Planet Earth: Everything you need to know

Earth, our home, is the third planet from the sun. While scientists continue to
hunt for clues of life beyond Earth, our home planet remains the only place in the
universe where we've ever identified living organisms.
Earth is the fifth-largest planet in the solar system. It's smaller than the four
gas giants — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — but larger than the three other
rocky planets, Mercury, Mars and Venus.
Earth has a diameter of roughly 8,000 miles (13,000 kilometers) and is mostly
round because gravity generally pulls matter into a ball. But the spin of our home
planet causes it to be squashed at its poles and swollen at the equator, making the
true shape of the Earth an "oblate spheroid."
While Earth orbits the sun, the planet is simultaneously spinning around an
imaginary line called an axis that runs through the core, from the North Pole to the
South Pole. It takes Earth 23.934 hours to complete a rotation on its axis and 365.26
days to complete an orbit around the sun — our days and years on Earth are
defined by these gyrations.
Earth's axis of rotation is tilted in relation to the ecliptic plane, an imaginary
surface through the planet's orbit around the sun. This means the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres will sometimes point toward or away from the sun
depending on the time of year, and this changes the amount of light the
hemispheres receive, resulting in the changing seasons.
Earth happens to orbit the sun within the so-called "Goldilocks zone," where
temperatures are just right to maintain liquid water on our planet's surface. Earth's
orbit is not a perfect circle, but rather a slightly oval-shaped ellipse, similar to the
orbits of all the other planets in our solar system. Our planet is a bit closer to the
sun in early January and farther away in July, although this proximity has a much
smaller effect on the temperatures we experience on the planet's surface than
does the tilt of Earth's axis.

Statistics about Earth's orbit, according to NASA:

 Average distance from the sun: 92,956,050 miles (149,598,262 km)
 Perihelion (closest approach to the sun): 91,402,640 miles (147,098,291 km)
 Aphelion (farthest distance from the sun): 94,509,460 miles (152,098,233 km)
 Length of solar day (single rotation on its axis): 23.934 hours
 Length of year (single revolution around the sun): 365.26 days
 Equatorial inclination to orbit: 23.4393 degrees
 Scientists think Earth was formed at roughly the same time as the sun and other
planets some 4.6 billion years ago when the solar system coalesced from a giant,
rotating cloud of gas and dust known as the solar nebula. As the nebula collapsed
under the force of its own gravity, it spun faster and flattened into a disk. Most of
the material in that disk was then pulled toward the center to form the sun.
Other particles within the disk collided and stuck together to form ever-larger
bodies, including Earth. Scientists think Earth started off as a waterless mass of rock.
"It was thought that because of these asteroids and comets flying around colliding
with Earth, conditions on early Earth may have been hellish," Simone Marchi, a
planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado,
previously.
However, analyses of minerals trapped within ancient microscopic crystals
suggest that there was liquid water already present on Earth during its first 500
million years, Marchi said.

Radioactive materials in the rock and increasing pressure deep within the
Earth generated enough heat to melt the planet's interior, causing some chemicals
to rise to the surface and form water, while others became the gases of the
atmosphere. Recent evidence suggests that Earth's crust and oceans may have
formed within about 200 million years after the planet took shape.

Objects moving in the outer space such as asteroids, comets, and meteors
are called near-Earth objects (NEO). They include all small orbiting bodies that move
near Earth. A certain small orbiting body is considered a NEO if it moves near the
sun. What makes near-Earth objects different from one another?

Asteroids

Asteroids are irregularly-shaped fragments of rocks that orbit the sun. They
are also known as microplanets because they have their orbits which usually are
elliptical. They are also believed as “planets-to be.” It is the gravitational force of
Jupiter which made it impossible for these rock fragments to accumulate and form
into planetary bodies. Some asteroids have natural satellites.

The region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is known as the main
asteroid belt. Millions of asteroids orbit in this belt. There are different kinds of
asteroids. They can be classified according to their composition. These rock
fragments can fall under C-type, S-type or M-type. Depending on location, asteroids
may also be classified as main belt asteroids, near-Earth asteroids, or trojans
asteroids.

Comets

A comet is an icy body that releases gas or dust. Scientists call them dirty
snowballs because they are made of frozen gases that are held together in rocky
and metallic materials. It contains dust, ice, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane
among others. Just like asteroids, comets are also irregular in shape.

