Why is each point of Earth unique? But in reality, Earth is flatter than a true sphere around both the North and South Poles, and it bulges out near the equator. Click here to sign in with If we plan to live in Mercury it is too hot and Pluto is too cold. We Earthlings think we're oh-so-special. The abundance of oxygen in our atmosphere and the presence of liquid water on the surface of our planet makes our "Pale Blue Dot" stand out in contrast to the other planets in the solar system a unique and fragile home for life. Perhaps the most strikingly unique feature of Earth is its vast oceans, which cover 70% of the planet's surface. What makes planet Earth different from other planets? Why Is Biodiversity Critical To Life On Earth? The rays from the sun were able to split carbon dioxide to free some oxygen and other molecules. Earth's core, which measures about 4,300 miles across, is comprised mostly of iron and some nickel, along with a few other elements. In the solar system, the Earth is the third planet from the sun, and it is the only planet known to have life. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Tom Metcalfe is a freelance journalist who is based in London. 14.4 THE INNER PLANETS Flashcards | Quizlet The earth is called a unique planet because: It is the only planet which has favorable conditions that support life. It is believed that about 4 billion years ago, a chemical reaction was triggered which led to the first self-replicating molecules. In its formative years, the Earth had an oxygen-free atmosphere, and it took several millions of years before oxygen was sufficient to keep organisms alive on our planet. In addition to having water, Earth has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, moderate temperature, a magnetic field that shields it from cosmic radiation, and many other features that make it hospitable for life. Finally, Earth has natural resources like metals, minerals, gas, and fossil fuels that make it suitable for human needs and technological development. Discover world-changing science. Astronomers believe there are many planets that have similar characteristics to Earth in the universe but we dont have enough data about them yet to compare them. It makes the surface so hot that it's warmer there than on Mercury, despite the latter planet sitting closer to the sun. This allows for the existence of liquid water on the surface, making Earth a unique place for life in our Solar System. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Metcalfe writes mainly about science, space, archaeology, Earth and the oceans. It has a larger core compared to the earth. First, Earth is the only known planet in the Solar System to contain vast amounts of liquid water, and most scientists agree that water is essential for sustaining life. Without these resources, life simply couldnt survive. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. According to different sources of evidence like radiometric dating, the Earth is believed to be more than 4.5 billion years old. One pretty good guess you make is all that liquid water. Planetary surface temperatures tend to get colder the farther a planet is from the Sun. Gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn tend to capture many moons because of their large mass. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. How is Earth Different From Other Planets? - Earth Reminder 45 seconds. Water is one of the most special things about Earth. Similarly, the existence of gaseous oxygen in the atmosphere of the Earth also supports life. How is Earth different from the solar system? Earths moon is another peculiarity, as it is full of water and organic moleculesthings not found on the moons of other planets. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Learn more by listening to the episode "AaS! You hear all the time how Earth-like Mars is, but if you were taken to Mars you wouldnt feel happy there at all, Don Brownlee, an astronomer at the University of Washington, told Space. But we can learn from all the rest on how it all works to better help us understand just what we have. Ask your own question on Twitter using #AskASpaceman or by following Paul on Twitter @PaulMattSutter and facebook.com/PaulMattSutter. The atmosphere, orbit, water, etc all work together to make life possible. So, Saturn has a hexagon on its north pole. Earth has a solid and liquid surface, so it has a ground and bodies of water. How is Earth different from the solar system? 3. This article has been reviewed according to ScienceX's This name was eventually translated into Terra, which is Latin for earth. This is the reason why we wouldnt be able to breathe on Mars. While their purpose is to enforce an international ban on nuclear detonations, they have yielded troves of data scientists can use to shed new light on what's going on in Earth's interior, oceans and atmosphere. It is believed by some that the term Earth may have evolved from a Proto-Indo-European word, ertho, which means ground. Scientists have not found another planet with liquid water quite like ours. Why Is the Earth Called A Unique Planet? | Earth Reminder Liquid water and oxygen for breathing made this possible. But in those cases, the water would be contained within temperature pockets beneath the surface or in a mantle close to their core. In Depth | Earth - NASA Solar System Exploration We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Average Temperature on Each Planet. What are the three main reasons that make the earth unique from the other planets? Almost 70% of Earth's surface is covered by liquid water. Other than this possibility, which remains to be confirmed, no other planet in the solar system other than the Earth has tectonic plates. SUBSCRIBE HERE http://bit.ly/AstroBytes, Your email address will not be published. Difference between Earth and Other Planets. Well, it turns out nitrogen is an inert gas. Both Africa and India were part of Gondwana, but what is now India moved north into the Tethys Oceancreating the Indian Ocean behind itabout 120 million years ago. The heavy Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the small Mariana plate. Pal explains that the African blob, which largely causes the IOGL, is probably formed by Tethyan slabs deep in the mantle. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Its where life as we know it has thrived. But the inner core is not the homogenous mass that was once assumed by scientists, but rather it's more like a tapestry of different "fabric," according to Guanning Pang, a former Ph.D. student in the university's Department of Geology and Geophysics. List Three Reasons Why Earth Is Unique Theblogy.com How much pollution does solar panels reduce? This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. Is it easy to get an internship at Microsoft? The lithosphere is made up of numerous tectonic plates that keep moving over millions of years. "What we're doing is looking for a needle in a haystack. Appropriate Atmospheric Conditions: Earths atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, which creates an environment perfect for breathing, as well as providing protection from ultraviolet radiation, meteorites, and other hazardous cosmic phenomena. Earth is the only known planet of the solar system which supports life. Which Planets Are Most Different From Earth, Where Is Earth Wind & Fire Playing Tonight, How Much Do Robotics Software Engineers Make San Francisco, Would You Like To Travel Into Space Ielts Speaking, How Much Space Is Required For A Workstation, ______ Is Regarded As The Father Of Modern Geology, Will The Innovation For Homeland Security Work, How To Round Significant Figures In Chemistry, Scientists Develop Way of Identify Supply of Perplexing Waves, Nuking an Asteroid to Prevent Armageddon Could Actually Work, Study Shows, How to Watch The Launch of Lucy, a NASA Probe Set to Visit Jupiters Trojan Asteroids, Responsibility disclaimer and privacy policy. Our Earth consists of water and air. For life to be in space, to sustain it Life force to be present. Energy Resources from the Sun: The Sun is the main energy source for Earth and its ecosystems, providing warmth and light for photosynthetic organisms which power the food chain for all other species. She has been looking at the sky for years and hopes to introduce more people to the wonderful hobby that is astronomy. Unique temperature conditions: Earths average temperature is relatively mild compared to the other planets in the Solar System and allows for a wide range of habitats, ranging from the poles and the tropics. "Our biggest discovery is the inhomogeneity tends to be stronger when you get deeper. What Makes the Earth a Unique Planet? - Wondrium Daily Water in the oceans cover about 71% of the total surface of the Earth, and the remaining 29% is covered by the continents and islands, which have rivers and lakes. Are there any other planets in our solar system that have atmosphere? These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Nobody else in our solar system sports such an arrangement of storms, making the ringed world an absolute standout. In this video, Unveiled discovers exactly why Earth is like it is and whether its really so special at all? By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. "It's simply that the iron is heavier and you get what we call core formation. Earth has a diameter of roughly 8,000. A biosphere can be referred to as a zone of life on the planet Earth, and it is almost self-regulating. Earth is unfriendly because it provides us with global warming, pollution, and plastic waste. Comments (21) This photo of Earth and. What makes different from other planets in our solar system or any where else. So this is the hardest place to make images, the deepest part, and there's still things that are unknown about it.". Just leave a lead bar sitting around on the surface of Venus, and wait. Titan's atmosphere is thick by far, the thickest of any moon in the solar system, and even 50% thicker than the Earth's atmosphere. The habitable zone (also called the goldilocks zone) is the area around a star where a planet could support liquid water. So it must be something else. Please select the most appropriate category to facilitate processing of your request. Video advice: Earth is unique planet in our solar system. New research from a team led by Carnegies Robert Hazen predicts that Earth has more than 1,500 undiscovered minerals and that the exact mineral diversity of our planet is unique and could not be duplicated anywhere in the cosmos. And sometimes that methane forms droplets and falls to the ground, where it pools and collects to create streams, rivers, lakes, and even oceans of methane. The CO2 raises the temperature of the planet, causing water to evaporate, This created clouds, which in turn, results in acid rain (because of the CO2), This acidic rain dissolves minerals from the rocks, Minerals wash into rivers and oceans and eventually precipitate to form new rocks that contain carbon, Plate tectonics and geological activity move these rocks into the mantle, CO2 is baked out of these rocks due to the heat, CO2 is expelled again when volcanoes erupt, Earths unique characteristics are what has allowed it to support life. Earth's core, which measures about 4,300 miles across, is comprised mostly of iron and some nickel, along with a few other elements. For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines). Composition and Atmosphere: Earth also has the right mix of essential elements and compounds in its composition that has allowed for organisms to emerge, thrive, and adapt over millions of years. Responsibility disclaimer and privacy policy | About Us | Terms & Conditions | Site Map, Scientific discoveries from around the world. 