Terra nullius|unclaimed areas]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lloyd|first1=John|author-link1=John Lloyd (producer)|title=The Discretely Plumper Second QI Book of General Ignorance|last2=Mitchinson|first2=John|author-link2=John Mitchinson (researcher)|publisher=Faber & Faber|year=2010|isbn=978-0-571-29072-7|pages=116–117}}</ref> Earth has never had a planetwide government, but the [[United Nations]] is the leading worldwide [[intergovernmental organization]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Courtney B.|url=https://www.rienner.com/uploads/47d958f8700e6.pdf|title=Politics and Process at the United Nations: The Global Dance|publisher=Lynne Reiner|year=2006|isbn=978-1-58826-323-0|pages=1–4}}</ref>
 
The first human to orbit Earth was [[Yuri Gagarin]] on 12 April 1961.<ref name=kuhn2006 /> In total, about 550 people have visited outer space and reached orbit {{as of|2018|11||lc=on}}, and, of these, [[Apollo program|twelve]] have walked on the Moon.<ref name=shayler_vis2005 /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Holmes|first=Oliver|date=19 November 2018|title=Space: how far have we gone – and where are we going?|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/19/space-how-far-have-we-gone-and-where-are-we-going|access-date=10 October 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Normally, the only humans in space are those on the International Space Station. The station's [[List of International Space Station expeditions|crew]], made up of six people, is usually replaced every six months.<ref name=nasa_rg_iss2007 /> The farthest that humans have traveled from Earth is {{convert|400171|km|mi|abbr=on}}, achieved during the [[Apollo 13]] mission in 1970.<ref name="Apollo13History" />
 
=== Natural resources and land use ===
{{Main|Natural resource|Land use}}
[[File:Global-land-use-graphic.png|thumb|300x300px|Earth's land use for human agriculture]]
Earth has resources that have been exploited by humans.<ref>{{cite news|title=What are the consequences of the overexploitation of natural resources?|work=[[Iberdrola]]|url=https://www.iberdrola.com/environment/overexploitation-of-natural-resources|access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> Those termed [[non-renewable resource]]s, such as [[fossil fuel]]s, are only replenished over geological timescales.<ref>{{cite journal|date=20 April 2016|title=13. Exploitation of Natural Resources|url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/92-826-5409-5/page013new.html|journal=[[European Environment Agency]]|publisher=[[European Union]]|access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Earth's crust, consisting of [[coal]], [[petroleum]], and [[natural gas]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Huebsch|first=Russell|date=29 September 2017|title=How Are Fossil Fuels Extracted From the Ground?|work=Sciencing|publisher=[[Leaf Group]] Media|url=https://sciencing.com/how-are-fossil-fuels-extracted-from-the-ground-12227026.html|access-date=28 June 2019}}</ref> These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production.<ref>{{cite web|title=Electricity generation – what are the options?|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics/electricity-generation-what-are-the-options.aspx|access-date=28 June 2019|work=[[World Nuclear Association]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brimhall|first1=George|date=May 1991|title=The Genesis of Ores|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24936905|journal=Scientific American|publisher=Nature America|volume=264|pages=84–91|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0591-84|jstor=24936905|access-date=13 October 2020|number=5|bibcode=1991SciAm.264e..84B}}</ref> These [[metal]]s and other elements are extracted by [[mining]], a process which often brings environmental and health damage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lunine|first=Jonathan I.|author-link=Jonathan Lunine|title=Earth: Evolution of a Habitable World|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-521-61519-8|edition=second|pages=292–94}}</ref>
 
Earth's biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including food, [[wood]], [[pharmaceutical]]s, 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.<ref name="science299_5607_673" /> In 2019, {{convert|39|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} of Earth's land surface consisted of forest and woodlands, {{convert|12|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} was shrub and grassland, {{convert|40|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} were used for animal feed production and grazing, and {{convert|11|e6km2|e6sqmi|abbr=unit}} were cultivated as croplands.<ref name="OWID_2019" /> Of the 12{{En dash}}14% of ice-free land that is used for croplands, 2 [[percentage point]]s were irrigated in 2015.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |author=IPCC |title=IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land |year=2019 |page=8 |chapter=Summary for Policymakers |author-link=IPCC <!-- |display-authors= 4 --> |chapter-url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/12/02_Summary-for-Policymakers_SPM.pdf}}</ref> Humans use [[building material]]s to construct shelters.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tate|first1=Nikki|title=Take Shelter: At Home Around the World|last2=Tate-Stratton|first2=Dani|year=2014|publisher=Orca Book Publishers|isbn=978-1-4598-0742-6|page=6}}</ref>
 
=== Humans and the environment ===
{{Main|Human impact on the environment|Climate change}}
[[File:Global_Temperature_And_Forces_With_Fahrenheit.svg|alt=The graph from 1880 to 2020 shows natural drivers exhibiting fluctuations of about 0.3 degrees Celsius. Human drivers steadily increase by 0.3 degrees over 100 years to 1980, then steeply by 0.8 degrees more over the past 40 years.|left|thumb|Change in average surface air temperature and drivers for that change. Human activity has caused increased temperatures, with natural forces adding some variability.<ref>{{Cite book |author= IPCC |author-link= IPCC |year= 2021 |title= Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis |series= Contribution of Working Group I to the [[IPCC Sixth Assessment Report|Sixth Assessment Report]] of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |display-editors= 4 |editor1-first= V. |editor1-last= Masson-Delmotte |editor2-first= P. |editor2-last= Zhai |editor3-first= A. |editor3-last= Pirani |editor4-first= S. L. |editor4-last= Connors |editor5-first= C. |editor5-last= Péan |editor6-first= S. |editor6-last= Berger |editor7-first= N. |editor7-last= Cau |editor8-first= Y. |editor8-last= Chen |editor9-first= L. |editor9-last= Goldfarb |editor10-first= M. I. |editor10-last= Gomis |publisher= Cambridge University Press (In Press) |place= Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA |url= https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Full_Report.pdf |at=SPM-7 }}</ref>]]
Human activities have impacted Earth's environments. Through activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, humans have been increasing the amount of [[greenhouse gas]]es in the atmosphere, altering [[Earth's energy budget]] and climate.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cook|first1=John|display-authors=et al|date=4 January 2016|title=Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming|journal=Environmental Research Letters|volume=11|issue=4|pages=048002|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002|bibcode=2016ERL....11d8002C|issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/EnergyBalance |title=Climate and Earth's Energy Budget |first1=Rebecca|last1=Lindsey |date=14 January 2009 |website=Earth Observatory|publisher=[[NASA]]|language=en |access-date=19 December 2021}}</ref> It is estimated that global temperatures in the year 2020 were {{convert|1.2|C-change}} warmer than the preindustrial baseline.<ref name="WMO2021">{{cite web|date=14 January 2021|title=The State of the Global Climate 2020|url=https://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/climate/wmo-statement-state-of-global-climate|access-date=3 March 2021|website=World Meteorological Organization|language=en}}</ref> This increase in temperature, known as [[global warming]], has contributed to the [[Retreat of glaciers since 1850|melting of glaciers]], [[Sea level rise|rising sea levels]], increased risk of drought and wildfires, and migration of species to colder areas.<ref name="Global Warming Effects" />
 
