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Earth is the most unique planet in our galaxy (at
least until we find another one which houses life). So unique in fact
that it has taken us our whole existence to study it and we still don’t
fully understand everything about it. Nevertheless, what we do know
about our home planet is still pleasantly surprising.
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The driest place on Earth would be Antarctica's Dry Valleys. It hasn't
rained there for over 2 million years.
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99% of the gold on Earth lies in its core
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Earth is the only planet in the solar
system with plate tectonics. Without them carbon would not be recycled
and the Earth would overheat, something like Venus.
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90% of all volcanoes on Earth are underwater
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97% of the water on Earth is saltwater
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70% of that remaining 3% is wrapped up in the polar icecaps
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Most of the rest is either soil moisture or deep underground in
inaccessible aquifers
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From a distance, Earth would be the brightest planet. This is because
sunlight is reflected off the planet's water.
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Technically there are not 24 hours in a day. The Earth only takes 23
hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds to spin on its axis. This is called a
sidereal day.
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The farthest picture ever taken of Earth was from 3.7
billion miles and has been called The Pale Blue Dot
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The ozone hole is actually shrinking and in 2012 it
was smaller than it had ever been in the last decade
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90% of garbage in the ocean is plastic
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We know more about our universe than we do about our
oceans or our Earth's core. In fact, 95% of the world's oceanic
territory has still not been explored |