2019-2023 Little Astronomy. Earth A Unique Planet: Structure, Unique Features & More - Embibe When the temperature anomalies causing this low geoid shift out of the present-day location, Pal says, the geoid low will start to dissipate.. A. . However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. Instead its a term geologists use to describe a spot where Earths gravity is lower than average. Of all the rocky worlds in the solar system, Venus takes the cake and then has some more. Around one in every 200 to 3,000 other stars likely has one of these far-out planets, too, according to the researchers' computer simulations. Coincidentally, thats around the same time when life began. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The fact that Earth hosts not just life, but intelligent life, makes it doubly unique. The most important step was when the smaller cells were incorporated within larger cells leading to the development of larger and complex cells of eukaryotes. It is neither too hot nor too cold. Im going to heavily oversimplify it, but it works kind of like this: As you can see, this cycle is slightly self-adjusting. How is earth different from the other planets in the solar system? Origin Of Oxygen On Earth The Earth is the only planet in our solar system that has oxygen in gaseous form. 2. A prominent difference between Earth and other planets is that Earth has life and water where people can live on, whereas the other planets dont. Thanks for reading Scientific American. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. This stability in temperature is thanks to a natural cycle that acts similar to a thermostat and adjusts the planets temperature. Manage Settings While Earth is only the fifth largest planet in the solar system, it is the only world in our solar system with liquid water on the surface. Mars (diameter 6790 kilometers) is only slightly more than half the size of Earth (diameter 12750 kilometers). All of that makes up about 96% of all the water on the planet. That was an artistic representation of a planet called Gliese 581g, which was big news in 2010, but that scientists now doubt exists.. Tectonic activity such as subduction and faulting has shaped the crust into a variety of landscapes. Firstly, it is the only known planet that sustains life as it has an atmosphere, liquid water, and a stable climate. For starters, ours is the only planet that can support life (as far as we know). Answer: Earth is friendly because it provides us with food and water. Earth is our home. Be specific, citing the knowledge you have gained from your study of Earth Science in this course. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. By "adapted" I just mean. Fourth, Earth has a relatively strong magnetic field that helps protect the planet from high-energy particles and radiation from outer space. . It has 81% the mass of Earth, while Mars only has 10% the mass of Earth. Other smaller plates include Scotia Plate located in South Atlantic Ocean, Nazca Plate which is found in the west coast of South America, the Caribbean Plate, and the Arabian Plate. But for all the biological activity on our homeworld, we're not the only interesting planet orbiting the sun. Sufficient Amounts of Water: Earth has a large amount of liquid water stored in its oceans, rivers, lakes and groundwater, making it hospitable to life as water is essential for sustaining it. Earth is Unique. How Is Earth Different From Other Planets | Science-Atlas.com It has 81% the mass of Earth while Mars only has 10% the mass of Earth. This is another factor that makes Earth unique, as other planets in the Solar System are either too far or too close to the Sun and don't have the right temperatures. The following table shows the percentage of the elements contained in each of the planets atmospheres. Out of the four terrestrial planets, the Earth is the largest and densest planet. What makes Earth unique? | Space It is believed that the names of many ancient cultures gods of the Earth and soil may have contributed to the naming of Earth. Why Is the Earth Known as A Unique Planet? D. Earth has mostly water on the surface. The outer core remains liquid, enveloping the solid inner core . Type above and press Enter to search. Geologists think these slabs are ancient remnants of seafloor from the Tethys Ocean, which was located between the supercontinents of Laurasia and Gondwana more than 200 million years ago. Most mineral species are quite rare, in fact, found in 5 or fewer localities. So the whole planet, when it's forming up, is melting," Koper said. the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: At the center the Earth is a solid metal ball, a kind of "planet within a planet," whose existence makes life on the surface possible, at least as we know it. The earth is called a unique planet because: It is the only planet which has favorable conditions that support life. All Right Reserved. No joke, we have pictures of it and everything.