- Anti Joke

Earth From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the planet. For other uses, see Earth (disambiguation). Page semi-protected Earth Astronomical symbol of Earth "The Blue Marble" photograph of Earth, taken by the Apollo 17 lunar mission. The Arabian peninsula, Africa and Madagascar lie in the upper half of the disc, while Antarctica is at the bottom. "The Blue Marble" photograph of Earth, taken during the Apollo 17 lunar mission. Orbital characteristics Epoch J2000[n 1] Aphelion 151930000 km (1.01559 AU)?[n 2] Perihelion 147095000 km (0.9832687 AU)?[n 2] Semi-major axis 149598261 km (1.00000261 AU)?[1] Eccentricity 0.01671123[1] Orbital period 365.256363004 d?[2] (1.00001742096 yr) Average orbital speed 29.78 km/s[3] (107200 km/h) Mean anomaly 355.53 deg[4] Inclination 7.155 deg to Sun's equator; 1.57869 deg[5] to invariable plane; 0.00005 deg to J2000 ecliptic Longitude of ascending node ?11.26064 deg[3] to J2000 ecliptic Argument of perihelion 102.94719 deg[3] Satellites One natural satellite; 1070 operational artificial satellites; 21000 pieces of debris over 10 cm in size (as of 24 October 2013).[6] Physical characteristics Mean radius 6371.0 km[7] Equatorial radius 6378.1 km[8][9] Polar radius 6356.8 km[10] Flattening 0.0033528[11] 1/298.257222101 (ETRS89) Circumference 40075.017 km (equatorial)?[9] 40007.86 km (meridional)?[12][13] Surface area 510072000 km2[14][15][n 3] (148940000 km2 (29.2%) land 361132000 km2 (70.8%) water) Volume 1.08321×1012 km3[3] Mass 5.97219×1024 kg[16] (3.0×10-6 solar mass) Mean density 5.514 g/cm3[3] Surface gravity 9.807 m/s2[17] (1 g) Moment of inertia factor 0.3307[18] Escape velocity 11.186 km/s[3] Sidereal rotation period 0.99726968 d[19] (23h 56m 4.100s) Equatorial rotation velocity 1,674.4 km/h (465.1 m/s)[20] Axial tilt 23 deg 26 min 21.4119 s?[2] Albedo 0.367 geometric[3] 0.306 Bond[3] Surface temp. min mean max Kelvin 184 K[21] 288 K[22] 330 K[23] Celsius ?89.2 °C 15 °C 56.7 °C Atmosphere Surface pressure 101.325 kPa (at MSL) Composition by volume 78.08% nitrogen (N2)[3] (dry air) 20.95% oxygen (O2) 0.930% argon 0.039% carbon dioxide[24] ~ 1% water vapor (climate-variable) Earth, also called the world[n 4] and, less frequently, Gaia[n 5] (and Terra in some works of science fiction[27]) is the third planet from the Sun, the densest planet in the Solar System, the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets, and the only astronomical object known to accommodate life. The earliest life on Earth arose at least 3.5 billion years ago.[28][29][30] Earth's biodiversity has expanded continually except when interrupted by mass extinctions.[31] Although scholars estimate that over 99 percent of all species that ever lived on the planet are extinct,[32][33] Earth is currently home to 10–14 million species of life,[34][35] including over 7.2 billion humans[36] who depend upon its biosphere and minerals. Earth's human population is divided among about two hundred sovereign states which interact through diplomacy, conflict, travel, trade and communication media. According to evidence from radiometric dating and other sources, Earth was formed around four and a half billion years ago. Within its first billion years,[37] life appeared in its oceans and began to affect its atmosphere and surface, promoting the proliferation of aerobic as well as anaerobic organisms and causing the formation of the atmosphere's ozone layer. This layer and the geomagnetic field blocked the most life-threatening parts of the Sun's radiation, so life was able to flourish on land as well as in water.[38] Since then, the combination of Earth's distance from the Sun, its physical properties and its geological history have allowed life to thrive and evolve. Earth's lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. Seventy-one percent of Earth's surface is covered with water,[39] with the remainder consisting of continents and islands that together have many lakes and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. Earth's poles are mostly covered with ice that includes the solid ice of the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice of the polar ice packs. Earth's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates the magnetic field, and a thick layer of relatively solid mantle. 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.