The concept of [[planetary boundaries]] was introduced to quantify humanity's impact on Earth. Of the nine identified boundaries, five have been crossed: [[Biodiversity loss|Biosphere integrity]], climate change, chemical pollution, destruction of wild habitats and the nitrogen cycle are thought to have passed the safe threshold.<ref name="Boundaries">{{cite web | title=We've crossed four of nine planetary boundaries. What does this mean? | website=[[Mongabay]]|last1=DiGirolamo|first1=Mike | date=8 September 2021 | url=https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/weve-crossed-four-of-nine-planetary-boundaries-what-does-this-mean/ | access-date=27 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damien |title=Chemical pollution has passed safe limit for humanity, say scientists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/18/chemical-pollution-has-passed-safe-limit-for-humanity-say-scientists |work=The Guardian |date=18 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref> As of 2018, no country meets the basic needs of its population without transgressing planetary boundaries. It is though possible to provide all basic physical needs globally within sustainable levels of resource use.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=O'Neill|first1=Daniel W.|last2=Fanning|first2=Andrew L.|last3=Lamb|first3=William F.|last4=Steinberger|first4=Julia K.|date=2018|title=A good life for all within planetary boundaries|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0021-4|journal=Nature Sustainability|language=en|volume=1|issue=2|pages=88–95|doi=10.1038/s41893-018-0021-4|s2cid=169679920|issn=2398-9629}}</ref>
 
== Cultural and historical viewpoint ==
{{Main|Earth in culture}}
[[File:Tracy Caldwell Dyson in Cupola ISS.jpg|alt=Woman seeing the Earth from space through a window|thumb|[[Tracy Caldwell Dyson]] in the [[Cupola (ISS module)|Cupola module]] of the [[International Space Station]] observing the Earth below]]
[[Culture|Human cultures]] have developed many views of the planet.<ref name="NYT-20181224b">{{cite news |last=Widmer |first=Ted |author-link=Edward L. Widmer|title=What Did Plato Think the Earth Looked Like? – For millenniums, humans have tried to imagine the world in space. Fifty years ago, we finally saw it. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/opinion/plato-earth-christmas-eve-apollo-8.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/opinion/plato-earth-christmas-eve-apollo-8.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited |date=24 December 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=25 December 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The standard [[Astronomical symbols|astronomical symbol]] of Earth consists of a cross [[circumscribed circle|circumscribed by a circle]], [[File:Earth symbol (fixed width).svg|12px|🜨]],<ref name=liungman2004 /> representing the [[four corners of the world]]. Many other [[Earth symbol]] also exist. Earth is sometimes [[Personification|personified]] as a [[deity]]. In many cultures it is a [[mother goddess]] that is also the primary [[fertility deity]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Thematic Guide to World Mythology |last=Stookey |first=Lorena Laura |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-313-31505-3 |location=Westport, CN |pages=[https://archive.org/details/thematicguidetow00lore/page/114 114–15] |url=https://archive.org/details/thematicguidetow00lore/page/114 }}</ref> [[Creation myth]]s in many religions involve the creation of Earth by a supernatural deity or deities.<ref name=":0" /> 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.<ref name="vanishing255">{{cite book|last1=Lovelock|first1=James E.|author-link=James Lovelock|title=The Vanishing Face of Gaia|publisher=Basic Books|year=2009|page=255|isbn=978-0-465-01549-8}}</ref><ref name="J1972">{{cite journal|last=Lovelock|first=James E.|author-link=James Lovelock|year=1972|title=Gaia as seen through the atmosphere|journal=Atmospheric Environment|volume=6|issue=8|pages=579–80|bibcode=1972AtmEn...6..579L|doi=10.1016/0004-6981(72)90076-5|issn=1352-2310}}</ref><ref name="lovelock1974">{{cite journal|last1=Lovelock|first1=James E.|author-link1=James Lovelock|last2=Margulis|first2=Lynn|author-link2=Lynn Margulis|year=1974|title=Atmospheric homeostasis by and for the biosphere: the Gaia hypothesis|journal=Tellus|series=Series A|volume=26|issue=1–2|pages=2–10|bibcode=1974Tell...26....2L|doi=10.1111/j.2153-3490.1974.tb01946.x|issn=1600-0870}}</ref>
 
[[Timeline of first images of Earth from space|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.<ref name="NYT-20181221">{{cite news|last=Overbye|first=Dennis|author-link=Dennis Overbye|date=21 December 2018|title=Apollo 8's Earthrise: The Shot Seen Round the World – Half a century ago today, a photograph from the moon helped humans rediscover Earth.|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/science/earthrise-moon-apollo-nasa.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/science/earthrise-moon-apollo-nasa.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited|access-date=24 December 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20181224a">{{cite news|last1=Boulton|first1=Matthew Myer|last2=Heithaus|first2=Joseph|date=24 December 2018|title=We Are All Riders on the Same Planet – Seen from space 50 years ago, Earth appeared as a gift to preserve and cherish. What happened?|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/opinion/earth-space-christmas-eve-apollo-8.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/opinion/earth-space-christmas-eve-apollo-8.html |archive-date=1 January 2022 |url-access=limited|access-date=25 December 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In particular, this caused a realization of the scope of effects from human activity on Earth's environment. Enabled by science, particularly [[Earth observation]],<ref name="ESPI – European Space Policy Institute 2021">{{cite web | title=ESPI Evening Event "Seeing Our Planet Whole: A Cultural and Ethical View of Earth Observation" | website=ESPI – European Space Policy Institute | date=7 October 2021 | url=https://espi.or.at/news/espi-evening-event-seeing-our-planet-whole-a-cultural-and-ethical-view-of-earth-observation | access-date=27 January 2022}}</ref> humans have started to take [[Environmentalism|action on environmental issues]] globally,<ref name="CBC 2020">{{cite web | title=Two early images of Earth that bolstered the environmental movement – CBC Radio | website=CBC | date=16 April 2020 | url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks/two-early-images-of-earth-that-bolstered-the-environmental-movement-1.5534843 | access-date=27 January 2022}}</ref> acknowledging the impact of humans and the [[Ecological network|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]].<ref name="Kahn2001">{{cite book |last=Kahn |first=Charles H. | author-link = Charles H. Kahn |date=2001 |title=Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans: A Brief History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKUtAwAAQBAJ&q=Pythagoreanism&pg=PA72 |location=Indianapolis, IN and Cambridge, England |publisher=Hackett Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-87220-575-8 |page=53}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Garwood|first=Christine|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/184822945|title=Flat earth : the history of an infamous idea|date=2008|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|isbn=978-0-312-38208-7|edition=1st|location=New York|oclc=184822945|pages=26–31}}</ref> Earth was generally believed to be [[Geocentric model|the center of the universe]] until the 16th century, when scientists first concluded that it was [[heliocentrism|a moving object]], one of the planets of the Solar System.<ref name=arnett20060716 />
 
