Since time immemorial, humanity has been trying to find explanations for various phenomena in the surrounding world. Interesting facts and new fantastic discoveries genuinely surprise and delight not only ordinary people, but also scientists.

Highest place on Earth

The Himalayas are the most inaccessible mountains. This mountain system is spread over several countries. The main peak in China is Chomolungma. At the foot of the mountains there is a tropical climate. But on the tops there is a kingdom eternal ice and snow. This is not surprising, because the height of the “roof of the world” is 8852 m. The legendary mountain claimed many lives. But with its impregnable beauty it attracts brave climbers. More than 4,000 people have already reached the summit.

Deepest place on Earth

The depth of the Mariana Trench is almost 11 km. Scientists say that if Chomolungma is lowered to the bottom, it will not only disappear under water, there will still be about two kilometers left to the surface. The depression is located near the Mariana Islands of Guam in Pacific Ocean. Only 3 people plunged into the abyss in special devices. Surprisingly, there is life even there.

Mysterious Atacama

The Atacama is a desert located in Chile. An interesting fact is that this place is the driest on planet Earth. For decades, not a drop of rain falls, and the humidity is 0%. It's not hot here. The temperature in summer is about 25 degrees. There is practically no rain in Atacama, but there is often fog. Plants, animals and people have learned to collect life-giving moisture from the fog.

Abode of Rains

Now let's move to the small Indian village of Mawsynram. Meteorologists estimate that precipitation there is 12 m per year. Imagine a building with 4 floors, so only its roof will be visible. Locals carry large umbrellas, which are made from huge banana leaves. And the houses are covered with a layer of grass to muffle the sound of the rain.

Earth's thermal pole

There is a desert in Iran called Dasht-e Lut. It doesn’t get any hotter than there – the recorded temperature is +71 degrees. Life in Dasht-Lut is meager. Wormwood and tamarisk grow along the outskirts. There are small nocturnal rodents. There is a road through the desert, and there are shelters for drivers, where people can hide from the sun and replenish their water supplies.

Absolute champion in the cold

We continue to collect interesting facts about planet Earth and go to Antarctica, where the Vostok Station is located. The most low temperature 81 degrees with a minus sign was recorded on the planet right here. Everything here is frozen in ice. The temperature even in summer is -21. Scientists live and work at the station; they claim that in some places the temperature can drop even lower.

Land or water?

It is interesting that the planet is called Earth; it would be more logical to call it Water. Seventy percent of the surface is ocean. Water in liquid form can only be found on Earth. More than 60% fresh water frozen.

The biggest

There are billions of living organisms on Earth. It is impossible to say for sure, since to this day new species are being discovered and, unfortunately, some plants and animals are disappearing. Until recently, the largest plant was called the Australian eucalyptus. The height of the trees reached 150 m. But they are no longer there. Currently, American sequoias set records for height; their height is approximately the same.
The blue whale is called a giant among animals. It weighs 175 tons and is 33 m long. The whale's tongue alone weighs 4 tons, and the heart weighs a ton. It is surprising that with such a fantastic size, the whale feeds on plankton and small crustaceans. They live for about 90 years.

The smallest

Another interesting fact about planet Earth. Floating in tropical African lakes is a tiny plant called Wolfia rootless. Its size is only 1 mm. This baby has neither roots nor leaves. Only a round stem. Every day a new plant separates from it. Wolffia is used to feed domestic animals. There's a lot in it nutrients. The plant reproduces at high speed.

Imagine a frog that is only 11 mm long. Scientists recently discovered this species and named it Paedophryne amanuensis. The baby lives in Papua New Guinea. And in Indonesia there lives a tiny fish. Its length is 8 mm. It was named Paedocypris progenetica and belonged to the carp family.

Centenarians

Have you ever heard of Icelandic cyprina? This is a mollusk, famous for the fact that it can live more than 500 years. Well, of course, if he is lucky and no one eats him. The lifespan of the Greenland shark is 400 years. Interestingly, this fish begins to reproduce at the age of 100 years.
The most tenacious are microorganisms. They are practically eternal because they reproduce by division. These include bacteria, algae, and fungi. They are called endoliths. Scientists say that some of them divide once every 100 years, and can live up to 10,000 years.