[n 6] 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 with a period of one tropical year (365.24 solar days).[40] The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It began orbiting Earth about 4.53 billion years ago. The Moon's gravitational interaction with Earth stimulates ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt and gradually slows the planet's rotation. Contents [hide] 1 Name and etymology 2 Composition and structure 2.1 Shape 2.2 Chemical composition 2.3 Internal structure 2.4 Heat 2.5 Tectonic plates 2.6 Surface 2.7 Hydrosphere 2.8 Atmosphere 2.8.1 Weather and climate 2.8.2 Upper atmosphere 2.9 Magnetic field 2.10 Magnetosphere 3 Orbit and rotation 3.1 Rotation 3.2 Orbit 3.3 Axial tilt and seasons 4 Habitability 4.1 Biosphere 4.2 Evolution of life 4.3 Natural resources and land use 4.4 Natural and environmental hazards 4.5 Human geography 5 Cultural and historical viewpoint 6 Chronology 6.1 Formation 6.2 Geological history 6.3 Predicted future 7 Moon 8 Asteroids and artificial satellites 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links Name and etymology The modern English word Earth developed from a wide variety of Middle English forms,[42] which derived from an Old English noun most often spelled eorðe.[41] It has cognates in every Germanic language, and their proto-Germanic root has been reconstructed as *erþ?. In its earliest appearances, eorðe was already being used to translate the many senses of Latin terra and Greek ?? (g?): the ground,[44] its soil,[46] dry land,[49] the human world,[51] the surface of the world (including the sea),[54] and the globe itself.[56] As with Terra and Gaia, Earth was a personified goddess in Germanic paganism: the Angles were listed by Tacitus as among the devotees of Nerthus,[57] and later Norse mythology included Jörð, a giantess often given as the mother of Thor.[58] Originally, earth was written in lowercase and, from early Middle English, its definite sense as "the globe" was expressed as the earth. By early Modern English, many nouns were capitalized and the earth became (and often remained) the Earth, particularly when referenced along with other heavenly bodies. More recently, the name is sometimes simply given as Earth, by analogy with the names of the other planets.[41] House styles now vary: Oxford spelling recognizes the lowercase form as the most common, with the capitalized form an acceptable variant. Another convention capitalizes Earth when appearing as a name (e.g. "Earth's atmosphere") but writes it in lowercase when preceded by the (e.g. "the atmosphere of the earth"). It almost always appears in lowercase in colloquial expressions such as "what on earth are you doing?"[59] Composition and structure Shape Main article: Figure of the Earth World map color-coded by relative height Stratocumulus clouds over the Pacific, viewed from orbit The shape of Earth approximates an oblate spheroid, a sphere flattened along the axis from pole to pole such that there is a bulge around the equator.[60] This bulge results from the rotation of Earth, and causes the diameter at the equator to be 43 kilometres (27 mi) larger than the pole-to-pole diameter.[61] Thus the point on the surface farthest from Earth's center of mass is the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador.[62] The average diameter of the reference spheroid is about 12,742 kilometres (7,918 mi), which is approximately 40,000 km/?, because the meter was originally defined as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the North Pole through Paris, France.[63] Local topography deviates from this idealized spheroid, although on a global scale these deviations are small compared to Earth's radius: The maximum deviation of only 0.17% is at the Mariana Trench (10911 m below local sea level), whereas Mount Everest (8,848 m above local sea level) represents a deviation of 0.14%. If Earth were shrunk to the size of a cue ball, some areas of Earth such as mountain ranges and oceanic trenches would feel like small imperfections, whereas much of the planet, including the Great Plains and the Abyssal plains, would actually feel smoother than a cue ball.[64] Due to the equatorial bulge, the surface locations farthest from Earth's center are the summits of Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador and Huascarán in Peru.