It was only during the 19th century that geologists realized [[Earth's age]] was at least many millions of years.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Physical Geology: Exploring the Earth |last1=Monroe |first1=James |publisher=Thomson Brooks/Cole |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-495-01148-4 |pages=263–65 |last2=Wicander |first2=Reed |last3=Hazlett |first3=Richard}}</ref> [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Lord Kelvin]] used [[thermodynamics]] to estimate the age of Earth to be between 20 million and 400&nbsp;million years in 1864, sparking a vigorous debate on the subject; it was only when radioactivity and [[Radiometric dating|radioactive dating]] were discovered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that a reliable mechanism for determining Earth's age was established, proving the planet to be billions of years old.<ref>{{Cite book |title=An Equation for Every Occasion: Fifty-Two Formulas and Why They Matter |last=Henshaw |first=John M. |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4214-1491-1 |pages=117–18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Lord Kelvin and the Age of the Earth |last=Burchfield |first=Joe D. |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-226-08043-7 |pages=13–18}}</ref>


== See also ==
All places on Earth are made of, or are on top of, rocks. The outside of the Earth is usually not uncovered rock. Over 70[[percent|%]] of the Earth is covered by [[ocean|sea]]s full of [[salt]]y water.<ref name="Physical-Hydro">{{cite web|url=http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8a.html|title=Chapter 8: Introduction to the Hydrosphere|accessdate=2009-08-06|publisher=Physical Geography}}</ref> This salty water makes up about 97{{Frac|2}}[[percent|%]] of all Earth's water. The [[fresh water]] people can drink is mostly [[ice]]. Only a very small amount is in [[river]]s and under the Earth for people to drink and use.<ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=World water resources and their uses|url=http://webworld.unesco.org/water/ihp/db/shiklomanov/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010720061344/http://webworld.unesco.org/water/ihp/db/shiklomanov/|archive-date=July 20, 2001|accessdate=2009-08-06|website=|publisher=UNESCO}}</ref> The air above the Earth stops the water from going away into [[outer space]]. Also, much of the land on Earth is covered with plants, or with what is left from earlier living things. Places with very little rain are dry wastes called [[desert]]s. Deserts usually have few living things, but life is able to grow very quickly when these wastes have rainfall. Places with large amounts of rain may be [[rain forest|large woods]]. Lately, people have changed the [[environment]] of the Earth a great deal.
{{columns list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Celestial sphere]]
* [[Earth phase]]
* [[Earth physical characteristics tables]]
* [[Earth science]]
* [[Outline of Earth]]
* [[List of gravitationally rounded objects of the Solar System#Planets|Table of physical properties of planets in the Solar System]]
* [[Timeline of natural history]]
* [[Timeline of the far future]]
}}


== Notes ==
=== Air ===
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{{main|Atmosphere}}
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All around the Earth is the of air (the [[atmosphere]]). The mass of the Earth holds the [[gas]]ses in the air down and does not let them go into outer space. The air is mostly made of [[nitrogen]] (about 78[[percent|%]]) and [[oxygen]] (about 21[[percent|%]]) and there are a few other gasses as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9-12/features/912_liftoff_atm.html|title=NASA - Earth's atmosphere|accessdate=2009-08-06|publisher=NASA}}</ref> Most living things need the air (or parts of the air gripped in the water) to breathe and live. They use the gasses&mdash;especially [[oxygen]] and [[carbon dioxide]]&mdash;to make and use [[sugar]] and to give themselves power.
{{reflist |30em |group="n" |refs=


<ref name=Aoki>The ultimate source of these figures, uses the term "seconds of UT1" instead of "seconds of mean solar time".—{{cite journal |last1=Aoki |first1=S. |title=The new definition of universal time |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |year=1982 |volume=105 |issue=2 |pages=359–61 |bibcode=1982A&A...105..359A |last2=Kinoshita |first2=H. |last3=Guinot |first3=B. |last4=Kaplan |first4=G. H. |last5=McCarthy |first5=D. D. |last6=Seidelmann |first6=P. K.}}</ref>
The air animals and plants use to live is only the first level of the air around the Earth (the [[troposphere]]). The day to day changes in this level of air are called [[weather]]; the larger differences between distant places and from year to year are called the [[climate]]. [[Rain]] and [[storm]]s come about because this part of the air gets colder as it goes up. [[convection|Cold air becomes thicker and falls, and warm air becomes thinner and goes up]].<ref name="NASA">{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=What causes weather?|url=http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/weather_worldbook.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050501070321/http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/weather_worldbook.html|archive-date=May 1, 2005|accessdate=2009-08-06|website=|publisher=NASA}}</ref> The turning Earth moves the air as well and air moves north and south because the middle of the Earth generally gets more power from the Sun and is warmer than the north and south points. Air over warm water [[evaporation|evaporates]] but, because cold air is not able to take in as much water, it starts to make [[cloud]]s and [[rain]] as it gets colder. The way water moves around in a circle like this is called the [[water cycle]].<ref name= NASA />


<ref name=apsis>aphelion = ''a'' × (1 + ''e''); perihelion = ''a'' × (1&nbsp;– ''e''), where ''a'' is the semi-major axis and ''e'' is the eccentricity. The difference between Earth's perihelion and aphelion is 5 million kilometers.—{{cite book|page=144|title=Probing the New Solar System|last1=Wilkinson|first1=John|year= 2009|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|isbn=978-0-643-09949-4}}</ref>
Above this first level, there are four other levels. The air gets colder as it goes up in the first level; in the second level (the [[stratosphere]]), the air gets warmer as it goes up. This level has a special kind of [[oxygen]] called [[ozone]]. The [[ozone]] in this air keeps living things safe from [[ultraviolet radiation|damaging rays from the Sun]]. The power from these rays is what makes this level warmer and warmer. The middle level (the [[mesosphere]]) gets colder and colder with height; the fourth level (the [[thermosphere]]) gets warmer and warmer; and the last level (the [[exosphere]]) is almost outer space and has very little air at all. It reaches about half the way to the Moon. The three outer levels have a lot of [[electricity|electric power]] moving through them; this is called the [[ionosphere]] and is important for [[radio]] and other electric waves in the air. It is also where the [[Northern Lights]] are.


<ref name=epoch>All astronomical quantities vary, both [[Secular phenomena|secularly]] and [[Frequency|periodically]]. The quantities given are the values at the instant [[J2000.0]] of the secular variation, ignoring all periodic variations.</ref>
Even though air seems very light, the weight of all of the air above the outside of the Earth ([[air pressure]]) is important. Generally, from [[sea level]] to the top of [[exosphere|the outer level of the air]], a space of air one [[square centimeter|cm<sup>2</sup>]] across has a mass of about 1.03 [[kilogram|kg]] and a space of air one [[square inch|sq in]] across has a weight of about 14.7 [[Pound (mass)|lb]]. Because of the air, small meteorites generally burn up long before they get to the earth.


