The Earth is a fascinating planet that has spun around the Sun for 4.5 billion years now. When it was first released from the Sun, its rotation was much faster than it is today, and it was likely spinning so quickly that a ring of material could be detected around it, similar to Saturn. This rapid spin caused the days and nights to be shorter in length and also resulted in the oceans having more concentrated depths near the equator with shallower depths at the poles.
Throughout this time, our planet gradually slowed down and today it rotates comfortably and predictably at 24 hours each day. This stable cycle of night and day has proven to be essential for life on our planet to flourish – thanks to its distance from the Sun of 93 million miles, we receive just about the right amount of radiant energy for this purpose.
In comparison, Venus is still spinning in an opposite direction after being released from the Sun 4.5 billion years ago – quite remarkable! To appreciate all of these aspects more fully about our beloved Earth, we recommend watching ‘Earth: A Planetary History’ documentary which covers topics such as plate tectonics, meteorite impacts and climate change over billions of years – something only possible due to our unique planet’s past history.
