Interesting facts about the planets. Incredible facts about planet Earth (9 photos)

1. The solidity of the earth's crust is relative. The planet's surface is actually made up of lithospheric plates located in constant movement. Tectonic plates float on the surface of magma contained in the Earth's core. It is tectonics that is responsible for earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, ocean trenches and subduction itself, when one plate goes under another, resulting in the formation of a new landmass. Tectonics also saves the Earth from the greenhouse effect: organisms die and release carbon dioxide. If they were not absorbed by the earth, this would lead to a critical mass of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The earth would heat up and turn into hell.

2. The earth is not really a ball. This is the name for geometric shape of our planet is the scientific consensus. In reality, the Earth has the shape of an oblate ball - an oblate spheroid, or geoid. The planet is flattened in the direction of the poles, and its radius at the “waist” is 21 km larger. This, by the way, explains another interesting fact: the greatest mountain peak in the world, taking into account the shape of the Earth, is not Chomolungma (or Everest), as is commonly believed, but the inactive Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador.

3. The earth is made up of iron, oxygen and silicon. If the planet is divided by its composition, this series will look like this: 32.1% iron, 30.1% oxygen, 15.1% silicon and 13.9% magnesium. Moreover, most of the iron is actually located in the earth’s core – 88%. As for the earth's crust, it contains the most oxygen - 47%.

4. 70% of the Earth's surface is not land. This is water. When people first looked at the Earth from space, it was then that it received its second name - the Blue Planet. The remaining 30% is occupied by the so-called continental crust with an average thickness of 35–45 km, reaching up to 75 km under the mountain ranges. The rise in sea levels resulting from global warming and melting glaciers is one of the main causes of concern for humanity. Perhaps soon the percentage of land and water will have to be reconsidered.

5. Earth's atmosphere extends over a distance of up to 10 thousand km. The atmosphere consists of several layers: the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. At a distance of up to 50 km from the surface, it is denser, and as you move away from it, the density and pressure decrease. In fact, 75% of the Earth's atmosphere is contained in the first 11 km from the planet's surface. The exosphere, the highest layer, is the “gateway” to outer space, where there is no atmosphere at all. The exosphere mainly consists of very low density hydrogen, helium and a number of heavy molecules - nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide.

6. The Earth's molten "iron" core creates a magnetic field. It's called the magnetosphere. Essentially, the planet itself is a large magnet with poles. According to scientists, the magnetic field is generated in the molten outer core of the Earth, where heat creates convection movements of conductive materials, generating electric currents. Without the magnetosphere, the planet would end. sunny wind would hit the Earth directly, unleashing a huge amount of radiation on it. It was the depletion of the magnetic shield, according to one version, that caused the death of Mars, which was supposedly fertile in the past.

7. The Earth's rotation on its axis does not actually take 24 hours. A complete revolution of the planet takes 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This is the sidereal day, as astronomers call them. We can decide that in this case the day is actually 4 minutes shorter, this time will accumulate, and after a few months the day will become night, and the night will become day. But don't forget that the Earth revolves around the Sun. And the Sun itself constantly moves from its position by about one degree. If you add these two movements, you get exactly 24 hours.

8. The duration of the earthly year is not 365 days. This figure in reality looks like this: 365.2564 days. This extra 0.2564 days results in an occurrence every four years leap year, which has 366 days. The exception to this rule is if the year is divisible by 100 (1900, 2100, etc.) and if it is not a multiple of 400 (1600, 2000, etc.).

9. It is known that the Earth has one moon with the simple name Luna. This is the only satellite of our planet. At least officially. Meanwhile, there are asteroids whose orbit is similar to the orbit of the Earth - Cruithne (3753 Cruithne) and 2002 AA29. They belong to the class of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). The asteroid Cruithney is 5 km in diameter and is sometimes called the "second moon". Despite the similarity of orbits, Cruithne has its own unique path around the Sun. 2002 AA29 has a diameter of just 60 m and its orbit around Earth is shaped like a horseshoe, bringing it closer to our planet every 95 years. In about 600 years, it may become a quasi-satellite of the Earth, which, according to scientists, makes the asteroid promising for research.