<ref name=hill_radius>For Earth, the [[Hill radius]] is <math>R_H = a\left ( \frac{m}{3M} \right )^{\frac{1}{3}}</math>, where ''m'' is the mass of Earth, ''a'' is an astronomical unit, and ''M'' is the mass of the Sun. So the radius in AU is about <math>\left ( \frac{1}{3 \cdot 332,946} \right )^{\frac{1}{3}} = 0.01</math>.</ref>
The air also keeps the Earth warm, specially the half turned away from the Sun. Some gasses &ndash; especially [[methane]] and [[carbon dioxide]] &ndash; [[greenhouse effect|work like a blanket to keep things warm]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7h.html|title=Fundamentals of physical geography - the greenhouse effect|accessdate=2009-08-06|publisher=Physical Geography}}</ref> [[#History of Earth|In the past]], the Earth has been much warmer and much colder than it is now. Since people have grown used to the heat we have now, though, we do not want the Earth to be too much warmer or colder. Most of the ways people create [[electricity|electric power]] use burning kinds of [[carbon]]&mdash;especially [[coal]], [[oil]], and [[natural gas]]. Burning these creates new [[carbon dioxide]] and can cause more warming. A [[climate change|large discussion]] is going on now about what people should do about [[global warming|the Earth's latest warming]], which has gone on for about 150 years. So far, this warming has been acceptable: plants have grown better. The weather has been better than [[Little Ice Age|when it was colder]]. Bad things will possibly come about if the warming goes on.


<ref name=jaes41_3_379>Including the [[Somali Plate]], which is being formed out of the African Plate. See: {{cite journal |first=Jean |last=Chorowicz |date=October 2005 |title=The East African rift system |journal=[[Journal of African Earth Sciences]] |volume=43 |issue=1–3 |pages=379–410 |doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.07.019 |bibcode=2005JAfES..43..379C}}</ref>
== People                                                                                                                                                                      ==
{{main|Human}}
About eight [[billion]] people live on Earth. They live in about 200 different lands called [[countries]]. Some, for example, [[Russia]], are large with many large cities. Others, for example, [[Vatican City]], are small. The seven countries with the most people are [[China]], [[India]], the [[United States]], [[Indonesia]],  [[Pakistan]], [[Brazil]] and [[Nigeria]]. About 90% of people live in the [[northern hemisphere]] of the world, which has most of the land. Human beings originally came from [[Africa]]. Now, 70% of all people do not live in Africa but in [[Europe]] and [[Asia]].<ref>Diamond, Jared. 1997. ''[[Guns, Germs, and Steel]]: the fate of human societies''. New York: Norton.</ref>
[[File:Population_density.png|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Population_density.png|alt=|thumb|center|350px|The distribution of human [[world population]] in 2018]]


<ref name=solar_energy>Aphelion is 103.4% of the distance to perihelion. Due to the inverse square law, the radiation at perihelion is about 106.9% of the energy at aphelion.</ref>
People change the Earth in many ways. They have been able to grow plants for food and clothes for about ten thousand years. When there was enough food, they were able to build towns and cities. Near these places, men and women were able to change rivers, [[irrigation|bring water to farms]], and stop [[flood]]s (rising water) from coming over their land. People found useful animals and [[domestication|bred]] them so they were easier to keep.


<ref name=surfacecover>Due to natural fluctuations, ambiguities surrounding [[Ice shelf|ice shelves]], and mapping conventions for [[vertical datum]]s, exact values for land and ocean coverage are not meaningful. Based on data from the [[Vector Map]] and [http://www.landcover.org/ Global Landcover] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326085837/http://www.landcover.org/ |date=26 March 2015 }} datasets, extreme values for coverage of lakes and streams are 0.6% and 1.0% of Earth's surface. The ice sheets of [[Antarctica]] and [[Greenland]] are counted as land, even though much of the rock that supports them lies below sea level.</ref>
== Gallery ==
{{LifeOnEarth}}{{LocationOfEarth}}


<ref name=space_debris>As of 4 January 2018, the United States Strategic Command tracked a total of 18,835 artificial objects, mostly debris. See: {{cite journal |url=https://orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/quarterly-news/pdfs/odqnv22i1.pdf |title=Satellite Box Score |journal=Orbital Debris Quarterly News |editor1-first=Phillip |editor1-last=Anz-Meador |editor2-first=Debi |editor2-last=Shoots |volume=22 |issue=1 |page=12 |date=February 2018 |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref>
== Related pages ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Formation and evolution of the Solar System]]
* [[Age of the Earth]]
* [[Geology]]
* [[List of planets]]
* [[Solar System]]
* [[Structure of the Earth]]


}}
{{div col end}}


== References ==
== References ==
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List alphabetized. Keep it that way!
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{{reflist|refs=
 
<ref name=aaa428_261>{{cite journal |display-authors=1 |last1=Laskar |first1=J. |last2=Robutel |first2=P. |last3=Joutel |first3=F. |last4=Gastineau |first4=M. |last5=Correia |first5=A.C.M. |last6=Levrard |first6=B. |title=A long-term numerical solution for the insolation quantities of the Earth |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |year=2004 |volume=428 |issue=1 |pages=261–85 |bibcode=2004A&A...428..261L |doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20041335 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00001603/document|doi-access=free }}</ref>
 
<ref name=ab2003>{{cite web |author=Staff |date=September 2003 |url=http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/roadmap/g1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312212337/http://astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov/roadmap/g1.html |archive-date=12 March 2012 |title=Astrobiology Roadmap |publisher=NASA, Lockheed Martin |access-date=10 March 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
<ref name=abedon1997>{{cite web |last1=Abedon |first1=Stephen T. |date=31 March 1997 |url=http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/biol1010.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129043509/http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/~sabedon/biol1010.htm |archive-date=29 November 2012 |title=History of Earth |publisher=Ohio State University |access-date=19 March 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
<ref name="age_earth1">See:
* {{cite book |first1=G. Brent |last1=Dalrymple |author-link1=Brent Dalrymple|date=1991 |title=The Age of the Earth |publisher=Stanford University Press |location=California |isbn=978-0-8047-1569-0}}
* {{cite web |last=Newman |first=William L. |date=9 July 2007 |url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/geotime/age.html |title=Age of the Earth |publisher=Publications Services, USGS |access-date=20 September 2007}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Dalrymple |first1=G. Brent |author-link1=Brent Dalrymple|title=The age of the Earth in the twentieth century: a problem (mostly) solved |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |year=2001 |volume=190 |issue=1 |pages=205–21 |url=http://sp.lyellcollection.org/cgi/content/abstract/190/1/205 |access-date=20 September 2007 |doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.190.01.14 |bibcode=2001GSLSP.190..205D|s2cid=130092094 }}</ref>
 