The shortest life

The small Mayfly lives only 1 day. She is given several hours, during which she must have time to hatch, mate and lay larvae. The insect does not feed. IN small body moth instead digestive organs air bubble. It helps the Mayfly fly easily.

Boiling River

Another interesting fact about planet Earth is hot rivers. Do you think this is a legend? No! In the Amazon jungle there flows a river with a water temperature of 90 degrees. Its waters mix with hot springs, forming approximately 6 km of boiling water. Animals that accidentally fall into the river are boiled in it.

Singing Dunes

A dune (or dune) is a hill of sand. The wind moves the sand, it pours over the ridge and when it moves, it makes sounds. Barkhan sings. Singing dunes can produce a variety of sounds: grinding, growling, humming. Scientists have not yet decided why this happens.

Stones that can move

Incredibly, the stones move on their own. There is a lake in California's Death Valley. It has long since dried up. Stones scattered along the bottom change their position, and a trail is clearly visible behind them. Sometimes the movement of stones is parallel, but they can change direction. For now, this fact remains a mystery.

Primitive tribes

It’s impossible to imagine, but even now in hard-to-reach places ( South America, Africa) live wild tribes. About 100 tribes are known. They obey their own laws and know nothing about modern world. Civilization has passed by. They don't have writing. Gradually they disappear, people go out into the big world.

It is impossible to imagine the full variety of interesting facts about planet Earth. The world is so big and incomprehensible that what more people learns about it, the more questions arise. The process of learning is endless.

Characteristics of the planet:

• Distance from the Sun: 149.6 million km
• Planet diameter: 12,765 km
• Day on the planet: 23h 56min 4s*
• Year on the planet: 365 days 6h 9min 10s*
• t° on the surface: global average +12°C (In Antarctica up to -85°C; in the Sahara Desert up to +70°C)
• Atmosphere: 77% Nitrogen; 21% oxygen; 1% water vapor and other gases
• Satellites: Moon

* period of rotation around its own axis (in Earth days)
**period of orbit around the Sun (in Earth days)

From the very beginning of the development of civilization, people were interested in the origin of the Sun, planets and stars. But the planet that is our common home, the Earth, is of most interest. Ideas about it have changed along with the development of science; the very concept of stars and planets, as we understand it now, was formed only a few centuries ago, which is negligible compared to the very age of the Earth.

Presentation: Planet Earth

The third planet from the Sun, which has become our home, has a satellite - the Moon, and is part of the group of terrestrial planets such as Mercury, Venus and Mars. Giant planets differ significantly from them in physical properties and structure. But even such a tiny planet in comparison with them, like the Earth, has an incredible mass in terms of comprehension - 5.97x1024 kilograms. It revolves around the star in an orbit at an average distance from the Sun of 149.0 million kilometers, rotating around its axis, which causes the change of days and nights. And the ecliptic of the orbit itself characterizes the seasons.

Our planet plays a unique role in solar system, because Earth is the only planet on which there is life! The Earth was positioned in an extremely fortunate manner. It travels in orbit at a distance of almost 150,000,000 kilometers from the Sun, which means only one thing - It’s warm enough on Earth for water to remain in liquid form. Given hot temperatures, the water would simply evaporate, and in the cold it would turn into ice. Only on Earth is there an atmosphere in which humans and all living organisms can breathe.

The history of the origin of planet Earth

Starting from the Big Bang Theory and based on the study of radioactive elements and their isotopes, scientists have found out the approximate age of the earth's crust - it is about four and a half billion years, and the age of the Sun is about five billion years. Just like the entire galaxy, the Sun was formed as a result of gravitational compression of a cloud of interstellar dust, and after the star, the planets included in the Solar System were formed.

As for the formation of the Earth itself as a planet, its very birth and formation lasted hundreds of millions of years and took place in several phases. At the birth phase, obeying the laws of gravity, falling large number planetesimals and large cosmic bodies, which subsequently made up almost the entire modern mass of the earth. Under the influence of such bombardment, the planet's substance warmed up and then melted. Under the influence of gravity heavy elements, such as ferrum and nickel, created the core, and from lighter compounds formed the earth's mantle, the crust with its continents and oceans lying on its surface, and an atmosphere that was initially very different from the present one.