10. Earth is the only one today famous planet, on which there is life. This is true despite the discovery of water and organic molecules on Mars, amino acids in cosmic nebulae, and the prospect of life beneath the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa or on Saturn's Titan. But if there is life on other planets, experiments and scientific work They will definitely help you find her. For example, NASA announced the creation of the NExSS project. Its goal is to process data sent by the Kepler space telescope and other similar devices, as well as to study exoplanets. But, in essence, the project is intended to search for extraterrestrial life. And yet, wishing scientists good luck in their search, for now we have to admit that the Earth is the only place suitable for life. And this is the most main fact in her history.

The Earth is not just a giant spinning blue-green ball that happens to be our home. Earth is perhaps the most amazing and... unique planet in the entire Universe. We present to your attention 5 interesting facts that concern every earthling.

1. The earth is not round
And not flat, of course, either. The most appropriate name is sphere, since gravitational forces prevent it from achieving the shape of a perfect ball. The equator of our planet is surrounded by protrusions that can be compared to “ears” on the waist of a sweet tooth. If you trust only the numbers, then they are as follows: the polar radius of the Earth is 6357 km, and the equatorial radius is 6378 km, that is, the latter is 21 km longer.

2. The oceans are only 10% explored
Man has walked on the Moon and launched a satellite to Mars, but you know what? Our native territories have not been fully explored, to put it mildly. More than 90% of marine and ocean depths The lands are still a closed book. According to experts, the dark waters hide about 25 million living creatures that have not been described in any way by science. To date, we know only 212,906 species.

3. Cold record: -89.2 degrees Celsius

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth, so it is not surprising that the coldest record was recorded there. On July 21, 1983, the thermometers of the Russian Vostok scientific station dropped to 89 degrees below zero. It was a cool summer!
Well, the record itself high temperature was beaten on September 13, 1922 in Al-Aziziya, a city in northwestern Libya. That day, people literally went crazy from the 58-degree (!) heat.

4. Highest point Earth is not Everest

Reaching 8848 meters above sea level, Everest is rightfully considered a giant among mountain peaks. But now we know that the Earth is not round (see point 1), and therefore any object located near the equator will be a little closer to the stars. And although the “height” of the extinct Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador is “only” 6268 meters, being on a “mound” makes it technically further from the center of the Earth and thus higher than Everest by 2.4 kilometers.

5. A few words about the Moon

Tell me who your friend is, and I will tell you who you are. The Earth’s “friend” (in scientific terms, the only natural satellite) the Moon has a mysterious appearance. For example, the Moon is covered in dust that smells like gunpowder but is not even remotely gunpowder. Expression " dark side Moon" did not appear out of nowhere. The Earth's gravitational force slows down the satellite's motion, so it makes a full revolution once a month, and we always see only one side of it. There are also some interesting coincidences: the Sun is 400 times larger than the Moon and 400 times farther from the Earth, so these two planets seem to us to be the same in size.

Based on materials from Oddee.com

Outer space amazes with new worlds, mysteriously twinkling stars, swift and fast comets, and asteroids. Earth is a planet that hides a lot of interesting and unknown things. Almost every day scientists discover new, amazing Interesting Facts about planet Earth.

