There is an amazing sphere in outer space that supports biological life. It is our home called Earth. It is the third planet from the Sun. It is a terrestrial planet, meaning that it is a rocky body, rather than a gas giant like Jupiter. It is the largest of the four solar terrestrial planets in size and mass. Of these four planets, Earth also has the highest density, highest surface gravity, the strongest magnetic field, and fastest rotation. It is often referred to by the scientific community as the "Blue Planet". The shape of the Earth approximates an oblate spheroid, a sphere flattened along the axis from pole to pole such that there is a bulge around the equator. This bulge results from the rotation of the Earth, and causes the diameter at the equator to be larger than the pole to pole diameter. At one time many people thought the Earth was flat, but the Bible tells us that the Earth is spherical (Isaiah 40:22). During one orbit around the Sun, the Earth rotates about its own axis 366.26 times, creating 365.26 solar days, or one sidereal year.The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4 degrees away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planets surface.
The Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere are shields (Psalm 47:9) that protect the Earth. The Earth's magnetic field forms the magnetosphere, which deflects particles in the solar wind. The collision between the magnetic field and the solar wind forms the Van Allen radiation belts, a pair of concentric, torus-shaped regions of energetic charged particles. When the plasma enters the Earth's atmosphere at the magnetic poles, it forms the aurora. The Earth's atmosphere that is replenished by oxygenic photosynthesis forming the primary nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere enables the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer which blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting life on land. Other atmospheric functions important to life on Earth include transporting water vapor (Job 36:26-28), providing useful gases, causing small meteors to burn up before they strike the surface, and moderating temperature.
Earth our planet, our home was named from its very beginning. The Bible gives us its name from the very first verse in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
For more information on the Earth go to http://www.AnswersinGenesis.org .
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