Internal structure of the Earth

Of the planets of its group, the Earth has the greatest mass and therefore has the greatest internal energy - gravitational and radiogenic, under the influence of which processes in the earth's crust still continue, as can be seen from volcanic and tectonic activity. Although igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, forming the outlines of landscapes that are gradually changing under the influence of erosion.

Beneath the atmosphere of our planet is a solid surface called the earth's crust. It is divided into huge pieces (slabs) of solid rock, which can move and, when moving, touch and push each other. As a result of such movement, mountains and other features of the earth's surface appear.

Earth's crust has a thickness of 10 to 50 kilometers. The crust “floats” on the liquid earth’s mantle, the mass of which is 67% of the mass of the entire Earth and extends to a depth of 2890 kilometers!

The mantle is followed by an outer liquid core, which extends into the depths for another 2260 kilometers. This layer is also movable and capable of producing electric currents, which create the planet’s magnetic field!

At the very center of the Earth is the inner core. It is very hard and contains a lot of iron.

Atmosphere and surface of the Earth

The Earth is the only one of all the planets in the solar system that has oceans - they cover more than seventy percent of its surface. Water initially found in the atmosphere in the form of steam played a large role in the formation of the planet - greenhouse effect raised the temperature on the surface by those tens of degrees necessary for the existence of water in the liquid phase, and in combination with solar radiation gave rise to photosynthesis of living matter - organic matter.

From space, the atmosphere appears as a blue border around the planet. This thin dome consists of 77% nitrogen, 20% oxygen. The rest is a mixture of various gases. Earth's atmosphere contains much more oxygen than any other planet. Oxygen is vital for animals and plants.

This unique phenomenon can be regarded as a miracle or considered an incredible coincidence of chance. It was the ocean that gave rise to the origin of life on the planet, and, as a consequence, the emergence of homo sapiens. Surprisingly, the oceans still hold many secrets. Developing, humanity continues to explore space. Entering low-Earth orbit has made it possible to gain a new understanding of many of the geoclimatic processes occurring on Earth, the mysteries of which are still to be further studied by more than one generation of people.

Earth's satellite - Moon

Planet Earth has its only satellite - the Moon. The first to describe the properties and characteristics of the Moon was the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, he described the mountains, craters and plains on the surface of the Moon, and in 1651 the astronomer Giovanni Riccioli wrote a map of the visible side of the lunar surface. In the 20th century, on February 3, 1966, the Luna-9 lander landed on the Moon for the first time, and a few years later, on July 21, 1969, a person set foot on the surface of the Moon for the first time.

The Moon always faces planet Earth with only one side. On this visible side The moon shows flat "seas", chains of mountains and multiple craters of the most different sizes. The other side, invisible from the Earth, has on the surface large cluster mountains and even more craters, and the light reflecting from the Moon, thanks to which at night we can see it in the pale lunar color, is weakly reflected rays from the Sun.

Planet Earth and its satellite the Moon are very different in many properties, while the ratio of stable oxygen isotopes of planet Earth and its satellite the Moon is the same. Radiometric studies have shown that the age of both celestial bodies the same, approximately 4.5 billion years. These data suggest the origin of the Moon and the Earth from the same substance, which gives rise to several interesting hypotheses about the origin of the Moon: from the origin of the same protoplanetary cloud, the capture of the Moon by the Earth, and the formation of the Moon from a collision of the Earth with a large object.

Questions related to the appearance of man on planet Earth and the emergence of planets in the solar system have always worried, are and will continue to worry the minds of the curious. How did the planets and the Sun appear? What was the impetus for their appearance? Modern science does not stand still, and interesting facts about planets and Space excite humanity, forcing us to ask even more questions.

The Universe and hypotheses about it

The concept of “Universe” includes the energy of space and all visible and invisible bodies.