Planet Earth is reliably protected from falling meteorites and harmful radiation from the sun's rays. Such protection is provided by an atmosphere consisting of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%) and some other gases (about 1%).
The solar system consists of many planets. Their names are similar to ancient Greece and Rome, symbolizing the power of gods and goddesses, have survived to this day. Only the planet Earth and the Sun have an individual name for each nation.
Among all eight planets solar system Only the Earth differs in its density, which is about 5.515 g/cm3. Among the terrestrial planets, Earth is the largest, has the highest gravity and has the strongest magnetic fields.
The earth is divided into continents, which are represented by in large parts sushi. All continents are separated by water masses. Millions of years ago, all these continents were connected to each other and formed a single continent called Pangea. Its division occurred as a result of constant movements of the earth's crust.
Every year the temperature of the Sun increases greatly, which negatively affects the life of the Earth.. After a billion years, the temperature solar planet will reach its limit, the surface of the Earth will completely dry out, the seas and oceans will disappear, only land will remain. The earth will turn into a dry planet, inhabited only by bacteria underground.
Only planet Earth has four layers: magnetosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere..
The earth has a magnetic field that has certain spatial boundaries. The Earth's magnetic field is formed during the rotation of the planet and the melting of the nickel-iron core.
Ozone holes were previously discovered on Earth, but the largest of them was discovered only in 2006 and is located over Antarctica.
The Earth has one natural satellite - the Moon. It is worth saying that in the entire solar system, the Moon is the fifth largest in the list natural satellites. It is located at a distance of about 384,400 km from the earth. A person sees the Moon only from one side, since it rotates around its axis synchronously with the rotation of the Earth.
On Earth, weather forecasting depends on the distribution of water vapor in the atmospheric zone.
The Earth has an equatorial inclination to its orbit of about 23.44 degrees. For this reason, on Earth you can observe the change of four seasons of the year - summer, winter, spring and autumn.
The earth's crust is made up of plates that are in constant motion. In one year, they move a distance that can be compared with the length of a person’s nail that grows in a year. If their speed of movement does not decrease, then in approximately 250 million years, humanity on Earth will be able to see the formation of a new supercontinent.
The first artificial Earth satellite was launched back in 1957 in the USSR, later similar satellites were launched by others foreign countries. Artificial satellites are launched into Earth orbit to perform various tasks.
Thanks to the enormous energy of the core and magma, the Earth can hold oceans and an atmosphere on its surface. Also thanks to this energy, tectonic plates were formed, separating from the magma big oceans. Through high pressure and heat was displaced onto the surface of the oceans by land, which turned out to be lighter compared to seabed.
Today, special artificial communications satellites, navigators, weather satellites, reconnaissance satellites, research satellites, biosatellites, and astronomical satellites have been developed. They allow scientists all over the world to solve problems of varying complexity, including the study of the solar system, their natural satellites, galaxies, comets and asteroids, and life in space.

Characteristics of the planet:

Distance from the Sun: 149.6 million km
Planet diameter: 12,765 km
Day on the planet: 23h 56min 4s*
Year on the planet: 365 days 6h 9min 10s*
t° on the surface: global average +12°C (In Antarctica up to -85°C; in the Sahara Desert up to +70°C)
Atmosphere: 77% Nitrogen; 21% oxygen; 1% water vapor and other gases
Satellites: Moon

* period of rotation around its own axis (in Earth days)
**period of orbit around the Sun (in Earth days)

From the very beginning of the development of civilization, people were interested in the origin of the Sun, planets and stars. But the planet that is of most interest is ours. common house, Earth. Ideas about it have changed along with the development of science; the very concept of stars and planets, as we understand it now, was formed only a few centuries ago, which is negligible compared to the very age of the Earth.

Presentation: Planet Earth

The third planet from the Sun, which has become our home, has a satellite - the Moon, and is part of the group of terrestrial planets such as Mercury, Venus and Mars. Giant planets differ significantly from them in physical properties and structure. But even such a tiny planet in comparison with them, like the Earth, has an incredible mass in terms of comprehension - 5.97x1024 kilograms. It revolves around the star in an orbit at an average distance from the Sun of 149.0 million kilometers, rotating around its axis, which causes the change of days and nights. And the ecliptic of the orbit itself characterizes the seasons.

Our planet plays a unique role in the solar system, because Earth is the only planet that has life! The Earth was positioned in an extremely fortunate manner. It travels in orbit at a distance of almost 150,000,000 kilometers from the Sun, which means only one thing - It’s warm enough on Earth for water to remain in liquid form. Given hot temperatures, the water would simply evaporate, and in the cold it would turn into ice. Only on Earth is there an atmosphere in which humans and all living organisms can breathe.

The history of the origin of planet Earth

Starting from the Big Bang Theory and based on the study of radioactive elements and their isotopes, scientists have found out the approximate age of the earth's crust - it is about four and a half billion years, and the age of the Sun is about five billion years. Just like the entire galaxy, the Sun was formed as a result of the gravitational compression of a cloud of interstellar dust, and after the star, the planets included in the Solar System were formed.

As for the formation of the Earth itself as a planet, its very birth and formation lasted hundreds of millions of years and took place in several phases. At the birth phase, obeying the laws of gravity, falling a large number of planetesimals and large cosmic bodies, which subsequently made up almost the entire modern mass of the earth. Under the influence of such bombardment, the planet's substance warmed up and then melted. Under the influence of gravity heavy elements, such as ferrum and nickel, created the core, and from lighter compounds formed the earth's mantle, the crust with the continents and oceans lying on its surface, and an atmosphere that was initially very different from the present one.