<ref name=aj136_5_1906>{{cite journal |last1=McCarthy |first1=Dennis D. |author-link1=Dennis McCarthy (scientist)|last2=Hackman |first2=Christine |last3=Nelson |first3=Robert A. |title=The Physical Basis of the Leap Second |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=136 |issue=5 |pages=1906–08 |date=November 2008 |doi=10.1088/0004-6256/136/5/1906 |bibcode=2008AJ....136.1906M |url=http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA489427&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728050156/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a489427.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2018|url-status=dead |doi-access=free }}</ref>
 
<ref name=ajes38_613>{{cite journal |last1=Armstrong |first1=R. L. |year=1991 |title=The persistent myth of crustal growth |journal=Australian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=613–30 |doi=10.1080/08120099108727995 |bibcode=1991AuJES..38..613A |url=http://www.mantleplumes.org/WebDocuments/Armstrong1991.pdf |citeseerx=10.1.1.527.9577}}</ref>
 
<ref name=Allen294>{{cite book |title=Allen's Astrophysical Quantities |last1=Allen |first1=Clabon Walter |author-link1=Clabon Allen|last2=Cox |first2=Arthur N. |publisher=Springer |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-387-98746-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8PK2XFLLH8C&pg=PA294 |page=294 |access-date=13 March 2011}}</ref>
 
<ref name=Allen296>{{cite book |title=Allen's Astrophysical Quantities |last1=Allen |first1=Clabon Walter |author-link1=Clabon Allen|last2=Cox |first2=Arthur N. |publisher=Springer |date=2000 |isbn=978-0-387-98746-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8PK2XFLLH8C&pg=PA296 |page=296 |access-date=17 August 2010}}</ref>
 
<ref name=amnat163_2_192>{{cite journal |last1=Hillebrand |first1=Helmut |title=On the Generality of the Latitudinal Gradient |journal=American Naturalist |year=2004 |volume=163 |issue=2 |pages=192–211 |doi=10.1086/381004 |pmid=14970922 |s2cid=9886026 |url=http://oceanrep.geomar.de/4048/1/Hillebrand_2004_Amer_nat.pdf}}</ref>
 
<ref name=angular>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=David R. |date=10 February 2006 |url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetfact.html |title=Planetary Fact Sheets |publisher=NASA |access-date=28 September 2008}}{{snd}}See the apparent diameters on the Sun and Moon pages.</ref>
<!---
<ref name=arghg4_143>{{cite journal |last1=Pennock |first1=R. T. |title=Creationism and intelligent design |journal=Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=143–63 |year=2003 |pmid=14527300 |doi=10.1146/annurev.genom.4.070802.110400}}</ref>
--->
<ref name=arnett20060716>{{cite web |first1=Bill |last1=Arnett |date=16 July 2006 |title=Earth |work=The Nine Planets, A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System: one star, eight planets, and more |url=http://nineplanets.org/earth.html |access-date=9 March 2010}}</ref>
 
<ref name=arwps4_265>{{cite journal |last1=Hunten |first1=D. M. |title=Hydrogen loss from the terrestrial planets |journal=Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences |year=1976 |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=265–92 |bibcode=1976AREPS...4..265H |doi=10.1146/annurev.ea.04.050176.001405 |last2=Donahue |first2=T. M|author-link2=Thomas Michael Donahue}}</ref>
 
<ref name=asp2002>{{cite conference |last1=Guinan |first1=E. F. |last2=Ribas |first2=I. |editor=Benjamin Montesinos, Alvaro Gimenez and Edward F. Guinan |title=Our Changing Sun: The Role of Solar Nuclear Evolution and Magnetic Activity on Earth's Atmosphere and Climate |work=ASP Conference Proceedings: The Evolving Sun and its Influence on Planetary Environments |year=2002 |location=San Francisco |isbn=978-1-58381-109-2 |publisher=Astronomical Society of the Pacific |bibcode=2002ASPC..269...85G}}</ref>
 
<ref name=asu_highest_temp>{{cite web |url=https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-highest-temperature |title=World: Highest Temperature |work=[[WMO]] Weather and Climate Extremes Archive |publisher=[[Arizona State University]] |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref>
 
<ref name=asu_lowest_temp>{{cite web |url=https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-lowest-temperature |title=World: Lowest Temperature |work=[[WMO]] Weather and Climate Extremes Archive |publisher=[[Arizona State University]] |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref>
 
<ref name="atmosphere">{{cite web |author=Staff |date=8 October 2003 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9-12/features/912_liftoff_atm.html |title=Earth's Atmosphere |publisher=NASA |access-date=21 March 2007}}</ref>
 
<ref name="berger2002">{{cite web |last1=Berger |first1=Wolfgang H. |author-link1=Wolfgang H. Berger|year=2002 |url=http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/virtualmuseum/climatechange1/cc1syllabus.shtml |title=The Earth's Climate System |publisher=University of California, San Diego |access-date=24 March 2007}}</ref>
 
<ref name=bgsa119_1_140>{{cite journal |last1=Wilkinson |first1=B. H. |last2=McElroy |first2=B. J. |s2cid=128776283 |title=The impact of humans on continental erosion and sedimentation |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of America |year=2007 |volume=119 |issue=1–2 |pages=140–56 |doi=10.1130/B25899.1 |bibcode=2007GSAB..119..140W}}</ref>
 
<ref name=biodiv>{{cite web |author=Staff |url=http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/default.shtml |title=Themes & Issues |publisher=Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity |access-date=29 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070407011249/http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/default.shtml |archive-date=7 April 2007 }}</ref>
 
<ref name=bouvier_wadhwa2010>{{cite journal |last1=Bouvier |first1=Audrey |last2=Wadhwa |first2=Meenakshi |author-link2=Meenakshi Wadhwa|title=The age of the Solar System redefined by the oldest Pb–Pb age of a meteoritic inclusion |journal=Nature Geoscience |date=September 2010 |volume=3 |issue=9 |pages=637–41 |doi=10.1038/ngeo941|bibcode=2010NatGe...3..637B }}</ref>
 
<ref name="bradley_2011">{{Cite journal |last=Bradley |first=D.C. |author-link1=Donal Bradley|date=2011 |title=Secular Trends in the Geologic Record and the Supercontinent Cycle |url=http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.715.6618&rep=rep1&type=pdf |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=108 |issue=1–2 |pages=16–33 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.05.003|bibcode=2011ESRv..108...16B |citeseerx=10.1.1.715.6618 }}</ref>
 
<ref name="britt2000">{{cite web |first1=Robert |last1=Britt |website=Space.com|url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/death_of_earth_000224.html |title=Freeze, Fry or Dry: How Long Has the Earth Got? |date=25 February 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605231345/http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/death_of_earth_000224.html |archive-date=5 June 2009}}</ref>
 