How and where did the Universe come from? There is no answer, but there are several assumptions (hypotheses) about the reasons for its appearance:

1. Big bang. According to this theory, once there was nothing - all Matter under enormous pressure was compressed into a very small volume. Gradually, the pressure reached critical values ​​and, having heated up to its maximum, the matter began to expand. The explosion occurred 12-15 billion years ago. As a result, clots of energy scattered, and radioactive particles were formed from matter. Those, in turn, gave impetus to the formation of atoms, then various objects of space. The Universe continues to expand and what will happen next? The question remains unanswered.
2. Big bounce. This assumption is directly opposite to the previous one and assumes that the emergence of the Universe is associated with compression (“rebound”), and not with an explosion. The cosmos is constantly being reborn - it contracts, then expands, and, according to this model, after the expansion that is now occurring, compression must occur. But the theory does not answer how this will happen.
3. Divine intervention. According to this theory, the Universe could not have appeared without the participation of the Creator - everything was thought out so rationally and logically. The theory is not scientific, but it has a right to exist.

Modern science is looking for confirmation of these hypotheses, but at the moment they remain assumptions, and knowledge about the solar system accumulates more and more interesting scientific facts about cosmic bodies, planets, outer space.

Unusual and surprising things about the planets

Outer space is an abyss of mysterious, unknown and interesting things. Rapidly developing, science makes it possible to learn more and more about it.

The planet visible without instruments is located at a great distance from the Earth and is difficult to study, but research is still being carried out, adding new facts to information about it.

Mercury, according to one assumption, was a satellite of Venus, but due to some cataclysm it broke away from its gravity and became an independent planet - the closest to the Sun.

A day on Mercury is 59 days, and a year is 88 days. If we compare this with earthly days and years, we get something difficult to imagine for our earthly time.

Information! From Mercury you can see the movement of the Solar disk in the opposite direction - this is due to the large difference between the speeds of rotation around the axis and movement in orbit. The planet moves in orbit at the highest speed of all the planets in the solar group, and its orbit is the most elongated.

On Earth we are used to seeing one sunset and one sunrise, but twice, and even three times, it can be seen on Mercury.

It would seem that due to the short distance to the Sun, the planet should have positive temperatures, but the difference between daytime and nighttime indicators is huge - during the day the surface heats up to +430°C, and at night it cools down to -180°C.

Interesting facts about Mercury:

• The planet was first mentioned in manuscripts from 3000 BC. e.;
• Mercury is only 5,000 km across, and second in density after Earth;
• the main element of a small layer of the atmosphere is helium;
• the energy received from the Sun is almost 7 times more than the Earth receives;
• there were research vehicles in the vicinity of Mercury 2 times;
• The Messenger probe has been operating in the orbital space of the planet since 2004;
• there is an assumption that the core, weighing 4/5 of the mass of the planet, consists of iron;
• there is no change of seasons on the planet.

You can see the bright Venus at sunset, and “ Evening star"(as it is sometimes called) for only 2 hours. By cosmic standards, it is not far from Earth - only 108,000,000 million kilometers. Its orbit, interestingly, is located inside the earth’s orbit, and the planet moves in the direction opposite to the clockwise direction. Sunrise is therefore observed in the west and not in the east.

Unusual and interesting facts about the planet Venus:

• the movement around the axis occurs very slowly and it turns out that the length of the day and the length of the year (243 and 224, 7 earth days, respectively) are almost the same;
• the sizes of Venus and Earth are approximately the same;
• when moving to Venus, it is possible to establish settlements at an altitude of 100 km from the surface - there the conditions (t°, pressure, gravity) are similar to those on Earth;
• for the first time in 1970, a Soviet probe landed on the planet, stayed there for only 23 minutes, but managed to transmit some information, and another device - Venera-13 - stayed on the hot surface longer - 127 minutes;
• there are no conditions for the existence of any living organisms there - the temperature on the surface is about 470°C, and the pressure is 90 times greater than at the bottom of the earth's sea;
• more than 1,600 volcanoes have been discovered on the surface, and many of them are active.

Assumption! After 5 billion years, the Sun will run out of helium and hydrogen, and it will expand and become a red giant, swallowing up nearby planets.