Parts of the Comet

Comets are composed of different parts. It includes the nucleus, coma, ion,
and dust tail. The nucleus is the main, solid part of the comet. The nucleus is usually
1 to 10 kilometers in diameter but can be as big as 100 kilometers. It is usually
composed of rocks and metallic materials. The coma is a halo of evaporated gas
and dust that surrounds the nucleus. The gases may exist as water vapor,
ammonia, and carbon dioxide. The coma is made as the comet warms up. It is often
1 000 times larger than the nucleus. It can even become as big as Jupiter or Saturn.
The coma and nucleus form the head of the comet.

Comets have two tails. The comet's dust tail always faces away from the sun.
The tail is made of small, one micron, dust particles that have evaporated from the
nucleus and is pushed away from the comet by the pressure of sunlight. Comet’s
ion tail is made of electrically charged gas. It is also called the plasma or gas tail.
This tail disappears as the comet moves away from the Sun.

Meteoroids

Meteoroids are boulders and rocks in the space. Unlike asteroids,

meteoroids do not remain in a certain region. Instead, they orbit around the sun in
a variety of orbits at various speeds. They also come in irregular shapes.
 Role of Atmosphere in Sustaining Life on Earth

Surrounding Earth is a layer of gas which is a critical factor in sustaining life

on the planet. This layer of gas called the atmosphere, is held together by Earth’s
gravity. Aside from land masses and water bodies, the atmosphere is a crucial part
of Earth. It makes Earth “livable” by regulating solar energy, or the energy coming
from the sun which drives all life processes on Earth. Because of the atmosphere,
Earth is not “too hot” nor “too cold” to sustain life. This characteristic sets Earth
apart from other planets. Thus, Earth’s atmosphere is an important factor to
sustain life because of the following:

1. Animals breathe in oxygen through respiration. Plants utilize carbon

dioxide to make their own food through the process of photosynthesis.

2. The state of the atmosphere also dictates weather patterns on Earth. For
example, water cycle may start from the atmosphere before falling back into the
land where organisms consume liquid water. Eventually, water goes back to the
atmosphere as vapor.

3. The atmosphere, specifically its ozone layer, shields Earth from the
harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation (UV) emitted by the sun. Also, the
atmosphere protects Earth from the harsh condition of the space environment.

4. The atmosphere keeps the temperature of Earth at a suitable range. Gases

like carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, as well as the ozone make it possible.
Without such gases, Earth will experience extremely cold and hot conditions.
 5. The nitrogen and oxygen gases make it possible for energy to move such
as sound.

The Composition of the Atmosphere

Earth’s atmosphere is mostly made up of air. Consequently, air is made up

mostly nitrogen (78 %) and oxygen (21 %) gases. The remaining one percent is
made up of other gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, argon, neon,
helium, hydrogen, dust particles, and chlorofluorocarbons. Water vapor keeps the
air from drying. The amount of water vapor is called humidity. It measures the
moisture in the air.

The atmosphere is a very interesting matter to study. The branch of Earth

Science which deals with the study of the atmosphere and its corresponding
weather patterns is called meteorology. People who study the atmosphere are
called meteorologists. Many processes and phenomena occur in the atmosphere.

Layers of the Atmosphere

Specifically, Earth’s atmosphere is divided into five layers based on

temperature, pressure, altitude, and other characteristics. Primarily, the most
notable defining characteristic of each layer is the altitude or the height measured
above sea level.

As one goes in increasing altitude from one layer to the other, temperature
changes across the layers, and this change in temperature is called the
temperature gradient.

The five layers of the atmosphere are the (1) troposphere, (2) stratosphere,
(3)

mesosphere, (4) thermosphere, and the (5) exosphere. The temperature range
within each of these layers dictates air or wind movement. Warm air rises and cold
air sinks due to their differences in density. In each of the layers, different
phenomena occur.

Troposphere
 It is the layer closest to the surface and is the first layer of the atmosphere.
Because of gravity’s pull, about 75 % of the gases in the atmosphere can be found
in this layer. As altitude increases, the temperature in the troposphere decreases.
What is notable in this layer is that almost all weather changes and patterns
happen in this layer. This includes cloud formation, precipitation, winds, and
typhoons.

The temperature change in this layer is mainly due to the heat of Earth’s
surface. The topmost part of the troposphere is called the tropopause. The
tropopause serves as the boundary between the troposphere and the next layer,
the stratosphere. It keeps the cooler air of troposphere from moving into the warm
air of the stratosphere.

