10 amazing facts about Earth you have probably never heard before
It looks like we already know all possible information about our planet. But we are not. The Earth still keeps hidden secrets and mysteries that may never be found and solved.
A new, never seen before, discovery is always a great deal. Just take a look at these amazing facts. Have you ever heard about them?
1. Which one is the highest mountain in the world?
Photo: By Luca Galuzzi (Lucag) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons;
By Ivtorov (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
The height of Mauna Kea, the dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii, is 4207 m above sea level. But when you add here the height of its underwater part, it turns out that total height is 10203 m. It is 1355 m higher than Everest!
2. There’s a boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space
Photo: By NASA Earth Observatory [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
It is called the Kármán line an commonly represents a nominal boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and the outer space. It lies at the altitude of 100 km above the sea level.
3. Antarctic region is one of the driest places on Earth
Photo: By David Saul (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
These are so called McMurdo Dry Valleys, which currently represent the snow and ice-free part of Antarctica.
4. Sweet water, available on our planet, makes just 3% from all amount of water
Photo: By Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Salty water makes 97% of the whole water fund on our planet. The rest 3% is sweet water. 70% of sweet water fund is found in glaciers and 20% make the water of Baikal lake.
5. The oldest ever found temple is situated in Turkey
Photo: By Teomancimit (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
It is called Göbekli Tepe (Potbelly Hill). It is dating back circa 10th millenium BCE, that means it was built five thousand years earlier than Ziggurat. It’s the most ancient known temple.
6. How was the Moon formed?
Photo: pixabay.com CC0 Creative Commons
This question is still doubted. But the most believable theory says, that about 4,5 billion years ago a huge meteorite (similar to the size of Mars) run into Earth which was hot by that time. Surely, a lot of mass was thrown up. Having merged under the influence of gravity, it formed the only satellite of our planet.
7. In 250 million years the continents will return to their original form
Photo: Texas University, Arlington PALEOMAP (Public Domain picture)
All the continents on Earth are permanently moving (slow enough, but still). It makes scientists think that in next 250 million years a supercontinent called Pangaea Ultima could occur.
8. A mass extinction was caused by bacterium
Photo: microbewiki.kenyon.edu
Methanosarcina barkeri – is a bacterium that produces methane. The rapid spread of it about 252 million years ago caused the most widespread decrease in the biodiversity on Earth — 90% of all species have disappeared.
9. Planet is in the dark
Photo: pexels.com CC0 License
Despite the Sun and electricity one should remember that more than seas and oceans make more 70% of Earth’s territory. Considering that light can penetrate just 200 m to the deep, it turns out that most of our planet is always in the dark.
10. Two islands in the Pacific Ocean are very close to each other, but the difference in time between them is more than a day
Photo: By NASA [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons;
nasa.gov
Despite Samoa Archipelago and Central Polynesian Sporades are just two thousand kilometers from each other, the difference in time between them is 25 hours!
Main photo: By Luca Galuzzi (Lucag) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons;
By Ivtorov (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
