14 Fascinating Facts About Earth

Sharing is caring!

Have the recent sightings of the northern lights sparked your curiosity about what more there is to discover about our planet? We’re often captivated by space and starry skies, but how often are we truly enchanted by the wonder beneath our feet?

Earth is more than just the place we call home—it’s a planet full of remarkable features and phenomena. While it may feel like life on Earth moves fast, the truth is that our planet has its own pace—slowing down, cooling off, and revealing a history that stretches back billions of years.

It’s not for no reason that it’s called “Mother Earth.” Earth’s unique atmosphere sustains life, protecting us from cosmic hazards. Here are a few things few things you probably didn’t know about your home planet.

1. Earth is an Economic Powerhouse

The Earth is more than a planet—it’s an economic powerhouse. Everything we use comes from the planet. Thanks to natural resources and human creativity, it produces trillions of goods and services each year, from farming and manufacturing to tech and entertainment.

All this relies on Earth’s resources, metals, and our life-sustaining atmosphere. We use about 90 billion tons of resources from the earth per year. Today, we produce and trade goods at rates our ancestors couldn’t have imagined.

2. Earth is the Only Planet Not Named After Gods and Goddesses

Earth is the only planet that wasn’t named after Greek or Roman gods and goddesses. The word “Earth” has an ancient history that goes back at least 1,000 years. Derived from Old English, which in turn came from proto-Germanic languages, the word has evolved over many years.

It also only started being treated like a proper noun when scientific circles began using it alongside names like Mars, Jupiter, and other celestial bodies.

3. The Earth Has a 27-mile-high Bulge at the Equator

You might think of Earth as a perfect sphere, but it’s more like a slightly squished ball. Due to the planet’s rotation, Earth bulges at the equator, making its diameter about 27 miles larger than at the poles.

This shape is called an oblate spheroid, resulting from centrifugal forces pushing outward as the planet spins. This bulge means that if you stood at sea level at the equator, you’d actually be farther from the center of the Earth than if you stood at either pole.

4. Earth is Composed of 32.1% Iron and 30.1% Oxygen

The Earth is made up of a few key elements, with iron and oxygen being the two largest components. Iron, which makes up 32.1% of the Earth, is mostly concentrated in the planet’s core.

Meanwhile, oxygen—surprisingly—accounts for 30.1%, largely due to the abundance of oxides in the Earth’s crust. Other elements like silicon (15.1%) and magnesium (13.9%) also play significant roles in the Earth’s composition. The combination of these elements makes Earth the densest planet in our solar system. A

5. The Earth’s Core is as Hot as the Surface of the Sun

Beneath your feet, the Earth’s core is a furnace of extreme heat. At temperatures exceeding 10,000°F, the core is as hot as the surface of the Sun.

The Earth’s core has been cooling ever since its formation, but don’t worry—it’s not going to freeze over anytime soon. Scientists estimate that the core will remain hot for billions of years to come.

6. A “Smooth Earth” Would Be Covered in a 1.5-mile-deep Ocean

Despite the towering mountains and deep valleys that shape Earth’s landscape, the planet’s surface is mostly water. In fact, if you could magically smooth out all the bumps and dips, Earth would be covered by a 1.5-mile-deep ocean.

This water covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface, though the oceans account for only a tiny fraction of the Earth’s total mass.

7. It’s Hard to Tell Where Earth’s Atmosphere Ends and Space Begins

If you’ve ever wondered where Earth’s atmosphere officially ends and outer space begins, you’re not alone. Unlike the sharp boundaries on a map, the atmosphere slowly fades into space, making it hard to define where one stops and the other begins.

The atmosphere gradually becomes thinner the higher you go, eventually merging with the vacuum of space. While there’s no clear-cut boundary, scientists often use the Kármán line—about 62 miles above sea level—as a rough marker between Earth’s atmosphere and space.