Earth

Earth is the only thing cosmic body, on which there are various forms of life. Its age is approximately 4,540 million. years. Together with Mercury, Venus and Mars, it is part of the terrestrial group of planets.

There are many interesting facts about our planet and it has been studied more than other cosmic bodies, but people want to know as much as possible about their habitat.

Amazing things about planet Earth:

• the speed of the “blue planet” in orbit is 108,000 km/h;
• water occupies 71% of the planet's surface and most of it is oceans, but only 5% of them have been explored, but even this small part is home to about 200 thousand marine species;
• huge reserves of fresh water (68%) are frozen in glaciers and at the poles;
• The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth, which causes the ebb and flow of the tides and there is an opinion that it was once separated from the Earth as a result of its collision with a cosmic body;
• Every year, about 40,000 tons of dust from space falls onto the Earth's surface;
• the water column hides many secrets and interesting phenomena– at a depth of 11 km (the Martian trench) there is life, the presence of which was confirmed by researchers (only three people) who visited there;
• Most meteorites are found in Antarctica - they are clearly visible on the white surface and more of them fall there.

Unusual fact! In the tropics of Peru there is an amazing place - the Shanay Timpishka River, where the water almost boils, reaching a temperature of 92°C.

Mars

The next planet after Earth, Mars, with two satellites Deimos and Phobos, is located at a distance of 228,000,000 million km from the Sun. It owes its name to the Roman god of war - Mars. The color of the planet, like the color of blood, is red, which is why it is also called the Red Planet. The color is explained by the presence of iron oxides in the layers of the atmosphere.

Interesting facts about Mars are attractive to children, since it is often found in the plots of films and cartoons, in children's works, and the words “Martians” and “Martian” are always heard. The story about the planet Mars can be summarized as brief information about her:

• Its age is estimated at 4.5 billion. years;
• The dimensions of Mars are significantly smaller than the Earth - the diameter is 6800 km, which is 2 times less than the Earth's, the mass is 10% of the mass of the Earth (6.4169x10 23 kg and 5.9722x10 24 kg, respectively), and the volume is such that six planets Mars will fill the volume of one planet Earth;
• a revolution around the Sun takes 687 Earth days - this is the length of a year, and the length of a day is 24 hours 40 minutes;
• at midday at the equator the temperature rises to +30°C, at night it drops to -80°C, and near the poles to -143°C, and in winter about 20% of the air freezes;
• due to the large temperature difference between day and night, air movement occurs at high speeds (tornado);
• the force of gravity there is less - with a weight of 100 kg on Earth, a person on Mars will weigh only 38 kg, and a high jump will be 3 times higher than on Earth (this interesting fact about the planet has been used more than once in science fiction films);
• there is no ozone layer and, therefore, there is no protection from radiation, so radiation doses on the surface of Mars are lethal;
• due to the thin atmosphere and low pressure a person can only be there in a spacesuit - without it, oxygen in the blood turns into gas bubbles, and this is fatal;
• When approaching the Sun, violent dust storms are frequent on Mars - the wind reaches a speed of 200 km/h, they sometimes last for several weeks, often covering the entire surface of the planet.

Interesting! Spacecraft were launched to the planet more than once, but only a third of them were able to complete the assigned tasks, and the rest disappeared - apparently, as scientists suggested, there is Bermuda triangle, only Martian.

Jupiter is a giant planet made of gases. Its dimensions are amazing - the mass is 318 times the mass of the Earth, the volume is 1300 times, the length of the diameter is 10 times. Amazing planet unusual with interesting facts not only for adults, but also for children.

Interesting things about the giant planet:

• Jupiter has more satellites than other planets - 79 (an ocean was discovered on Europa, one of the satellites, and there is more water in it than in all the earth’s oceans and, probably, there are living organisms there);
• 10 hours is the time it takes to rotate around its axis, and the planet completes its orbit in 12 years;
• the atmosphere is 18 times denser than the Earth’s atmosphere and 89% of its composition is hydrogen, 8-10% is helium, 1-3% is other elements;
• the giant protects the Earth from a large number of meteorites, attracting them to itself (its power magnetic field more than other planets in the solar system);
• For more than 300 years, an atmospheric vortex of enormous size (the Great Red Spot) has been raging and clearly visible from the Earth, its speed is 435 km/h.

