Earth

Earth, our home planet, is a beautiful blue and white ball when seen from space. The third planet from the Sun, it is the largest of the inner planets. Earth is the only planet known to support life and to have liquid water at the surface. Earth has a substantial atmosphere and magnetic field, both of which are critical for sustaining life on Earth. Earth is the innermost planet in the solar system with a natural satellite – our Moon. Explore our beautiful home planet – unique in our solar system - through the links in this section.

Scientists are concerned that melting Arctic sea ice will increase the amount of fresh water in the <a href="/earth/polar/arctic_currents.html">Beaufort Gyre</a>, which could spill out into the Atlantic and cause major climate shifts in North America and Western Europe. Watch the <a href="/earth/changing_planet/freshwater_arctic.html">Changing Planet: Fresh Water in the Arctic video</a>.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Jack Cook, WHOI (<a href="http://www.whoi.edu">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute</a>)</em></small></p>Lunar eclipses are special events that only occur when certain conditions are met. First of all, the Moon must be in <a href="/the_universe/uts/moon3.html">full phase</a>. Secondly, the <a href="/sun/sun.html">Sun</a>, <a href="/earth/earth.html">Earth</a> and <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html">Moon</a> must be in a perfectly straight line. If both of these are met, then the Earth's shadow can block the Sun's light from hitting the Moon. The reddish glow of the Moon is caused by light from the Earth's limb scattering toward the Moon, which is reflected back to us from the Moon's surface.<p><small><em>Image credit - Doug Murray, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida</em></small></p>As temperatures rise and soil moisture decreases, plants are stressed, which can lead to <a href="/earth/climate/crops_withering.html">crop withering</a>. <a href="/teacher_resources/online_courses/health/events_health.html">Droughts</a> accompanied by increased temperatures can lead to famine, social and political disruptions. Scientists are helping with early identification of drought that might trigger food shortages. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/withering_crops_intro.html">Changing Planet: Withering Crops</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image taken by Tomas Castelazo, Creative Commons <a href=&quot;http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en&quot;>Attribution 3.0 Unported</a> license.</em></small></p>A sinuous glowing band of <a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora.html">aurora</a> (the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights) loops around the <a href="/earth/polar/polar_south.html">southern polar</a> region in the distance as viewed by astronauts onboard the space shuttle on <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-39.html">STS-039</a>. <a href="/earth/Magnetosphere/aurora/aurora_colors.html">Aurora are produced</a> when <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/particle_radiation.html">energetic particles</a> entering the Earth's atmosphere from space interact with <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/atom.html">atoms</a> and <a href="/earth/geology/molecule.html">molecules</a> in the atmosphere and release energy, emitted as light.<p><small><em>Courtesy of NASA, Astronaut Overmeyer and Dr. Hallinan</em></small></p>How did life evolve on <a href="/earth/earth.html">Earth</a> during the <a href="/earth/past/Archean.html">Archean</a>, when the <a href="/sun/sun.html">Sun</a> was about 25% weaker than today? The Earth should have been <a href="/earth/polar/cryosphere_glacier1.html">glaciated</a>, if <a href="/earth/climate/earth_greenhouse.html">greenhouse</a> gas concentration was the same as today. <a href="http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=10798">Researchers</a> studying the <a href="/physical_science/physics/atom_particle/isotope.html">isotopic</a> signatures of Earth's early atmosphere in <a href="/earth/geology/rocks_intro.html">rocks</a> from Northern Australia have ruled out high levels of <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/nitrogen_molecular.html">nitrogen</a> as a possible way to increase warming from <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/overview.html">atmospheric</a> <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/carbon_dioxide.html">carbon dioxide</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Manchester University</em></small></p>This first global map of <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/ocean.html">ocean</a> surface saltiness, released in September 2012 by the NASA Aquarius mission team, shows the distribution of salt in the first 2 cm of the Earth's ocean. <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/salinity.html">Salinity</a> variations are one of the main drivers of <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/circulation1.html">ocean circulation</a>, and are closely connected with the <a href="http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/water_cycle.html">cycling of freshwater</a> around the planet. High salinity is seen in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and the Arabian Sea.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/GSFC/JPL-Caltech</em></small></p>

Explore Earth

Earth's Interior and Surface

Earth, the largest and densest rocky planet, was formed about 4.5 billion years ago. The Earth's ...Read more

Atmosphere

The atmosphere is a mixture of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), and other gases (1%) that surrounds ...Read more

Magnetosphere

The Earth has a magnetic field with north and south poles. The magnetic field of the Earth ...Read more

Moon

The Earth's one natural satellite, the Moon, is more than one quarter the size of Earth itself ...Read more

Earth's Polar Regions

Do you wonder what Earth's Polar Regions are like? Where do polar bears live? Where do penguins ...Read more

Climate and Global Change

Warm near the equator and cold at the poles, our planet is able to support a variety of living ...Read more

Water (The Hydrosphere)

Water is found in many places on Earth including on the surface of the planet, within rocks ...Read more

Life and Ecology (The Biosphere)

What is life? Why is there life on Earth, but not on any other planets in the solar system ...Read more

Natural Hazards

The United Nations estimated that between 1994-2015, there were 6,873 natural disasters worldwide, ...Read more

More about Earth

Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)

Teacher Opportunities

Full Teacher Events Calendar (Educator Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that lunar eclipses are produced by the Earth casting its shadow on the Moon?

Did you know that many different cultures had myths about Earth goddesses and gods?

 

Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Slickensides
xSlickensides : Slickensides are polished striated rock surfaces caused by one rock mass moving across another on a fault.

Click on the word to find out!

Research Highlights

Scientists Find Signs of “Snowball Earth” Amidst Early Animal Evolution

Geologists have found evidence that sea ice extended to the equator 716.5 million years ago, bringing new precision to a "snowball Earth" event long suspected to have taken place around that time. Funded...Read more


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