History of the Earth

The earth and the Universe:

In the eyes of the early observers, the night sky is a great dome lighted nightly with tiny glimmers of light. Man once thought that the entire universe is a great dome that revolved around the planet.

The Idea that the earth is the center of the universe dominated the minds of the ancient and the medieval world. We call this Geocentric View.

Different views regarding the earth and the universe. Geocentric View - 1. Relating to, measured from, or with respect to the center of the earth.
2. Having the earth as a center.

Geocentric Theory. It is also believed that there is a duality of character in the universe according to Payawal. Dual character of matter:

A. Terrestrial matter is composed of the basic elements earth, air, water, and fire, which are subject o alteration and decay. B. Celestial bodies being metaphysical in nature, are therefore unchanging and permanent, forever moving in their ordained circular path around the immobile earth.

Copernican concept This concept replaced the geocentric view. Nicolaus Copernecus, gave us the idea that the Earth is one of the planet that moves around the sun. It also rejected the dualistic nature of matter in the universe. This concept is still used up to the present time.

Present View The universe is considered as a population of galaxies in the seemingly infinite emptiness of space. The sun is merely an ordinary star in an enormous cluster of stars. The sun could be no longer assigned as the center of the universe. Edwin P. Hubble established this view in 1924 when he used a 100 inch telescope at Mount Wilson, he also said that there are other galaxies outside the milky way.

Two major group of galaxies: Galaxies contains members that vary themselves according to their shape, luminosity , spectral type and resolvability into stars. 1. Irregular galaxies -Do not show any evidence of symmetry. - ill defined shapes, with occasional hints of spiral structure. -contain principally big, hot , blue and blue white new stars called Population 1 stars. -have an abundant amount of interstellar dust and gas.

2.Regular galaxies -give visual evidence of rotational symmetry around a dominant central nucleaus. -Regular galaxies are subdivided into two. 2.a: Spiral Galaxies -a galaxy in which the stars and gas clouds are concentrated mainly in one or more spiral arms. -They contain Population 1 star and Population 2 stars, -have a halo at the edge of the galaxy. 2.b: Elliptical galaxies. -Doesnt produce new stars because all the dust and gas has been already used. -Generally large galaxies. -Made up entirely by old population 2 stars. Walter Baade : He is Hubbles colleague, he emerged the idea that the galaxies maybe evolving. Irregular galaxies ( Representing youth) are the primordial forms. In time irregular galaxies will be developed and they will become Elliptical type (Representing old age)

The Milky Way

-The Milky Way galaxy includes the sun, the earth and the rest of the solar system.Its exterior view shows a spiral shape. (as you can see this picture. ) -If seen at the side it appears as a lens shape. -The oblongs shape central region is called nucleus. It is composed of red giant stars. -The spiraling arms which radiate from the nucleus is composed of brilliant and younger stars.

The Solar System

The solar system us about 4,600 old. (4.6 billions). So it must have taken about 20 revolutions. -It I is from the cosmic dust and gasses of milky way that the sun ,planets asteroids , comets and moons of the solar system were formed 4.6 billion years ago.

Several hypothesis concerning the origin of the solar system: 1. Kant and laplace hypothesis The solar system was formed from a slowly rotating gaseous nebulae .

2. Chamberlane and Moulton hypothesis Materials were being detached from an existing star like the sun when another star passed close to it. 3. Jeans and Jeffreys The sun has a near collision with a passing star and this produced a tidal action.

All these hypotheses became obsolete since: -A space exploration have been taken -Man has landed on the moon. -Telescopic observations ( Both radio and opticel) of the sun and other astronomical bodies are done from high-flying aircrafts. -Space stations have been established. -Space probes to Mars, Venus , Jupiter and Saturn have been completed. -Meteorites and moon rocks have been analyzed.

Condensation Theory: This new concept was proposed by Gerard kuiper of the university of Arizona. His paper that was entitled The Origin of the Solar system was presented during the 1972 meeting of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of science. ) This hypothesis (Theory) Postulates a common origin for all the components of the solar system. Because the sun is a star, and because the planets are gravitational satellites of a star, therefore the stars , the planets and their moons were formed in a single cosmological event.

Characteristics of the Solar system under Condensation Theory. 1. All planets revolve around the sun in the same direction in nearly circular orbits, most of which lie in the same plane 2. The satellites of the planets (The moons) exhibit the same regularities. 3. The sun rotates in the same direction as planetary orbit.

The Big Bang theory. -Most of the astronomers now a days believe this theory. This event took place 18 billion years ago during which an enormous explosion created all the matter in the universe. 99 % of which is hydrogen and helium atoms.

