Planet Earth is home to millions of species of life, including ourselves. It is unique in the Solar System because it is the only planet which is able to support a great variety of life: from basic living micro-organisms to highly sophisticated and intelligent human beings. The planet provides the necessary resources and products to support the biosphere that can support the global living organism’s population. Yet, what factors allow Earth to sustain life? Life as we recognize it requires specific conditions to exist. The most basic of these conditions include components needed by living creatures such as water, nutrients, an energy source, and the right atmosphere and climate. Humans need to breathe oxygen and can survive in moderate temperatures- not too cold and not too hot. The atmosphere is like the Earth’s blanket, keeping it warm and protected. Other planets that we know of do not have the same conditions as Earth, so if life were to be present on other planets they would be adapted to that planet’s unique environment. Living things on Earth have adapted to this planet’s atmosphere, therefore we need the specific composition of Earth’s atmosphere to survive.
Water covers about seventy one percent of Earth’s surface. Earth is the only planet to have stable bodies of liquid water on its surface which is crucial for all known life forms. Water is a substance which acts as a solvent in which organic compounds can mix, and it is the substance which is thought to be necessary to facilitate the formation of life. There are many forms of water which include ice, liquid, and gas. Because water can exist as a gas, it can be stored in the atmosphere and be delivered as precipitate. Water also helps regulate the climat...
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...ws radiation from the sun to expose the surface of the planet, adding to environment changes. If life exists on Mars today, it is most likely hiding beneath the surface. Over the past four billion years Earth has had many rocks blown from the surface of Mars, after much research, scientists say that of the thirty-four meteorites, three have the potential to carry evidence of past life on Mars (Carey, 2006). Researches have gathered evidence and continue to explore for life outside of Earth. Earth has provided these scientists with enough knowledge to understand the components needed to sustain life, therefore any research found is compared to the knowledge already understood about life on Earth. Earth is home to billions of plants, animals, bacteria and all types of living things, it is where human beings have evolved and adapted making this planet our home.
Water is the life blood of every living creature on earth. Approximately 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered with water. Through the wonders of nature, water can take on many different forms. It is easy to understand the significance water plays in our lives, but it may be difficult to understand the water that exists below the earth's surface. This water is called groundwater.
of sea water. The presence of large amounts of liquid water on Earth make our
The existence of life – Aliens, beyond our planet has been a controversial topic for several centuries, and is a debatable issue even today in the 21st century. What is our topic you may ask? Aliens, Do, Exist. According to theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, it would be improbable for life not to exist somewhere other than Earth. This is a bold claim, but there is evidence to support this statement. The evidence we seek is in the many Alien occurrences we have experienced throughout human history.
“I think humans will reach Mars, and I would like to see it happen in my lifetime” was said by Buzz Aldrin, a NASA astronaut. The former American aeronaut from Montclair, New Jersey believes that since Mars does exist, it is waiting to be reached by humans. When this would happen, he says that the human race would “evolve into a two-planet species.” Present day Mars has a lot of canyons, mountains and volcanoes. Even though the surface is Mars is very old, scientists learned about different younger rift valleys, plains, hills and ridges. According to recent reports, there were lakes and rivers, along with an ocean billions of years ago. The low temperatures on the planet cause there to be polar ice caps and frozen water present. Scientists continue to notice several discoveries on the planet that lead them to think there was once life on the planet. Different clues have scientists wanting to find out about even more. Many scientists in the past few centuries have been curious if life on Mars is possible or if it has ever been before.
The Biological Importance of Water as a Solvent and as a Medium for Living Organisms
In the speech, “A Plea For Our Planet”, Severn Suzuki addresses several facts regarding the current events, though the main point she preaches is if adults don’t change their ways future generations will lose their futures. Suzuki tackles 3 points in her speech, she tackles environmental, political, and poverty issues. She first criticizes adults in wealthy countries who have an astonishing amount of money. She says, “I could be a starving child in Somalia, or a victim of war in the Middle East, or a beggar in India.” Suzuki’s right, children in developing countries such as: Afghanistan, Albania, and Algeria, are in more risk of starving than wealthy countries like: Canada, the U.S, Germany and Spain. Parents in developing countries work harder for less and don’t have access to the luxuries we have. Victims of war lose some of their dearest valuables, (and here the adults that have the power to start and stop wars are again criticized): family, friends, homes, and lives. For instance, look at Palestine, violent persecution and occupation of Palestine is occurring, yet no wealthy country will bother to stop it. When Suzuki says, “Victims of war”, she means the people that suffer the consequences of the actions of western countries.