Reference! The planet's core is heated to an enormous temperature - 20,000°C.

Saturn is the next planet after Jupiter, named after the god who patronized agriculture among the ancient Romans. You can see it without instruments. Much data about the planet was obtained using 4 spacecraft that flew to Saturn.

Interesting facts about the planet:

• Saturn's density is very low (0.687 g/cm3), so if it happened to be placed in water, it would float on its surface;
• seasons change, just like on Earth, but a season lasts 7 years, a year lasts 30 Earth years, the length of a day is 10 hours 32 minutes 35 seconds;
• due to the high rotation speed, the planet is significantly flattened at the poles;
• near Saturn you can see rings consisting of cosmic dust and ice particles, and about 62 satellites of different sizes (the smallest ones do not have names).

Unusual fact! Powerful winds on the surface reach speeds of up to 1800 km/h, and hexagonal clouds are sometimes visible through a telescope.

Uranus is a little-studied planet and any interesting fact about it makes you think about the capabilities of the human mind:

• this is a giant icy planet with a solid, cold core that is 80% liquid, and an atmosphere made of helium, hydrogen and a small amount of methane, which gives it a greenish color;
• atmospheric temperature – -224°С;
• the day is short - only 17 hours, but the year is long - 84 earthly years;
• the rotation axis is tilted by 98° (according to scientists, the axis tilted as a result of an impact with a cosmic body) and rotation occurs from east to west;
• Uranus has 13 rings, believed to be the remains of the moon after its collision with the planet.

Reference! The shell of Uranus, approximately 8,000 km thick, consists of various gases, and the planet has no solid surface.

Neptune is the planet farthest from the Sun, which has many internal satellites rotating within its orbit, and only two external ones. The sea green color is given to it by the methane in the atmosphere.

Interesting and amazing facts a lot about the planet. Here are some of them:

• a day lasts 16 hours, and Neptune moves in its orbit for 164 years;
• temperature indicators in the upper layers of the atmosphere reach – 221.45°C;
• there are 5 dark rings consisting of dust particles and pebbles;
• The Voyager 2 research vehicle flew past Neptune in 1989 at a distance of 3,000 km.

Proven fact! The wind on Neptune can reach speeds of 2100 km/h.

The interesting facts and stories about the planets given above are only a small part of what science now knows about them. The unexplored depths of space are fraught with many interesting and unusual things.

Our planet before today is one of the most mysterious secrets in the Universe, and today we decided to tell you the most interesting facts about planet earth, which will help to slightly lift the veil of this mystery. For many years, scientists have been trying to recreate a picture of the appearance of our planet, its formation, and the appearance of life on it. There are many different theories, but so far, none of them are one hundred percent fact.

Planet Earth is considered to be the only planet in our solar system that has such a wide variety of animal organisms. This is only one planet on which intelligent species exist, although scientists have put forward the theory that there were previously intelligent creatures on Mars.

What can we say about the second interesting fact? All the planets in the Solar System are named after the names of Roman deities and beings, and the Earth is simply called Earth. Each nationality has its own name for the land, for example in English Earth is Earth.

Seventy percent of our planet's surface is covered by oceans, while other planets cannot boast of similar water content. It was believed that a large amount of water should be on the planet Venus, but soon scientists realized that they were mistaken. And instead of the promised swamps, we got a drought on Venus.

The Earth in our solar system is considered the densest of all existing planets. Here's an interesting fact...

One of the layers of our planet, the Lithosphere, is divided into a number of other large plates. This includes: the crust and the upper mantle, it is constantly in motion. And it is precisely because of the collision of these plates that a catastrophe such as an earthquake occurs.

Our planet consists of several layers: magnetosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere. Also comparable to other planets in our solar system, there is not such a large number of diverse layers that give other planets.

Satellites in orbit were able to establish that during the day the outer layer of the atmosphere becomes wider because it heats up. And at night it narrows again. Interesting fact, isn't it? Imagine that it is day in the USA and night in China. And on all sides, the layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, according to this theory, has different “shapes”.

