How the Earth was Formed

Earth

Formation of Earth.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest. The Planet Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago from the same nebula cloud of gas and dust that the Sun and the eight other planets were formed.

Definition of Earth

Earth is the only planet whose English name does not derive from Greek/Roman mythology. The name derives from Old English and Germanic. There are, of course, hundreds of other names for the planet in other languages. The Earth is the only planet where life exists.

The Earth’s surface is very young. In the relatively short (by astronomical standards) period of 500,000,000 years or so erosion and tectonic processes destroy and recreate most of the Earth’s surface and thereby eliminate almost all traces of earlier geologic surface history (such as impact craters). Thus the very early history of the Earth has mostly been erased. The Earth is 4.5 to 4.6 billion years old, but the oldest known rocks are about 4 billion years old and rocks older than 3 billion years are rare. The oldest fossils of living organisms are less than 3.9 billion years old. There is no record of the critical period when life was first getting started.

71 Percent of the Earth’s surface is covered with water. The heat capacity of the oceans is also very important in keeping the Earth’s temperature relatively stable. Liquid water is also responsible for most of the erosion and weathering of the Earth’s continents, a process unique in the solar system today.

Filed under: Earth, Planets


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