<ref name=bromberg2008>{{cite web |last1=Bromberg |first1=Irv |date=1 May 2008 |url=http://www.sym454.org/seasons/ |title=The Lengths of the Seasons (on Earth) |publisher=[[University of Toronto]]|website=Sym545 |access-date=8 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218221421/http://www.sym454.org/seasons/ |archive-date=18 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
<ref name=brown_mussett1981>{{cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Geoff C. |last2=Mussett |first2=Alan E. |title=The Inaccessible Earth |edition=2nd |date=1981 |page=[https://archive.org/details/inaccessibleeart0000brow_r5i2/page/166 166] |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-04-550028-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/inaccessibleeart0000brow_r5i2/page/166 }} Note: After Ronov and Yaroshevsky (1969).</ref>
 
<ref name=brown_wohletz2005>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=W. K. |last2=Wohletz |first2=K. H. |year=2005 |url=http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/ees/geodynamics/Wohletz/SFT-Tectonics.htm |title=SFT and the Earth's Tectonic Plates |publisher=Los Alamos National Laboratory |access-date=2 March 2007}}</ref>
 
<ref name=burton20021129>{{cite web |last1=Burton |first1=Kathleen |date=29 November 2002 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2000/00_79AR.html |title=Astrobiologists Find Evidence of Early Life on Land |publisher=NASA |access-date=5 March 2007}}</ref>
 
<ref name=campbelwh>{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Wallace Hall |title=Introduction to Geomagnetic Fields |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2003 |location=New York |page=57 |isbn=978-0-521-82206-0}}</ref>
 
<ref name=canup_asphaug2001b>{{cite journal |last1=Canup |first1=R. |author-link1=Robin Canup|last2=Asphaug |first2=E. I. |author-link2=Erik Ian Asphaug|s2cid=4413525 |title=Origin of the Moon in a giant impact near the end of the Earth's formation |journal=Nature |volume=412 |pages=708–12 |year=2001 |doi=10.1038/35089010 |pmid=11507633 |issue=6848 |bibcode=2001Natur.412..708C}}</ref>
 
<ref name=cazenave_ahrens1995>{{cite book |first1=Anny |last1=Cazenave |author-link=Anny Cazenave |editor=Ahrens, Thomas J |date=1995 |title=Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants |journal=Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants |issue=1 |publisher=American Geophysical Union |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-87590-851-9 |chapter-url=http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/5_cazenave.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016024803/http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/5_cazenave.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2006 |access-date=3 August 2008 |chapter=Geoid, Topography and Distribution of Landforms |bibcode=1995geph.conf.....A}}</ref>
 
<ref name=Choi>{{cite web |last1=Choi |first1=Charles Q. |title=First Asteroid Companion of Earth Discovered at Last |website=[[Space.com]]|url=http://www.space.com/12443-earth-asteroid-companion-discovered-2010-tk7.html |date=27 July 2011 |access-date=27 July 2011}}</ref>
 
<ref name=christou_asher2011>{{cite journal |last1=Christou |first1=Apostolos A. |last2=Asher |first2=David J. |author-link2=David J. Asher|date=31 March 2011 |title=A long-lived horseshoe companion to the Earth |arxiv=1104.0036 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.18595.x |volume=414 |issue=4 |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |pages=2965–69 |bibcode=2011MNRAS.414.2965C|s2cid=13832179 }} See table 2, p. 5.</ref>
 
<ref name=climate_zones>{{cite web |author=Staff |url=http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/climate/older/Climate_Zones.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808131632/http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/climate/older/Climate_Zones.html |archive-date=8 August 2010 |title=Climate Zones |publisher=UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |access-date=24 March 2007}}</ref>
 
<ref name=cmp134_3>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/s004100050465 |title=Priscoan (4.00–4.03 Ga) orthogneisses from northwestern Canada |year=1999 |last1=Bowring |first1=Samuel A. |author-link1=Samuel Bowring|journal=Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology |volume=134 |issue=1 |pages=3–16 |last2=Williams |first2=Ian S. |s2cid=128376754 |bibcode=1999CoMP..134....3B}}</ref>
 
<ref name=Connors>{{cite journal |last1=Connors |first1=Martin |author-link1=Martin Connors|last2=Wiegert |first2=Paul |author-link2=Paul Wiegert|last3=Veillet |first3=Christian |s2cid=205225571 |title=Earth's Trojan asteroid |date=27 July 2011 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=475 |pages=481–83 |doi=10.1038/nature10233 |issue=7357 |bibcode=2011Natur.475..481C |pmid=21796207}}</ref>
 
<ref name=cordoba2004>{{cite web |first1=S. Sanz Fernández |last1=de Córdoba |date=21 June 2004 |url=http://www.fai.org/astronautics/100km.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115223732/http://www.fai.org/astronautics/100km.asp |archive-date=15 January 2010 |title=Presentation of the Karman separation line, used as the boundary separating Aeronautics and Astronautics |publisher=Fédération Aéronautique Internationale |access-date=21 April 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Cox2000">{{cite book |editor=Arthur N. Cox |title=Allen's Astrophysical Quantities |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8PK2XFLLH8C&pg=PA244 |edition=4th |date=2000 |publisher=AIP Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-387-98746-0 |page=244 |access-date=17 August 2010}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Apollo13History">{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/Apollo_13a_Summary.htm |title=Apollo 13 The Seventh Mission: The Third Lunar Landing Attempt 11 April–17 April 1970 |publisher=NASA |access-date=7 November 2015}}</ref>
 
<ref name=de_pater_lissauer2010>{{cite book |last1=de Pater |first1=Imke |last2=Lissauer |first2=Jack J. |author-link2=Jack J. Lissauer|title=Planetary Sciences |page=154 |edition=2nd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-521-85371-2}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Deuss_2014">{{Cite journal |last=Deuss |first=Arwen |date=2014 |title=Heterogeneity and Anisotropy of Earth's Inner Core |url=http://www.geo.uu.nl/~seismain/pdf/Annu_Rev_Earth_Planet.Sci.2014Deuss.pdf |journal=Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=103–26 |doi=10.1146/annurev-earth-060313-054658|bibcode=2014AREPS..42..103D }}</ref>
 
<ref name="Dhuime_etal_2018">{{Cite journal |last1=Dhuime |first1=B. |last2=Hawksworth |first2=C.J. |author-link2=Christopher Hawkesworth|last3=Delavault |first3=H. |last4=Cawood |first4=P.A. |date=2018 |title=Rates of generation and destruction of the continental crust: implications for continental growth |journal=Philosophical Transactions A |volume=376 |issue=2132 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2017.0403|pmc=6189557 |pmid=30275156|bibcode=2018RSPTA.37670403D }}</ref>
 
<ref name=dole1970>{{cite book |first1=Stephen H. |last1=Dole |date=1970 |title=Habitable Planets for Man |edition=2nd |publisher=American Elsevier Publishing Co |url=https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R414/ |access-date=11 March 2007 |isbn=978-0-444-00092-7}}</ref>
 
