Earth - Origin and Life

The blue planet ,the earth is the home of all natural and man made things . Life starts in the earth and  end in the earth . Earth our main home has a lot of mysteries about its formation , structure, etc .In this article by HavePrasad, we will know about the following terms : 

What makes the Earth unique?

How was earh formed ?

Why did life develop on the Earth?

Where does the oxygen we breathe come from?

What would happen if there was no water on the Earth?

Is there life on any planet other than the Earth?

Why earth appears blue ?

What makes the Earth unique?

The blue planet earth. 

Unlike the other planets of our solar system, life developed into many forms on the Earth after its emergence. Liquid water and oxygen for breathing made this possible. Millions of species of plants and animals thrive today on land and in water. Water covers more than two-thirds of the Earth's surface. Therefore, the Earth appears blue from the moon or from the International Space Station. For this reason, it is also called the 'blue planet'. Till now, scientists have not discovered life in any other place in the universe, but they believe that one day they will do so.

How was the Earth formed?

Formation of earth - 

The Earth, along with the sun and the remaining planets of our solar system, originated around 4.8 billion years ago from dust particles, which agglomerated gradually. At that time, the young Earth was bombarded by countless meteorites from space. The Earth's interior was molten and volcanoes erupted constantly. But over millions of years, the Earth's surface cooled down. Around 3.8 billion years ago, the temperature decreased to about 100°C and the Earth's crust slowly started becoming solid. At this time the gaseous cover on the Earth was mostly made up of water vapour.

Why did life develop on the Earth?

The origin of life on the Earth is a fortunate series of events. The Earth's distance from the sun was such that its atmosphere and surface cooled down to a moderate level Liquid water-and not just water vapour also formed, and it did not freeze as the sun was not too far away. The cooling of the Earth gave rise to a kind of primordial ocean'. The action of the UV rays of the sun the lightning flashes produced by storms, and the countless volcanic eruptions gave rise to new complex chemical compounds About 4 billion years ago, the first molecules appeared, from which the first unicellular organisms were formed .

Where does the oxygen we breathe come from?

Micro scoped image : Blue green algae .

Gaseous oxygen was created on the Earth about 3.5 billion years ago. At that time, the UV light of the sun decomposed the water vapour molecules present in the atmosphere, and released oxygen and hydrogen. But a major part of the oxygen immediately reacted with other substances, so that it was no longer available in the atmosphere as gas. Oxygen was also produced by the seas, where the 'blue algae' carried out photosynthesis . These bacteria converted sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy. In the process, gaseous oxygen was released as a ' waste product, which accumulated in the atmosphere. About one billion years ago, about one-twentieth (4%) of the atmosphere consisted of oxygen.

Stromatolites, small rocks such as those found off the coast of Australia, were already present around 3.5 billion years ago Fossils of the stromatolites, which consist of calcium deposits of the blue algae, have been found.

Stromatolites

What would happen if there was no water on the Earth?

Water which could be the most precious element of the earth in future ,but at present it is available almost everywhere. Imagine if ,there would be no water on the earth,what would be the consequences.
Without water, there would be no animals or plants, which carry out photosynthesis and release oxygen, and consequently the oxygen content in the atmosphere would go down. Moreover, the absence of oceans would have serious consequences as they help to keep the Earth's climate moderate by storing heat inside them . Without large water bodies, the temperatures of the sunlit areas and those away from the sunlight would change drastically The temperature difference between day T and night and between summer and winter wouldbe very large. As a result, hurricanes would be a
constant occurrence on the Earth  .

Is there life on any planet other than the Earth?

 Is Life possible on any other planet ?

---> Europa 

There is no life on the other planets in our solar system because their environments are not favourable for life. They are either too hot, too cold, or too stormy. The only place that can be assumed capable of sustaining life is Europa, the moon of Jupiter. Scientists say that an ocean of liquid water could be present on this celestial body under a 10-km thick layer of ice. They also say that civilizations like ours could be present-if at all-only outside of our solar system.

Knowledge Booster 

Average distance to the sun: Around
150 million km

Radius: 6378 km

Circumference: 40,077 km at the equator
40,009 km at the poles

Duration of one revolution around the
sun: 365.26 days

Number of moons: 1

Mass of the Earth: Around 6 trillion tons
i e, six followed by 21zeroes!


water is present on other planets as water vapour or ice, but not in its liquid form?

the 'blue-green algae' are called cyanobacteria? They are an exception in the animal world because they carry out photosynthesis like plants.

Why earth appears blue ?

the blue colour of the Earth is due to the copious amount of water present on it? Water is actually transparent, but deep water bodies 'absorb' the red and yellow rays of light.
Therefore, only the blue rays get reflected and reach our eyes.