Saturday, 30 May 2015
THE EARTH
The history of
Earth concerns the development of the planet Earth from its formation to the
present day.Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to the
understanding of the main events of the Earth's past. The age of Earth is
approximately one-third of theage of the universe. An immense amount of
biologicaland geological change has occurred in that time span.
Earth formed around
4.54 billion (4.54×109) years ago by accretion from the solar nebula. Volcanic
outgassingprobably created the primordial atmosphere, but it contained almost
no oxygen and would have been toxic to humans and most modern life. Much of the
Earth was molten because of frequent collisions with other bodies which led to
extreme volcanism. One very large collision is thought to have been responsible
for tilting the Earth at an angle and forming the Moon. Over time, the planet
cooled and formed a solid crust, allowing liquid water to exist on the surface.
The first life
forms appeared between 3.8 and 3.5 billion years ago. The earliest evidences
forlife on Earth are graphite found to be biogenic in 3.7-billion-year-old
metasedimentary rocksdiscovered in Western Greenland and microbial mat fossils
found in 3.48-billion-year-oldsandstone discovered in Western Australia.
Photosynthetic life appeared around 2 billion years ago, enriching the
atmosphere with oxygen. Life remained mostly small and microscopicuntil about
580 million years ago, when complex multicellular life arose. During the
Cambrianperiod it experienced a rapid diversification into most major phyla.
Although more than 99 percent of all species that ever lived on the planet are
estimated to be extinct, there are currently 10–14 million species of life on
the Earth.
Geological change
has been constantly occurring on Earth since the time of its formation and
biological change since the first appearance of life. Species continuously
evolve, taking on new forms, splitting into daughter species, or going extinct
in response to an ever-changing planet. The process of plate tectonics has
played a major role in the shaping of Earth's oceans and continents, as well as
the life they harbor. The biosphere, in turn, has had a significant effect on
the atmosphere and other abiotic conditions on the planet, such as the
formation of the ozone layer, the proliferation of oxygen, and the creation of
soil.
CHARACTERISTICS
Composition by
volume
78.08% nitrogen (N2) (dry air)
20.95% oxygen (O2)
0.930% argon
0.039% carbon dioxide
~ 1% water vapour (climate-variable)
78.08% nitrogen (N2) (dry air)
20.95% oxygen (O2)
0.930% argon
0.039% carbon dioxide
~ 1% water vapour (climate-variable)
Physical
characteristics
Mean radius 6371.0
km
Equatorial radius 6378.1 km
Polar radius 6356.8 km
Flattening 0.0033528
1/298.257222101 (ETRS89)
1/298.257222101 (ETRS89)
Circumference
·
40075.017 km (equatorial)
·
40007.86 km (meridional)
·
510072000 km2
·
(148940000 km2 (29.2%)
land
·
361132000 km2 (70.8%)
water)
Volume 1.08321×1012 km
5.97219×1024
kg
(3.0×10-6 solar mass)
(3.0×10-6 solar mass)
Mean density
5.514 g/cm3
9.807 m/s2 (1 g)
IMAGES FOR EARTH
YOUTUBE VIDEOS
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