Internal structure of the Earth

Of the planets in its group, Earth has largest mass and therefore has the greatest internal energy - gravitational and radiogenic, under the influence of which processes in the earth’s crust still continue, as can be seen from volcanic and tectonic activity. Although igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks have already formed, forming the outlines of landscapes that are gradually changing under the influence of erosion.

Beneath the atmosphere of our planet there is a solid surface called earth's crust. It is divided into huge pieces (slabs) of solid rock, which can move and, when moving, touch and push each other. As a result of such movement, mountains and other features of the earth's surface appear.

The earth's crust has a thickness of 10 to 50 kilometers. The crust “floats” on the liquid earth’s mantle, the mass of which is 67% of the mass of the entire Earth and extends to a depth of 2890 kilometers!

The mantle is followed by an outer liquid core, which extends into the depths for another 2260 kilometers. This layer is also mobile and capable of emitting electric currents, which create the planet’s magnetic field!

At the very center of the Earth is the inner core. It is very hard and contains a lot of iron.

Atmosphere and surface of the Earth

The Earth is the only one of all the planets in the solar system that has oceans - they cover more than seventy percent of its surface. Water initially found in the atmosphere in the form of steam played a large role in the formation of the planet - Greenhouse effect raised the temperature on the surface by those tens of degrees necessary for the existence of water in the liquid phase, and in combination with solar radiation gave rise to photosynthesis of living matter - organic matter.

From space, the atmosphere appears as a blue border around the planet. This thinnest dome consists of 77% nitrogen, 20% oxygen. The rest is a mixture of various gases. Earth's atmosphere contains much more oxygen than any other planet. Oxygen is vital for animals and plants.

This unique phenomenon can be regarded as a miracle or considered an incredible coincidence of chance. It was the ocean that gave rise to the origin of life on the planet, and, as a consequence, the emergence of homo sapiens. Surprisingly, the oceans still hold many secrets. Developing, humanity continues to explore space. Entering low-Earth orbit has made it possible to gain a new understanding of many of the geoclimatic processes occurring on Earth, the mysteries of which are still to be further studied by more than one generation of people.

Earth's satellite - Moon

Planet Earth has its only satellite - the Moon. The first to describe the properties and characteristics of the Moon was the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, he described the mountains, craters and plains on the surface of the Moon, and in 1651 the astronomer Giovanni Riccioli wrote a map of the visible side of the lunar surface. In the 20th century, on February 3, 1966, the Luna-9 lander landed on the Moon for the first time, and a few years later, on July 21, 1969, a person set foot on the surface of the Moon for the first time.

The Moon always faces planet Earth with only one side. In this visible side The moon shows flat "seas", chains of mountains and multiple craters of the most different sizes. The other side, invisible from Earth, has a large cluster of mountains and even more craters on the surface, and the light reflecting from the Moon, thanks to which at night we can see it in a pale lunar color, is weakly reflected rays from the Sun.

Planet Earth and its satellite the Moon are very different in many properties, while the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes of planet Earth and its satellite the Moon is the same. Radiometric studies have shown that the age of both celestial bodies the same, approximately 4.5 billion years. These data give rise to the assumption of the origin of the Moon and the Earth from one substance, which gives rise to several interesting hypotheses about the origin of the Moon: from its origin from one protoplanetary cloud, the capture of the Moon by the Earth, and to the formation of the Moon from the collision of the Earth with a large object.

Do you think you know everything about your planet? Surprisingly, millions of people can talk for hours about black holes and time distortions, the formation of pulsars and white dwarfs, while they know practically nothing about their own home. We decided to correct this injustice and have collected for you the most interesting facts about the Earth and its riches - read!

1. More than 4 billion years ago, our planet was red

There was no water, no forest. The Earth rotated in a spiral at a colossal speed, and one day on the planet was equal to only 6 hours. Moreover, around earth's orbit Asteroids were circling, instead of land there were waves of lava and clots of gases. And the Moon influenced the gravitational field 25 times stronger than today. How did the Earth become the way we know it? Thanks to bacteria that have learned to absorb sunlight and produce chlorophyll.

2. The disappearance of 80% of living things was caused by one bacterium

Some facts about the Earth are closely related to theories. For example, there is a theory according to which about 253 million years ago, when more than 80% of all sea creatures, the anomaly was caused by the proliferation of the bacterium methanosarcina. It produces methane and lives almost everywhere - both in the waters of the oceans and in our intestines. However, this mass extinction led to the appearance of the ancestors of dinosaurs.

