Planet Earth

The third planet from the Sun, the only known world to sustain life.

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. It is an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Its ocean covers 70.8% of Earth's crust, and the remaining 29.2% is land, mostly located within Earth's land hemisphere. Earth's crust consists of slowly moving tectonic plates, which produce mountain ranges, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth has a liquid outer core that generates a magnetosphere that deflects most destructive solar winds and cosmic radiation.

Quick Facts

Artist

Prince

Released

July 15, 2007

Recorded

November 2004 – early 2007

Genre

R&B
pop
funk
rock

Length

45:00

Label

NPG, Columbia

Lore & Background

Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago from gas and dust in the early Solar System. The formation of the ocean and subsequent development of life occurred during the first billion years of Earth's history. Life spread globally and has been altering Earth's atmosphere and surface, leading to the Great Oxidation Event two billion years ago. Humans emerged 300,000 years ago in Africa and have spread across every continent. Humans depend on Earth's biosphere and natural resources, but have increasingly impacted the planet's environment, threatening the livelihood of humans and many other forms of life and causing widespread extinctions.

Reader's Guide

Earth is rounded into an ellipsoid with a circumference of about 40,000 km. It is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest and most massive of the four rocky planets. Earth is about eight light-minutes (1 AU) from the Sun and orbits it, taking a year (about 365.25 days) to complete one revolution. Earth rotates around its own axis in slightly less than a day (about 23 hours and 56 minutes). Its axis is tilted, producing seasons. Earth is orbited by one permanent natural satellite, the Moon, which orbits at 384,400 km and is roughly a quarter as wide as Earth. The Moon's gravity helps stabilize Earth's axis, causes tides, and gradually slows Earth's rotation.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1	Planet Earth	5:51
2	Guitar	3:45
3	Somewhere Here on Earth	5:45
4	The One U Wanna C	4:29
5	Future Baby Mama	4:47
6	Mr. Goodnight	4:26
7	All the Midnights in the World	2:21
8	Chelsea Rodgers	5:41
9	Lion of Judah	4:10
10	Resolution	3:40

Did You Know?

Earth's atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen and oxygen.
The Moon's gravity has made the Moon's rotation tidally locked, keeping the same near side facing Earth.