- These Earth facts are out of this world. Figuratively speaking.
You’ve got to love Earth. After all, without it, none of us would be here.
With that said, we sure do abuse our blue planet like we have a spare. It wouldn’t hurt to think a bit more about the only home we have in the universe.
Well, today, is Earth Day, so there’s no time like the present to start being more mindful about the planet. Why not begin by learning something new about Earth?
Here are 10 things about Earth that we bet you didn’t know about (at least not all of them).
1. Earth Isn’t Spherical
No, we’re not saying Earth isn’t round. But it’s not a perfect sphere.
Instead, Earth is a geoid. Our planet is a bit squished at the poles, with the Equator bulging out farther from the core than the poles do.
For most everyday purposes, it doesn’t really matter. But it does have an effect on things like centrifugal force and gravity (as we’ll get back to a bit later).
2. Earth Has a Weird Name
Earth is a real weirdo among the other planets of the solar system. After all, the rest are named after Greco-Roman deities and mythological characters, while Earth is… Earth.
What does that mean, anyway?
Well, Earth comes from the Proto-Germanic word “ertho” which meant pretty must the same as the modern word — the ground, soil, dry land, and the very planet.
That said, Earth is also sometimes called Terra or Tellus. These are the Latin and Greek words, respectively, for “earth.”
3. Earth Had a Second Moon (Maybe)
There are few things as pretty as the full moon — except maybe two of them. In fact, it’s possible that there used to be two moons.
Some astrologists suggest that once upon a time, Earth had another orbiter in the form of a 750-mile-wide hunk of rock. At some point, it crashed into the current moon and disappeared from the sky.
Maybe. Considering all the evidence is on the moon, it’s a bit hard to come by.
4. Earth Used to Be Purple
Today, we know Earth as the blue planet, interspersed with green. A long time ago, however, it may have been purple.
Earth’s green coloring is due to chlorophyll, which plants use for photosynthesis and which reflects the green spectrum of light. A long time ago, according to some researchers, Earth’s bacteria used a different molecule to draw energy from sunlight that reflected purple light.
Just look outside and imagine what it’d be like if all the grass was purple.
5. Earth Is Green on the Inside
One thing on Earth has always been green, though. The upper mantle beneath the planetary crust is green.
That’s because the upper mantle is composed mostly of peridotite. This type of rock consists of the mineral olivine and pyroxene, both of which are green.
It’s not all brown and gray when you start digging deep enough.
6. Gravity Varies Around the Globe
Remember how we said Earth not being a perfect globe affects some things? Well, gravity is one of them.
The strength of the gravitational effect is proportional to the mass on top of a given region. Since Earth is a bit squished on the poles, there’s less mass there, which means lower gravity on the poles.
It’s not a huge difference and you’d probably never notice. But it’s there.
7. Earth Has a Unique Solar Eclipse
Every planet that has a moon whose orbit can pass between the planet and its star will have an eclipse. Earth’s eclipse, however, is utterly unique on a cosmic scale.
The distance between Earth and the moon is just right so that when an eclipse happens, the sun and the moon are more or less the same size in the sky. This allows for the wonderful spectacle of a total eclipse as we know it.
There is no other known planet where this happens. If there’s an alien UNESCO and they discover Earth, you bet the planet would go on their heritage list.
8. The Middle of Nowhere Is in the Pacific
Did you know there is a (more or less) official middle of nowhere? That place is called Point Nemo, and it’s located at the coordinates 48°52.6?S 123°23.6?W in the Pacific Ocean.
This is the one place on Earth that’s the farthest from any land mass. The nearest bit of solid ground is Antarctica some 1,685 miles away.
9. Earth Has Had Life for Most of Its Existence
Earth formed roughly 4.54 billion years ago. The first, most primitive forms of life showed up around 4 billion years ago.
It’s kind of hard to think about time in terms of such huge numbers, though. Instead, let’s consider the time span from Earth formation to the current moment as 24 hours.
On this scale, life would’ve appeared at 4 a.m. It took a while for it to leave the oceans, though, as land plants don’t show up until 10:24 p.m.
Dinosaurs, meanwhile, went extinct at 11:41 p.m. And us humans?
Well, we crop up at around 11:58:43 p.m.
10. Earth Is in Texas
Do you want to get to Earth? Better head to Texas, then.
Earth, Texas, is the only town on Earth to be called Earth. Earth has about 1,000 residents and… Well, that’s about it.
The town was originally supposed to become Fairlawn, but then the locals found out there was already a Fairlawn, Texas. So, they asked the locals to submit suggestions for town names and Earth won.