It is also said that the momentum of this initial explosion propels the expansion of all matter in the universe. As the elements expand gravitational force results in the condensation and eventual organization of matter into galaxies of stars and other planetary entities.

The Solar system is composed of the sun, 9 planets, 168 confirmed satellites (as of 2012) about 30,000 asteroids, 100,000 million comets, gas molecules and particulate matters. Planets and satellites differs consistency from the sun. Planets and satellites are crystalline or liquid masses while the sun is made up of hot incandescent gas.

Planetary groups -Planets are divided into two groups according to their size and density. 1. Terrestrial planet Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars. 2. Jovian planets Jupiter , Saturn , Uranus and Neptune. Pluto is unique in the sense that it has the size and density that is more like the terrestrial planets although it is located in the fringe of the planetary system.

The Layers of the Earth

The earth is composed of 4 spheres:

Lithosphere The lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust covering entire planet. This crust is inorganic and is composed of minerals. It covers the entire surface of the earth from the top of Mount Everest to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Atmosphere The atmosphere is the body of air which surrounds our planet. Most of our atmosphere is located close to the earth's surface where it is most dense. The air of our planet is 79% nitrogen and just under 21% oxygen; the small amount remaining is composed of carbon dioxide and other gasses. Hydrosphere The hydrosphere is composed of all of the water on or near the earth. This includes the oceans, rivers, lakes, and even the moisture in the air. Ninety-seven percent of the earth's water is in the oceans. The remaining three percent is fresh water; three-quarters of the fresh water is solid and exists in ice sheets Biosphere The biosphere is composed of all living organisms. Plants, animals, and one-celled organisms are all part of the biosphere. Most of the planet's life is found from three meters below the ground to thirty meters above it and in the top 200 meters of the oceans and seas.

All four spheres can be and often are present in a single location. For example, a piece of soil will of course have mineral material from the lithosphere. Additionally, there will be elements of the hydrosphere present as moisture within the soil, the biosphere as insects and plants, and even the atmosphere as pockets of air between soil pieces. Trivia: The names of the four spheres are derived from the Greek words for stone (litho), air (atmo), water (hydro), and life (bio)

Earths concentric layers.

The earth is divided into three concentric layers.

The Crust The Earth's Crust is like the skin of an apple. It is very thin in comparison to the other three layers. The crust is only about 3-5 miles (8 kilometers) thick under the oceans(oceanic crust) and about 25 miles (32 kilometers) thick under the continents (continental crust). The temperatures of the crust vary from air temperature on top to about 1600 degrees Fahrenheit (870 degrees Celcius) in the deepest parts of the crust. You can bake a loaf of bread in your oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit , at 1600 degrees F. rocks begin to melt. The crust of the Earth is broken into many pieces called plates. The plates "float" on the soft, plastic mantle which is located below the crust. These plates usually move along smoothly but sometimes they stick and build up pressure. The pressure builds and the rock bends until it snaps. When this occurs an Earthquake is the result! Notice how thin the crust of the Earth is in comparison to the other layers. The seven continents and ocean plates basically float across the mantle which is composed of much hotter and denser material.

The Mantle The mantle is the layer located directly under the sima. It is the largest layer of the Earth, 1800 miles thick. The mantle is composed of very hot, dense rock. This layer of rock even flows like asphalt under a heavy weight. This flow is due to great temperature differences from the bottom to the top of the mantle. The movement of the mantle is the reason that the plates of the Earth move! The temperature of the mantle varies from 1600 degrees Fahrenheit at the top to about 4000 degrees Fahrenheit near the bottom!

The Core
The hard, central part of the Earth. It is divided into two parts.

Outer Core -The core of the Earth is like a ball of very hot metals. (4000 degrees F. to 9000 degrees F.) The outer core is so hot that the metals in it are all in the liquid state. The outer core is located about 1800 milesbeneath the crust and is about 1400 miles thick. The outer core is composed of the melted metals nickel and iron.

Inner Core -The inner core of the Earth has temperatures and pressures so great that the metals are squeezed together and are not able to move about like a liquid, but are forced to vibrate in place as a solid. The inner core begins about 4000 miles beneath the crust and is about 800 miles thick. The temperatures may reach 9000 dgrees F. and the pressures are 45,000,000 pounds per square inch. This is 3,000,000 times the air pressure on you at sea level!!!

There are two kinds of crust based on the kind of parent rock. These are. The continental : Is predominantly granitic. Granite rock is comparably rich in aluminum in addition to silicon. Hence granite is commonly referred to as sialic. (Its name is derived from silicon and aluminium) The oceanic crust: consists of a volcanic lava rock called basalt. Basaltic rock is richer in magnesium, in addition to silicon. Thus, basalt is referred to as simatic. (the name of which comes from silicon and magnesium.)