Welcome to our planet we call Earth. To date it is the only astronomical object known to harbor life as we understand it, and sustain liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface is made up of the ocean. Thanks to Earth's liquid outer core it generates a magnetic field that shapes the magnetosphere, deflecting destructive solar winds.

Our atmosphere consists mostly of  nitrogen  and oxygen. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere and forms clouds that cover most of the planet. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide (CO2) trap a part of the energy from the Sun close to the surface.

Earth is an ellipsoid with a circumference of about 40,000 km. Earth is about eight light minutes away from the Sun and orbits it, taking a year (about 365.25 days) to complete one revolution. Earth rotates around its own axis in just less than a day (in about 23 hours and 56 minutes). 

Earth is orbited by one permanent natural satellite, the Moon, which orbits Earth at 380,000 km (1.3 light seconds) and is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth. The Moon always faces the Earth with the same side through tidal locking and causes tides, stabilizes Earth's axis, and gradually slows its rotation.

Earth was formed over 4.5 billion years ago. During the first billion years of Earth's history, the ocean formed and then life developed within it. Life spread globally and began to affect Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to Earth's Great Oxidation Event two billion years ago. 

Humans emerged 300,000 years ago, and have reached a population of almost 8 billion today. Humans depend on Earth's biosphere and natural resources for their survival, but have increasingly impacted Earth's environment. Today, humanity's impact on Earth's climate, soils, waters, and ecosystems is unsustainable, threatening people's lives and causing widespread extinction of other life.

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