Earth

Earth (: Gaia, : Terra) is the third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, and the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets.

According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence, Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago. Earth gravitationally interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. During one orbit around the Sun, Earth rotates about its own axis 366.26 times, creating 365.26 solar days or one sidereal year. Earth's axis of rotation is tilted 23.4° away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planet's surface within a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days). The Moon, Earth's only permanent natural satellite, by its gravitational relationship with Earth, causes ocean tides, stabilizes the orientation of Earth's rotational axis, and gradually slows Earth's rotational rate.

Earth is the origin of the Homo genus, the dominant genus in the Sol System. The Homo Sapiens Sapiens have colonized huge parts of the Solar System, from the cloud cities of Venus to the Titanian colonies in the Saturnian system. The powers of Earth waged two wars against the rebellious colonies of Mars, the Asteroid Belt and Outer Sol , the first of which ended in Mars and the Belt being subjugated, but the Outer Sol colonies declaring independence. In 2472, due to the Second Extraplanetary War, the second of the two wars mentioned, the planet was bombarded with the asteroid 2000 VN2 , disrupting trade across the Sol system, initiating the Solar Dark Age , and making Earth lose spaceflight until the 2480s. The planet is currently in general isolation, due to strict policy of trade between the UN and the other planets.

Cultural Influence
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