Earth day is celebrated all over the world as it is a day to spread environmental awareness about our home planet. It was first celebrated on April 22nd 1970 and has had a word-wide reach ever since. This day is considered to be of great importance as people from different culture, religions, and race come together and spread love. Let us dig into some fun facts about our home planet.
Our Earth Was Once a Barren Hell
About 4.5 billion years ago, just after our sun was formed, there were a set of planets which formed due to space debris that deposited during the aftermath of the star formation. This deposit of debris was the leading cause for the formation of the solar system.
Our Earth is also a product of space debris. It was situated inside a solar protoplanetary disc which posed a hellish atmosphere on earth. The earth was prone to constant volcanic activity which lead to scorching temperatures at its surface. It was like a molten hell with flowing rivers of pipping hot larva. Over the course of the next two billion years, the earth’s atmosphere changed drastically as it was present in the habitable zone of the sun. That is what made life possible for us.
Staying Comfy With Plate Tectonics
Did you know that plate tectonics exist only on earth and not on any other planet. The outer crust of earth comprises of plate tectonics which float on hot magma. They are in constant motion due to the magnetic field of the earth. When these plates rub against each other, they break free from the wrath of the hot magma and resurface. This constant geological activity leads to the formation of mountains, and steep ridges. This is why plate tectonics play an important role in keeping our planet at bay and providing the best scenery which serves as a visual treat.
Is the Earth a Perfect Sphere? Hmm Maybe Not
Hey you may be thinking, yes it isn’t a perfect sphere cause it has mountainous regions and huge canyons. Well the truth is that our earth is flat at the poles and slightly bulged in the region of the equator. It is shaped like an oblate spheroid. The reason why there is a bulge near the equator is due to the rotation of the planet and the effect of the magnetic field.
Molten Iron Core: Our Earth’s Magneto
You need to be ever grateful to the molten iron core which is at the center of our planet which is enclosed by an outer core. This arch angel creates a magnetic field (Magnetosphere) which is powerful enough to encompass our whole planet. This field protects us from the fury of solar winds from the sun. So without the iron core, we would have burned to a crisp years ago.
Earth’s atmosphere extends to a distance of a Whooping 10,000 km
Yes, you read it right, the atmosphere of our home planet is really dense for the first 50 km from the surface and reaches to about 10,000 km into outer space. The layer of atmospheres include the Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and the Exosphere.
The reason why the density of the atmosphere reduces as you reach outer space is because due to the gravity of the planet. 75% of the Earth’s atmosphere is near the earth. This region is rich in gases like oxygen and nitrogen. The earth’s atmosphere is also our savior as it protects us from small asteroids and space debris by burning them to smothers before they reach the earth’s surface.
Co-orbital satellites: Hey where did they come from?
3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29 are two asteroids which are locked into a co-orbit with earth. These two spacefarers orbit our sun in a synchronized manner. The image below will give you a better perspective.
Space Age 