Our planet has its own atmosphere, which consists of seventy-eight percent nitrogen, as well as twenty-one percent oxygen, and the last one percent is occupied by other various gases.

The largest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean. Its area, by the way, exceeds the entire total land area. Imagine, its area covers approximately one hundred and sixty million one hundred thousand square kilometers! But everyone probably already knows this interesting fact.

The most accurate topographic map of our planet Earth was released only in 2009, not earlier. One can only imagine that over all these years scientists worked on the topographic map, and only in 2009 were they able to completely recreate it. This can safely be called a colossal scientific work.

One of the largest continents on Earth, which existed many millions of years ago, was called “Pangaea”.

Earth's continents are large areas of land that are separated by water. Millions of years ago, these continents were attached to each other, but the Earth's crust is constantly moving, and that is why the continents were divided over millions of years into those we know today: Eurasia, America, Australia and so on. In addition, some particularly large islands could be called small continents. This is perhaps the most interesting fact that you might not know.

The magnetic field of our planet, which is created as a result of rapid rotation and a molten iron core with nickel impurities, has its own clear boundaries.

The ozone hole, which is located over Antarctica, was found in 2006. This ozone hole is the largest of all known ozone holes. I would like to note that ozone holes are dangerous, and they can safely be called a “gap” in the atmosphere of our planet. Creepy, but interesting.

The highest point on Earth is a mountain called Everest; it is eight thousand eight hundred and forty-eight meters high. And it is located in the Himalayas.

The deepest point on our planet is the Mariana Trench. It is located in the Pacific Ocean, its depth is almost eleven thousand meters below sea level. They say that various strange deep-sea creatures live there. Gradually, scientists are finding strange fish, and they suspect that it is precisely these “monsters” that are found at such great depths below sea level.

The only “natural” satellite of our planet is the Moon. The moon is considered the fifth largest natural companion throughout our solar system. The distance from us to the Moon is more than three hundred thousand kilometers.

The rotation of the Moon around its own axis is completely synchronized with the rotation of our planet Earth. This is why we always see only one side of the satellite. Many people wondered: what is she like? reverse side Moon? Over time, the moon began to be used as a theme for songs, music, poetry and fiction. By the way, the cult of the Moon existed among many pagans. Someone believed that the Moon is the personification of the Great Mother Goddess. When the Moon grows, the Goddess looks like a beautiful and young girl. When the Moon is full, the Goddess became a woman at the very dawn of her powers, and when the Moon wanes, the Goddess grows old.

All weather forecasts are determined using the distribution of vapor in the atmosphere. That’s how simple it is, and no shamans or psychics change the weather or can control it. There is an atmosphere, there is steam. And the last for today, fact twentieth: the reason for the change of four seasons of the year is something other than the equatorial inclination of the planet Earth to an orbit of twenty-three degrees. This is why we have summer, autumn, winter and spring.

Do you think you know everything about your planet? Surprisingly, millions of people can talk for hours about black holes and time distortions, the formation of pulsars and white dwarfs, while they know practically nothing about their own home. We decided to correct this injustice and have collected for you the most interesting facts about the Earth and its riches - read!

1. More than 4 billion years ago, our planet was red

There was no water, no forest. The Earth rotated in a spiral at a colossal speed, and one day on the planet was equal to only 6 hours. Moreover, asteroids were circling around the earth’s orbit, and instead of land there were waves of lava and clots of gases. And the Moon influenced the gravitational field 25 times stronger than today. How did the Earth become the way we know it? Thanks to bacteria that have learned to absorb sunlight and produce chlorophyll.

2. The disappearance of 80% of living things was caused by one bacterium

Some facts about the Earth are closely related to theories. For example, there is a theory according to which about 253 million years ago, when more than 80% of all sea ​​creatures, the anomaly was caused by the proliferation of the bacterium methanosarcina. It produces methane and lives almost everywhere - both in the waters of the oceans and in our intestines. However, such a mass extinction led to the appearance of the ancestors of dinosaurs.