3. The Moon is a breakaway part of the Earth

According to another theory, at the very beginning there was not even a Moon. 4.3 billion years ago, the Earth collided with the planet Theia, resulting in powerful explosion part of her robe fell off and formed a satellite. Moreover, judging by the uneven surface of the Moon, there could be several satellites, which led to their collision and the formation of additional craters.

4. Sunlight reaches the Earth after 8 minutes

In this list it is impossible not to mention those related to physics. For example, the distance between our planet and the Sun is enormous - about 150 million km, which is why light reaches the Earth with a difference of almost 500 seconds.

5. Someday all continents will unite again

The last time all the continents united into one supercontinent was about 300 million years ago. scientists have given its name is Pelageya. A little later, the earth split into 2 parts - Gondwana and Laurasia, which were divided into 6 more continents, now known. But after 260-290 million years, the continents will meet again and become one.

6. There is so much gold in the depths of our planet that it can cover the entire surface of the globe

Facts about the Earth like this will interest precious metal lovers. So, gold. Most of the gold is hidden at the bottom of the oceans. If it is mined, every person will be able to become the happy owner of 5 kg of precious metal. However, by that moment he will cease to be so! By the way, tons of gold are contained in sea water, alas, in dissolved form.

7. Fresh water reserves account for only 2.5% of the total mass of water

Yes, yes, the remaining 97.5% belongs to the seas and ocean basins, in which the water is salty and initially not suitable for drinking. Among other things, almost 70% of all fresh water buried in glaciers, 20% contains Lake Baikal. And the rest comes from rivers, lakes and the atmosphere in general. Frightening statistics, isn't it?

8. The driest place on Earth is located in the snow-white valleys of Antarctica

Since we are presenting facts about the Earth, let's talk about the very, very places. For example, the Chilean desert, which has not seen precipitation for more than 2 thousand years, ranks only second in the top driest. The first belongs to the Dry Valleys of McMurdo Sound, which have not been irrigated by water for more than 2 million years. And also here the craziest winds rage, accelerating over 310 km/h.

9. The lowest, highest and deepest points on Earth

It's no secret that the Dead Sea is in first place among the lowest points on Earth - 432 m below sea level. Moreover, it continues to fall from quite high speed. Depth Mariana Trench according to recent measurements at the Challenger Deep point, it reached 10,994 m below sea level. And here is the title itself high peak continues to be held by Mount Chomolungma (located in the Himalayas) with a height of 8848 meters.

10. The densest and lowest population density

Let's put it aside geographical facts about the Earth and talk about population. If you are an introvert in a cube, the best place for you is Canada, the territory of Nunavut. Because the population density there does not exceed 0.02 people/km². But the most densely populated, where you definitely won’t be allowed to breathe, is Bangladesh, with over 1,087 people/km² living there.

11. Due to the ellipsoidal shape of the Earth, gravity is uneven

Scientists have discovered fluctuations in gravity caused by the unequal mass of the Earth and the movements of its magma. Thus, Hudson Bay in Canada has slightly underestimated gravity indicators, which, in fact, is an anomaly. The reason lies in the fact that the Earth has not yet had time to recover after ice age, which shifted part of its mass, significantly deforming the crust.

12. The most devastating volcanic eruption happened in Indonesia

Unfortunately, not all facts about the Earth are positive—catastrophes and natural disasters also need to be remembered. For example, on Mount Tabra in 1815 there was such a strong eruption that its roar could be heard 2 thousand kilometers from the very point of the events. Then the VEI scale assigned it 7 points out of 8. And today, according to meteorological centers, the most dangerous eruption will be the Cumbre Vieja eruption. Its consequences will be hundred-meter waves that will cover West Africa and part of America.

13. Lakes on our planet can explode

This oddity can happen to those lakes that are located in the craters of volcanoes. For example, such as Nyos and Kivu in Cameroon. Thus, the magma beneath them releases a large amount of CO2, which accumulates at the bottom of the lake and can explode at any moment, cutting off oxygen.

However, no facts about Earth compare to this: it is the only planet in Milky Way which has atmosphere, oceans of water and colorful natural landscapes, the very existence of which allowed man to appear. Isn't this an amazing discovery that sets it apart from billions of other planets?