8. The Earth Spins at 1,040 Miles Per Hour

The Earth is constantly in motion. At the equator, the planet spins at a blazing speed of about 1,040 miles per hour. This rotation is responsible for the day-night cycle and contributes to various atmospheric phenomena.

The centrifugal force caused by this spin even slightly counteracts gravity, making objects weigh a tiny bit less at the equator compared to the poles. You may not feel this movement, but its effects are everywhere—from the formation of weather patterns to the distribution of heat across the planet.

9. When Earth Was Formed, a Day Lasted Only 6 Hours

It may feel like the days are moving faster nowadays, but billions of years ago, the Earth spun so fast that it only lasted about 6 hours. Over time, interactions with the Moon, including tidal forces, have gradually slowed the planet’s rotation.

Each year, the length of a day gets a tiny bit longer—though the difference is so slight that we don’t notice it in our lifetimes. This gradual slowdown will continue for billions of years, eventually making our days longer.

10. The Earth is Slowing Down

Thanks to gravitational forces from the Moon, the Earth’s rotation is gradually slowing. Tidal friction caused by the Moon’s pull on the oceans is slowly draining energy from the Earth’s rotation, making days incrementally longer.

Over millions of years, this slowdown could add hours to the length of a day. Interestingly, this phenomenon also means the Moon is drifting slightly farther away from Earth each year by about 1.5 inches.

11. Earth Has Only One Ocean

Despite having five names for them—Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern, and Arctic—Earth technically has only one ocean. All the oceans are interconnected, forming a single, continuous body of salt water.

The division into separate oceans is more of a human construct, useful for navigation and geographical purposes.

12. Mount Everest Isn’t Earth’s Tallest Mountain—From Base to Summit

While Mount Everest is the tallest mountain above sea level, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is the tallest mountain from base to summit. Measured from its underwater base to its summit, Mauna Kea is over 33,000 feet tall, far surpassing Everest’s 29,000-foot height.

This hidden giant reminds us that Earth’s most impressive features aren’t always visible at a glance from the surface. The vast majority of Mauna Kea is submerged beneath the ocean, making it an often-overlooked contender for the title of the tallest mountain on Earth.

13. The Earth’s Magnetic Field is a Shield Against Cosmic Radiation

The Earth’s magnetic field, generated by the movement of molten iron in the core, acts as a protective shield that deflects harmful cosmic radiation and solar winds.

Without this magnetic field, life on Earth would be exposed to deadly radiation from space, making it nearly impossible for humans to survive. Occasionally, particles from the Sun slip through the shield near the poles, creating the breathtaking auroras—Northern and Southern Lights.

14. Earth’s Continents Are Slowly Drifting Apart

Earth’s continents are on the move, all thanks to tectonic plates—the process where the giant plates making up Earth’s surface are always shifting. This movement is pretty slow, about the same pace as your fingernails grow, around 1-2 inches per year.

About 300 million years ago, all the continents were clumped together in a supercontinent called Pangaea. As these plates keep drifting, the continents are slowly heading towards another possible supercontinent set up in the distant future.

Source

14 Places on Earth Humans Have Never Set Foot

So, if you’re someone who dreams of exploring the untouched corners of the Earth, we’re about to show you some seriously wild spots. Here are 14 places on Earth where humans haven’t (yet) left their footprints.

14 Places on Earth Humans Have Never Set Foot

14 Iconic Spots for Science Lovers to Explore

Whether you’re an aspiring astronomer gazing at the stars, a biology enthusiast entranced by the complex workings of life, or a history buff intrigued by ancient civilizations, there’s a destination out there that will inspire your curiosity and expand your scientific horizons. 

14 Iconic Spots for Science Lovers to Explore

14 Fun Facts About Saturn You Probably Don’t Know

Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is one of the most captivating objects in our solar system. Known for its stunning ring system and mysterious moons, there’s much more to this gas giant than meets the eye. Saturn appears in the night sky as a stable, non-twinkling point of light visible without the need for a telescope.

14 Fun Facts About Saturn You Probably Don’t Know