Earth And Life Science Institute (ELIS)
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface is made up of the ocean, dwarfing Earth's polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29% of Earth's surface is land, consisting of continents and islands. Earth's surface layer is formed of several slowly moving tectonic plates, which interact to produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's liquid outer core generates the magnetic field that shapes the magnetosphere of the Earth, deflecting destructive solar winds. The atmosphere of the Earth consists mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide (CO2) trap a part of the energy from the Sun close to the surface. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere and forms clouds that cover most of the planet. More sola ...
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Gaia
In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenesis, parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (mythology), Uranus (the sky), from whose sexual union she bore the Titan (mythology), Titans (themselves parents of many of the Greek pantheon, Olympian gods), the Cyclops, Cyclopes, and the Giants (Greek mythology), Giants; as well as of Pontus (mythology), Pontus (the sea), from whose union she bore the Greek sea gods, primordial sea gods. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra (mythology), Terra.''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. Etymology The Greek language, Greek name Γαῖα (''Gaia'' or ) is a mostly epic, collateral form of Attic (''Gē'' ), and Doric Greek, Doric (''Ga'' ), perhaps identical to (''Da'' ), ...
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