Stratosphere

The second layer of the atmosphere is the stratosphere. Most volcanic dust
accumulates in this layer. In this layer, temperature increases as the altitude
increases. The ozone layer, a special region which specifically protects Earth from
the harmful rays from the sun, is found in this layer. Ozone is a form of oxygen
which absorbs the UV rays from the sun, which eventually releases heat. The layer
where most ozone accumulates makes up the ozone layer. Because there is little
temperature change in this layer, it has no turbulence. Turbulence is a sudden or
violent movement of air. Hence, airplanes fly in the lower part of the stratosphere
instead of the troposphere as the lowest layer is unstable. The boundary between
the stratosphere and the third layer, the mesosphere, is called the stratopause. It is
about 50 km above the surface of Earth.

Mesosphere

The third layer of the atmosphere is the mesosphere. In this layer,

temperature decreases as altitude increases. It has no gases which can absorb UV
rays from the sun. The mesosphere is characterized as a very cold layer at an
average of -90 °C. It also has a thin layer of air which is still enough to decelerate
meteors rushing towards Earth. This thin layer of air adds friction to meteoroids
which becomes meteors producing a burning tail and seen as shooting stars. The
topmost layer of the mesosphere is the mesopause.

Thermosphere
 Above the mesosphere is the thermosphere, the biggest layer of the
atmosphere. It has a thinner layer of gas than the mesosphere which absorbs solar
energy with shorter wavelengths. The temperature of this gas layer can go beyond
1000 °C. But because there are only few gas molecules and that these molecules
are far from each other, it is still relatively cold in the thermosphere. A layer in the
thermosphere, called ionosphere, is made of gas particles charged by solar energy.
Ionosphere bounces off radio waves from different parts of the world.

A remarkable feature of the ionosphere is the occurrence of auroras. Aurora

is a display of glows in the night sky within polar areas. The auroras can be seen as
white, green, red, blue, or purple. Aurora in the Northern Hemisphere is called
aurora borealis while the aurora in the Southern Hemisphere is called aurora
australis.

Exosphere

The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere. It is more than 700
km, maybe up to 10 000 km from the surface of Earth with no clear boundary. This
layer continues into the outer space where gas can easily move to due to weak
gravitational pulls. Due to its nature, the air here is very thin.
 Our body is being run and kept alive by different body systems working
together. To do so, our body needs an energy source. For the body to get energy,
food must be broken down into small molecules through digestion. The group of
organs performing this role is the digestive system. This system is a long tube which
starts from the mouth, runs down the body, and ends in the anus. The digestive
system consists of three main parts: the mouth; the gastrointestinal tract; and the
accessory organs.

The Mouth

The digestive system starts from the mouth. It has two main parts, the
vestibule, and the oral cavity. The vestibule is the space which is contained
externally by the lips and cheeks, and internally by gums and teeth. The palate,
tongue, and teeth constitute the oral cavity.

Lips

Food is held and kept in place by the lips and cheeks. The lips are susceptible
to temperature and texture of the food. This is because of the presence of sensory
receptors. A sensory receptor is a nerve ending that senses changes in light,
temperature, pressure, and other stimuli.

Palate

The palate is the oral cavity’s upper boundary. Towards the front of the
palate is the hard palate and to the back is the soft palate. The structure that
dangles from the posterior area of the soft palate is known as the uvula. The palate
separates the inner space of the nose and the oral cavity.

Tongue

The muscular organ connected to the bottom of the oral cavity is the tongue.
It is responsible for tasting, mixing, and swallowing food. The upper surface of the
tongue contains tiny bumps called papillae. The papillae are responsible for the
rough surface of the tongue. They also contain taste buds which sense different
tastes.

Teeth

Another component of the mouth is the teeth which physically break food. A
complete permanent set of teeth numbers is 32. Their shapes differ, and these
shapes define their function. The four different types of teeth are incisors, canines,
premolars, and molars. Incisors are found at the front portion of the mouth. They
have sharp ends to cut food into smaller pieces easily.
 Canines are located immediately after the incisors. They are also sharp, and
pointed teeth meant for tearing food.

Premolars have a flat surface. These teeth are responsible for tearing and crushing.
These teeth grow as permanent teeth. Molars are the largest teeth, and they also
have flat surfaces. They are meant for chewing, grinding, and crushing.

Pharynx

The organ which connects the mouth to the esophagus is the pharynx. The
upper portion, also known as the nasopharynx, serves as a passage of air. Its
middle section is also known as the oropharynx, while the lowest section is the
laryngopharynx. Both oropharynx and laryngopharynx allow the passage of food
and air.