3. The Moon is a breakaway part of the Earth

According to another theory, at the very beginning there was not even a Moon. 4.3 billion years ago, the Earth collided with the planet Theia, as a result of a powerful explosion, part of its mantle was torn off and formed a satellite. Moreover, judging by the uneven surface of the Moon, there could be several satellites, which led to their collision and the formation of additional craters.

4. Sunlight reaches the Earth after 8 minutes

In this list it is impossible not to mention those related to physics. For example, the distance between our planet and the Sun is enormous - about 150 million km, which is why light reaches the Earth with a difference of almost 500 seconds.

5. Someday all continents will unite again

The last time all the continents united into one supercontinent was about 300 million years ago, scientists gave it the name Pelageya. A little later, the earth split into 2 parts - Gondwana and Laurasia, which were divided into 6 more continents, now known. But after 260-290 million years, the continents will meet again and become one.

6. There is so much gold in the depths of our planet that it can cover the entire surface of the globe

Facts about the Earth like this will interest fans precious metals. So, gold. Most of the gold is hidden at the bottom of the oceans. If it is mined, every person will be able to become the happy owner of 5 kg of precious metal. However, by that moment he will cease to be so! By the way, tons of gold are contained in sea ​​water, alas, in dissolved form.

7. Fresh water reserves account for only 2.5% of the total mass of water

Yes, yes, the remaining 97.5% belongs to the seas and ocean basins, in which the water is salty and initially not suitable for drinking. Among other things, almost 70% of all fresh water is buried in glaciers, 20% is contained in Lake Baikal. And the rest comes from rivers, lakes and the atmosphere in general. Frightening statistics, isn't it?

8. The driest place on Earth is located in the snow-white valleys of Antarctica

Since we are presenting facts about the Earth, let's talk about the very, very places. For example, the Chilean desert, which has not seen precipitation for more than 2 thousand years, ranks only second in the top driest. The first belongs to the Dry Valleys of McMurdo Sound, which have not been irrigated by water for more than 2 million years. And also here the craziest winds rage, accelerating over 310 km/h.

9. The lowest, highest and deepest points on Earth

It's no secret that the Dead Sea is in first place among the lowest points on Earth - 432 m below sea level. Moreover, it continues to fall from quite high speed. The depth of the Mariana Trench, according to recent measurements at the Challenger Deep point, reached 10,994 m below sea level. And here is the title itself high peak continues to be held by Mount Chomolungma (located in the Himalayas) with a height of 8848 meters.

10. The densest and lowest population density

Let's put it aside geographical facts about the Earth and talk about population. If you are an introvert in a cube, the best place for you is Canada, the territory of Nunavut. Because the population density there does not exceed 0.02 people/km². But the most densely populated, where you definitely won’t be allowed to breathe, is Bangladesh, with over 1,087 people/km² living there.

11. Due to the ellipsoidal shape of the Earth, gravity is uneven

Scientists have discovered fluctuations in gravity caused by the unequal mass of the Earth and the movements of its magma. Thus, Hudson Bay in Canada has slightly underestimated gravity indicators, which, in fact, is an anomaly. The reason lies in the fact that the Earth has not yet had time to recover after ice age, which shifted part of its mass, significantly deforming the crust.

12. The most devastating volcanic eruption happened in Indonesia

Unfortunately, not all facts about the Earth are positive—catastrophes and natural disasters also need to be remembered. For example, on Mount Tabra in 1815 there was such a strong eruption that its roar could be heard 2 thousand kilometers from the very point of the events. Then the VEI scale assigned it 7 points out of 8. And today, according to meteorological centers, the most dangerous eruption will be the Cumbre Vieja eruption. Its consequences will be hundred-meter waves that will cover West Africa and part of America.

13. Lakes on our planet can explode

This oddity can happen to those lakes that are located in the craters of volcanoes. For example, such as Nyos and Kivu in Cameroon. Thus, the magma beneath them releases a large amount of CO2, which accumulates at the bottom of the lake and can explode at any moment, cutting off oxygen.

However, no facts about Earth compare to this: it is the only planet in the Milky Way that has the atmosphere, oceans of water and colorful natural landscapes whose very existence allowed the emergence of man. Isn't this an amazing discovery that sets it apart from billions of other planets?