The planet humans live on is full of surprises and strange things that remain hidden from their knowledge. This has left many with insatiable desires for knowledge about this amazing planet. Having been around for billions of years, there’s definitely more to the Earth than the obvious things such as the seasons, the trees, the land, and the sea. With studies and research about the planet still going on around the world, one can expect more amazing facts to be revealed soon. Meanwhile, here are some interesting ones we can ponder over for now.
10 The Earth Weighs Thirteen Thousand, One Hundred And Seventy Billion Trillion Pounds
The earth is smaller than many other planets but its weight is enormous enough to baffle human imagination. With the earth’s gravitational pull on other bodies, Scientists calculated and determined that the earth weighs 13 thousand, 170 billion trillion pounds or 13,170,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 pounds. Nothing on earth can be used to get a full understanding of this unthinkable weight.
9 The Earth Is Approximately 4.5 Billion Years Old
Humans have only been around 6 million years and it feels like they’ve been around forever. When compared to earth’s age, however, it just feels like a flash in time. After many years of searching for the oldest rocks on earth and the moon as well as meteorites from outer space, and mineral grains on earth, scientists finally decided that the earth is 4.5 billion years old.
8 The Earth Is Always Moving
The never-ending rotation of the earth makes the planet to be in continuous motion. This means everyone and everything on the planet is moving at all times (even when at rest) at a speed of 1000 miles per hour as the earth rotates.
7 It Is Neither Flat Nor Round
Geodesy - the science of measuring the earth’s shape determined that the earth is not a perfect sphere either but it is considered to be closer to a sphere than a circle. The difficulty in determining the actual shape of the earth is due to the earth’s rapid and continuous rotation which reduces the force of gravity at the equator. This combination of forces thereby causes the region around the equator to bulge, creating an irregular shape called an ellipsoid.
6 The Earth Is The Only Planet With Liquid Water And Oxygen
The earth is unique in many ways but its abundance of oxygen and water makes it stand out from the other planets in the solar system. Water covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and oxygen makes up a fifth or approximately 21% of the earth’s atmosphere. These factors combine to create a planet where life is supported and this is one of the main distinguishing factors between the earth and the other planets.
5 The Earth Rotates On A Tilted Axis
One unique attribute of the earth is its tilted rotation around its axis. This tilt, which is estimated to be 23.5 degrees, is the single factor responsible for the change in seasons of the earth. Without this unique movement, the earth would remain in one season throughout the year.
4 97% Of Earth’s Water Is Salty
71% of the earth's surface is covered by water. Oceans and seas hold 97% of that water but these sources are salty and not suitable for drinking. Only 3% of the water on earth is actually freshwater. This freshwater can be found in glaciers, groundwater, freshwater lakes, the atmosphere, and rivers.
3 All The Continents Once Formed A Supercontinent Called Pangea
The earth was not always divided into 7 continents. In fact, about 250 million years ago, the entire landmass of the earth formed one single supercontinent called - Pangea. About 200 million years ago, the continent began breaking up gradually until it completely split into the continents recognized today.
That breakup however is not permanent. With the constant movements of the continents, scientists believe that they will once again be united to create a supercontinent which has already been given the name - Pangea Ultima. This reunification is expected to happen 250 million years from now and that time might be too long for humans to witness.
2 More Scary Species Have Inhabited The Earth Than You Could Imagine
Even though human ancestors only started walking the earth 6 million years ago, the earth has hosted life long before that. From gigantic mammals that make elephants look like rats to aquatic scorpions that measured approximately 2.5 meters in length or animals that weighed up to 20 tons. It’s scary to imagine. Humans are no doubt lucky that those creatures are extinct. Seriously.
1 The Earth Is The Only Planet Not Named After A God or Goddess
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all names of gods and goddesses from Roman Mythology. The earth is the only planet spared from that trend. The name “Earth” originates from German and Old English words which combine to translate as “ground”. While this somehow makes the earth more unique, it begs the question of why the earth was left out of the Roman mythology naming ceremony?