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.

A new study has found that <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/airpollution_intro.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">pollution</a> from <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/particulates.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">fine particles</a> in the air - mainly the result of burning coal or <a href="/earth/interior/eruptions.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">volcanic eruptions</a> - can shade <a href="/earth/Life/cnidarian.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">corals</a> from sunlight and cool the surrounding water resulting in reduced growth rates. Coral growth rates in the Caribbean were affected by volcanic aerosol emissions in the early 20th century and by aerosol emissions caused by humans in the later 20th century. For more information, see the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_278202_en.html">press release</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of Toby Hudson (Wikimedia Commons)</em></small></p>A view of the Earth as seen by the <a href="/space_missions/apollo17.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">Apollo 17</a> crew while traveling to the <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">Moon</a> on December 7, 1972. Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula are visible, and you can barely make out the <a href="/earth/polar/antarctica.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">Antarctic</a>, shrouded in the heavy <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/cloud.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">cloud</a> cover in the southern hemisphere. Arching cloud patterns show the presence of <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/front.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">weather fronts</a>.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA/Apollo 17.</em></small></p><p>The United Nations <a href="http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/PAND_report.pdf" target="_blank">estimated</a> that between 1994-2015, there were 6,873 natural disasters worldwide, which affected 218 million people and claimed 1.35 million lives. </p> <p>Check out the materials about natural disasters in <a href="/earth/natural_hazards/when_nature_strikes.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">NBC Learn Videos</a>, and their earth system science connections built up by the related secondary classroom activities.</p><p><small><em>NBC Learn</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&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">full phase</a>. Secondly, the <a href="/sun/sun.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">Sun</a>, <a href="/earth/earth.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">Earth</a> and <a href="/earth/moons_and_rings.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">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>Coral animals build reefs in warm, tropical seawater. However, <a href="/earth/changing_planet/ocean_temperatures_intro.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">seawater can be too warm</a> for their liking. If waters get too warm, coral animals lose the algae that live within their little bodies, a process called coral bleaching. Without the algae, corals have less nutrition. Unless cooler temperatures return, allowing algae to return, the coral dies.<p><small><em>Credit: UNC</em></small></p>An image of Hurricane Sandy taken by the GOES-13 satellite on October 28. This category 1 <a href="/earth/Atmosphere/hurricane/hurricane.html&dev=1/earth/Atmosphere/moons/=/earth/climate/adaptation.ppsx">hurricane</a> was huge, spanning a horizontal distance of about one-third the US continental landmass. The storm came onshore in New Jersey, and gradually moved northeast. The storm disrupted the lives of tens of millions in the eastern US, doing billions of dollars in damage, resulting in over 30 deaths. Visit the National Hurricane Center's webpage on <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/">Hurricane Sandy</a> for details.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of NASA</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?

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Earth and Space Science Concept of the Day

Do you know what this word or phrase means?

Aa
xAa : Hawaiian name for a type of lava flow with a surface that is broken into rough angular fragments which develop during cooling and loss of gas from pahoehoe flows.

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Research Highlights

Oldest Earth Mantle Reservoir Discovered

Researchers have found a primitive Earth mantle reservoir on Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic. Geologist Matthew Jackson and his colleagues from a multi-institution collaboration report the finding--the...Read more


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