<ref name=duennebier1999>{{cite web |last1=Duennebier |first1=Fred |date=12 August 1999 |url=http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/ASK/plate-tectonics2.html |title=Pacific Plate Motion |publisher=University of Hawaii |access-date=14 March 2007}}</ref>
<!---
<ref name=Dutch2002>{{cite journal |last1=Dutch |first1=S. I. |year=2002 |title=Religion as belief versus religion as fact |journal=Journal of Geoscience Education |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=137–44 |url=http://nagt.org/files/nagt/jge/abstracts/Dutch_v50n2p137.pdf |access-date=28 April 2008 |format=PDF}}</ref>
--->
<ref name="earth_fact_sheet">{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html |title=Earth Fact Sheet |publisher=NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center |first=David R. |last=Williams |date=16 March 2017 |access-date=26 July 2018}}</ref>
<!---
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--->
 
<ref name=epsl121_1>{{cite journal |last1=Vlaar |first1=N |last2=Vankeken |first2=P. |last3=Vandenberg |first3=A. |title=Cooling of the Earth in the Archaean: Consequences of pressure-release melting in a hotter mantle |year=1994 |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=121 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–18 |doi=10.1016/0012-821X(94)90028-0 |url=http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~keken/papers/Vlaar_EPSL94.pdf |bibcode=1994E&PSL.121....1V |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319181621/http://www.geo.lsa.umich.edu/~keken/papers/Vlaar_EPSL94.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2012 }}</ref>
 
<ref name=espenak_meeus20070207>{{cite web |last1=Espenak |first1=Fred |author-link1=Fred Espenak|last2=Meeus |first2=Jean |author-link2=Jean Meeus|date=7 February 2007 |url=http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEcat5/secular.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302112957/http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEcat5/secular.html |archive-date=2 March 2008 |title=Secular acceleration of the Moon |publisher=NASA |access-date=20 April 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
<ref name=fisher19960205>{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Rick |date=5 February 1996 |url=http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~rfisher/Ephemerides/earth_rot.html |title=Earth Rotation and Equatorial Coordinates |publisher=National Radio Astronomy Observatory |access-date=21 March 2007}}</ref>
 
<ref name=fitzpatrick2006>{{cite web |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Richard |date=16 February 2006 |url=http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/plasma/lectures/node69.html |title=MHD dynamo theory |publisher=NASA WMAP |access-date=27 February 2007}}</ref>
<!---
<ref name=frye1983>{{cite book |last1=Frye |first1=Roland Mushat |date=1983 |title=Is God a Creationist? The Religious Case Against Creation-Science |publisher=Scribner's |isbn=978-0-684-17993-3}}</ref>
--->
<ref name=geerts_linacre97>{{cite web |last1=Geerts |first1=B. |last2=Linacre |first2=E. |url=http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap01/tropo.html |title=The height of the tropopause |date=November 1997 |work=Resources in Atmospheric Sciences |publisher=University of Wyoming |access-date=10 August 2006}}</ref>
 
<ref name="GeolSoc">{{Cite web |year=2012|website=London Geological Society|title=The Crust and Lithosphere |url=https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/flood_basalts_2 |access-date=25 October 2020}}</ref>
 
<ref name=gould1994>{{cite journal |last1=Gould |first1=Stephan J. |author-link1=Stephen Jay Gould|title=The Evolution of Life on Earth |journal=[[Scientific American]] |date=October 1994 |url=http://brembs.net/gould.html |access-date=5 March 2007 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1094-84 |volume=271 |issue=4 |pages=84–91 |pmid=7939569 |bibcode=1994SciAm.271d..84G}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Harrison 2002">{{cite book |first1=Roy M. |last1=Harrison |author-link1=Roy M. Harrison |last2=Hester |first2=Ronald E. |date=2002 |title=Causes and Environmental Implications of Increased UV-B Radiation |publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry |isbn=978-0-85404-265-4}}</ref>
 
<ref name=hbcp2000>{{cite book |author=Various |editor=David R. Lide |date=2000 |title=Handbook of Chemistry and Physics |edition=81st |publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-0-8493-0481-1}}</ref>
 
<ref name="heat loss">{{cite journal |doi=10.1029/JB086iB12p11535 |title=Oceans and Continents: Similarities and Differences in the Mechanisms of Heat Loss |year=1981 |last1=Sclater |first1=John G |last2=Parsons |first2=Barry |last3=Jaupart |first3=Claude |author-link3=Claude Jaupart|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=86 |issue=B12 |page=11535 |bibcode=1981JGR....8611535S}}</ref>
 
<ref name=hess5_4_569>{{cite journal |last1=Bounama |first1=Christine |year=2001 |last2=Franck |first2=S. |last3=Von Bloh |first3=W. |s2cid=14024675 |title=The fate of Earth's ocean |journal=Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=569–75 |doi=10.5194/hess-5-569-2001 |bibcode=2001HESS....5..569B|doi-access=free }}</ref>
 
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<ref name="sun_future_schroder">{{cite journal |first1=K.-P. |last1=Schröder |last2=Connon Smith |first2=Robert |year=2008 |title=Distant future of the Sun and Earth revisited |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2008.13022.x |journal=[[Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society]] |arxiv=0801.4031 |volume=386 |issue=1 |pages=155–63 |bibcode=2008MNRAS.386..155S|s2cid=10073988 }}<br />See also {{cite news |first=Jason |last=Palmer |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13369 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415105707/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13369 |archive-date=15 April 2012 |title=Hope dims that Earth will survive Sun's death |date=22 February 2008 |work=NewScientist.com news service |access-date=24 March 2008}}</ref>
 
<ref name=tanimoto_ahrens1995>{{cite book |last1=Tanimoto |first1=Toshiro |editor=Thomas J. Ahrens |date=1995 |chapter=Crustal Structure of the Earth |title=Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants |journal=Global Earth Physics: A Handbook of Physical Constants |issue=1 |publisher=American Geophysical Union |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-87590-851-9 |chapter-url=http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/15_tanimoto.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016194153/http://www.agu.org/reference/gephys/15_tanimoto.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2006 |access-date=3 February 2007 |bibcode=1995geph.conf.....A}}</ref>
 
<ref name=tp322_19>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0040-1951(00)00055-X |title=Early formation and long-term stability of continents resulting from decompression melting in a convecting mantle |year=2000 |last1=De Smet |first1=J. |journal=Tectonophysics |volume=322 |issue=1–2 |pages=19–33 |bibcode=2000Tectp.322...19D |last2=Van Den Berg |first2=A.P. |last3=Vlaar |first3=N.J. |hdl=1874/1653 |url=https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/1874/1653/1/desmet_etal_00.pdf}}</ref>
 
<ref name="T&S 137">{{cite book |last1=Turcotte |first1=D. L. |author-link1=Donald L. Turcotte|last2=Schubert |first2=G. |title=Geodynamics |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, England |date=2002 |edition=2 |page=137 |chapter=4 |isbn=978-0-521-66624-4}}</ref>
 
<ref name=ucs>{{cite web |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-weapons/space-weapons/satellite-database |title=UCS Satellite Database |work=Nuclear Weapons & Global Security |publisher=[[Union of Concerned Scientists]] |date=1 September 2021 |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref>
 