Since then it has now been about 100 years Wells based his well-known story of human's first contact with extraterrestrial life. Now, in the 20th century scientists are starting to believe what was once a fictional story by writers now actually could be real, becoming the stuff of science. In 1994 scientists discovered fragments of meteorites which may in fact prove that signs of early life existed on Mars. Many of these meteorites are found in the Antarctica, extremely cold weathers aid in preserving and fossilizing the fallen meteorites for millions of years. In order for scientists to conclude that the meteorites are from Mars and contain signs of fossilized life or traces of it they must provide sufficient evidence to support their theory.
Have you ever looked up in the sky and wondered if there is life elsewhere in the universe? Have you ever looked at a photograph of Mars and wondered if there really was ever life on it? People have a wide variety of opinions regarding these questions and with good reason. As far back as the broadcast of H. G. Well's novel, "The War of the Worlds", the world has been fascinated with the possibilities of what Mars may hold. Over time, the majority of people have come to realize that there is no way that life can currently be on Mars. Those who are uncertain think there may be microscopic bacteria underground.
There are over a million different planets in our universe. There is not one planet like the other, though some people may argue with this fact. Jupiter, Saturn, are all gas giants, but they also are made up of different gasses. Jupiter is made up of mostly hydrogen, Saturn is made up of hydrogen and helium. I am sure that everyone knows that the rock planets are not alike in many different ways, there is mercury which is very hot, and most likely just a planet of lava. Then there is earth which is rock and water. All that being said life could exist on any planet with water and solid ground. In my own opinion, I think that life could exist on other planets than our own. Life can exist if there is the tiniest spec that can grow, evolve, and become whatever it needs to survive. Honestly how does one think that veins of water on mars were formed?
Another argument for the existence of life on other planets is the phenomenon of extremophiles! These orgasims are a type of living being that can thrive under high temperature and pressure. Some can even survive without oxygen. Lots of these extremophiles are found at the bottom of the ocean near hydrothermal vents.(http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/) And the best part is we are finding new extremophiles. It wouldn be crazy to think that we actually might be able to find this type of organism on some other planet or
At the evolving planet exhibit you go through different parts of the exhibit to explain the origins of where we come from. The first part is “Early Earth” which is when earth was very unstable and dangerous, similar to other planets such as Mercury and Venus. During this time unlike other planets such as Jupiter who are dominated by CO2, hydrogen and helium. Earth’s atmosphere is dominated by Oxygen and N...
Recently, two probes were sent back and they made it to Mars. They landed on the South Polar Caps of Mars. That is where NASA plans to find water. After landing on Mars, the probes extracted water like crystals from the surface of Mars. They found that there was a small amount of water in the crystals, which means that there is a strong chance that life, was on Mars at one time.
How life originated on earth is a question that people have wondered for ages. One possibility that answer this brilliant question is the panspermia theory, which suggests that life on earth originated thanks to the contribution of cosmic beings that come from any point in the universe. This hypothesis does not speak of organisms ranging in meteorites moving through the universe to the Earth to conquer it, but it speaks of complex chemical substances which had been formed earlier from the origins of the universe, which reached the earth at any given time.
Life according to scientists is “the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death, also the way of life of a human being or animal.”("Life,”) In order for one to have life, one must have the nine characteristics to be considered a living thing. These nine characteristics are; all living things are made up of cells, living things are able to reproduce, living thing use energy, maintain homeostasis, respond and adapt to the environment, grow and develop, have a life span, evolve over time, and are interdependence. All of the nine characteristics have one thing in common, something that is needed for all living things to use, even if they do not know it. This beautiful thing that all living things should value is photosynthesis. Without photosynthesis there wouldn’t consist humans, animals, insects, and most importantly life!
The earth might seem to be large enough with 6400 km radius and large circumstance of about 40,000 km, but in fact, earth is the only planet of the solar system and the only member of the myriads of systems in the universe, which presents a condition of air, water and land. Thus, the earth is a unique planet having a lot of water, an atmosphere and a surface temperature configuration that have supported life. So, “why is there life on Earth?” Unlike other planets, the Earth has a strong magnetic field of its own. It is the densest planet. As an illustration, if it weren’t for the Earth’s magnetic field, we would be subject to bursts of radiation on the ground that would be, at the very least, unhealthy. Additionally, the more serious, long term impact would be the erosion of the atmosphere. Without a doubt, the most important planet to us is the Earth that distinguishes itself from other heavenly