<ref name=usno>{{cite web |title=Selected Astronomical Constants, 2011 |work=The Astronomical Almanac |url=http://asa.usno.navy.mil/SecK/2011/Astronomical_Constants_2011.txt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826043456/http://asa.usno.navy.mil/SecK/2011/Astronomical_Constants_2011.txt |archive-date=26 August 2013 |access-date=25 February 2011}}</ref>
 
<ref name=USNO_TSD>{{cite web |title=Leap seconds |publisher=Time Service Department, USNO |url=http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/leapsec.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312003149/http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/leapsec.html |access-date=23 September 2008 |archive-date=12 March 2015}}</ref>
 
<ref name=vazquez_etal2006>{{cite journal |last1=Vázquez |first1=M. |first2=P. Montañés |last2=Rodríguez |last3=Palle |first3=E. |year=2006 |url=http://www.iac.es/folleto/research/preprints/files/PP06024.pdf |title=The Earth as an Object of Astrophysical Interest in the Search for Extrasolar Planets |journal=Lecture Notes and Essays in Astrophysics |volume=2 |page=49 |access-date=21 March 2007 |bibcode=2006LNEA....2...49V |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817220342/http://www.iac.es/folleto/research/preprints/files/PP06024.pdf |archive-date=17 August 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
<ref name=VSOP87>{{cite journal |title=Numerical expressions for precession formulae and mean elements for the Moon and planets |journal=Astronomy and Astrophysics |volume=282 |issue=2 |pages=663–83 |date=February 1994 |last1=Simon |first1=J.L. |display-authors=et al|bibcode=1994A&A...282..663S}}</ref>
 
<ref name=ward_brownlee2002>{{cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Peter D. |author-link1=Peter Ward (paleontologist)|last2=Brownlee |first2=Donald |author-link2=Donald E. Brownlee|date=2002 |title=The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World |publisher=Times Books, Henry Holt and Company |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8050-6781-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780805067811}}</ref>
 
<ref name="watersource">{{cite journal |display-authors=1 |last1=Morbidelli |first1=A. |author-link1=Alessandro Morbidelli (astronomer)|last2=Chambers |first2=J. |last3=Lunine |first3=J. I. |last4=Petit |first4=J. M. |last5=Robert |first5=F. |last6=Valsecchi |first6=G. B. |last7=Cyr |first7=K. E. |title=Source regions and time scales for the delivery of water to Earth |journal=Meteoritics & Planetary Science |year=2000 |volume=35 |issue=6 |pages=1309–20 |bibcode=2000M&PS...35.1309M |doi=10.1111/j.1945-5100.2000.tb01518.x|doi-access=free }}</ref>
 
<ref name=wekn_bulakh2004>{{cite book |last1=Wenk |first1=Hans-Rudolf |author-link2=Hans-Rudolf Wenk|last2=Bulakh |first2=Andreĭ Glebovich |title=Minerals: their constitution and origin |page=359 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2004 |isbn=978-0-521-52958-7}}</ref>
 
<ref name="WGS-84-2">{{cite web |first1=Sigurd |last1=Humerfelt |date=26 October 2010 |title=How WGS 84 defines Earth |url=http://home.online.no/~sigurdhu/WGS84_Eng.html |website=Home Online|access-date=29 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110424104419/http://home.online.no/~sigurdhu/WGS84_Eng.html |archive-date=24 April 2011 }}</ref>
 
<ref name="Williams1994">{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=James G. |title=Contributions to the Earth's obliquity rate, precession, and nutation |journal=The Astronomical Journal |volume=108 |year=1994 |page=711 |issn=0004-6256 |doi=10.1086/117108 |bibcode=1994AJ....108..711W}}</ref>
 
<ref name=williams_santosh2004>{{cite book |first1=John James William |last1=Rogers |last2=Santosh |first2=M. |date=2004 |title=Continents and Supercontinents |page=48 |publisher=Oxford University Press US |isbn=978-0-19-516589-0}}</ref>
 
<ref name=zeilik1998>{{cite book |last1=Zeilik |first1=M. |last2=Gregory |first2=S. A. |title=Introductory Astronomy & Astrophysics |edition=4th |page=56 |publisher=Saunders College Publishing |isbn=978-0-03-006228-5 |date=1998}}</ref>
 
<ref name="Luzum2011">{{cite journal |last1=Luzum |first1=Brian |last2=Capitaine |first2=Nicole |author-link2=Nicole Capitaine|last3=Fienga |first3=Agnès |author-link3=Agnès Fienga|last4=Folkner |first4=William |last5=Fukushima |first5=Toshio |last6=Hilton |first6=James |last7=Hohenkerk |first7=Catherine |last8=Krasinsky |first8=George |last9=Petit |first9=Gérard |last10=Pitjeva |first10=Elena |last11=Soffel |first11=Michael |last12=Wallace |first12=Patrick |display-authors=5 |title=The IAU 2009 system of astronomical constants: The report of the IAU working group on numerical standards for Fundamental Astronomy |journal=Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy |volume=110 |issue=4 |date=August 2011 |pages=293–304 |bibcode=2011CeMDA.110..293L |doi=10.1007/s10569-011-9352-4|doi-access=free }}</ref>
 
<ref name=Narottam2008>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i4kASIoKym8C&pg=PA40 |title=Climate Change and International Politics |publisher=Kalpaz Publications |first=Narottam |last=Gaan |page=40 |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-7835-641-9}}</ref>
}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Earth-article.ogg|date=22 April 2021}}
{{Commons|Earth}}
* [https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/earth/overview/ Earth&nbsp;– Profile] – Solar System Exploration – [[NASA]]
{{wiktionary|Earth|earth}}
* [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ Earth Observatory] – NASA
* {{cite web | url = http://www.solarviews.com/eng/earth.htm | title = Solar Views | publisher = Calvin J. Hamilton }}
* Earth – Videos – International Space Station:
* {{cite web | url = http://www.earth.nasa.gov/science/questions.html | title = Earth – Science questions | publisher = [[NASA]]}}
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74mhQyuyELQ Video (01:02)] Earth (time-lapse)
* {{cite web | url = https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/docs/HowFast.pdf | title = Earth – Speed through space about 1 million miles an hour<!---between 0.8 - 1.9 M mph---> | publisher = [[NASA]]}}  ("[[w:Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2019 July 20#How fast are we moving through space?|WP discussion]]")
** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6ahFFFQBZY Video (00:27)] – Earth and [[aurora]]s (time-lapse)
* {{cite web | url = https://technological-sci.blogspot.com/2020/04/10-unique-feature-of-earth.html| title = 3 unique feature of earth | publisher = Technological-Sci }}
* [https://www.google.com/maps/@36.6233227,-44.9959756,5662076m/data=!3m1!1e3 Google Earth 3D], interactive map
* [https://thehappykoala.github.io/Harmony-of-the-Spheres/#/category/Solar%20System/scenario/The%20Earth%20and%20Moon%20System Interactive 3D visualization of the Sun, Earth and Moon system]
* [http://portal.gplates.org/ GPlates Portal] (University of Sydney)
 
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