[65][66][67][68] Chemical composition of the crust[69] Compound Formula Composition Continental Oceanic silica SiO2 60.2% 48.6% alumina Al2O3 15.2% 16.5% lime CaO 5.5% 12.3% magnesia MgO 3.1% 6.8% iron(II) oxide FeO 3.8% 6.2% sodium oxide Na2O 3.0% 2.6% potassium oxide K2O 2.8% 0.4% iron(III) oxide Fe2O3 2.5% 2.3% water H2O 1.4% 1.1% carbon dioxide CO2 1.2% 1.4% titanium dioxide TiO2 0.7% 1.4% phosphorus pentoxide P2O5 0.2% 0.3% Total 99.6% 99.9% Chimborazo, Ecuador. The point on Earth's surface farthest from its center.[65] Chemical composition See also: Abundance of elements on Earth Earth's mass is approximately 5.97×1024 kg. It is composed mostly of iron (32.1%), oxygen (30.1%), silicon (15.1%), magnesium (13.9%), sulfur (2.9%), nickel (1.8%), calcium (1.5%), and aluminium (1.4%), with the remaining 1.2% consisting of trace amounts of other elements. Due to mass segregation, the core region is believed to be primarily composed of iron (88.8%), with smaller amounts of nickel (5.8%), sulfur (4.5%), and less than 1% trace elements.[70] The geochemist F. W. Clarke calculated that a little more than 47% of Earth's crust consists of oxygen. The more common rock constituents of the crust are nearly all oxides; chlorine, sulfur and fluorine are the important exceptions to this and their total amount in any rock is usually much less than 1%. The principal oxides are silica, alumina, iron oxides, lime, magnesia, potash and soda. The silica functions principally as an acid, forming silicates, and all the most common minerals of igneous rocks are of this nature. From a computation based on 1,672 analyses of all kinds of rocks, Clarke deduced that 99.22% were composed of 11 oxides (see the table at right), with the other constituents occurring in minute quantities.[71] Internal structure Main article: Structure of the Earth Earth's interior, like that of the other terrestrial planets, is divided into layers by their chemical or physical (rheological) properties, but unlike the other terrestrial planets, it has a distinct outer and inner core. The outer layer is a chemically distinct silicate solid crust, which is underlain by a highly viscous solid mantle. The crust is separated from the mantle by the Mohorovi?i? discontinuity, and the thickness of the crust varies: averaging 6 km (kilometers) under the oceans and 30-50 km on the continents. The crust and the cold, rigid, top of the upper mantle are collectively known as the lithosphere, and it is of the lithosphere that the tectonic plates are composed. Beneath the lithosphere is the asthenosphere, a relatively low-viscosity layer on which the lithosphere rides. Important changes in crystal structure within the mantle occur at 410 and 660 km below the surface, spanning a transition zone that separates the upper and lower mantle. Beneath the mantle, an extremely low viscosity liquid outer core lies above a solid inner core.[72] The inner core may rotate at a slightly higher angular velocity than the remainder of the planet, advancing by 0.1–0.5° per year.[73] The radius of the inner core is about one fifth of Earth's. Geologic layers of Earth[74] Earth-cutaway-schematic-english.svg Earth cutaway from core to exosphere. Not to scale. Depth[75] km Component Layer Density g/cm3 0–60 Lithosphere[n 7] — 0–35 Crust[n 8] 2.2–2.9 35–60 Upper mantle 3.4–4.4 35–2890 Mantle 3.4–5.6 100–700 Asthenosphere — 2890–5100 Outer core 9.9–12.2 5100–6378 Inner core 12.8–13.1 Heat Earth's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion (about 20%) and heat produced through radioactive decay (80%).[76] The major heat-producing isotopes within Earth are potassium-40, uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium-232.[77] At the center, the temperature may be up to 6,000 °C (10,830 °F),[78] and the pressure could reach 360 GPa.[79] Because much of the heat is provided by radioactive decay, scientists postulate that early in Earth's history, before isotopes with short half-lives had been depleted, Earth's heat production would have been much higher. This extra heat production, twice present-day at approximately 3 byr,[76] would have increased temperature gradients with radius, increasing the rates of mantle convection and plate tectonics, and allowing the production of uncommon igneous rocks such as komatiites that are rarely formed today.[80] Present-day major heat-producing isotopes[81] Isotope Heat release W / kg isotope Half-life years Mean mantle concentration kg isotope / kg mantle Heat release W / kg mantle 238U 94.6 × 10?6 4.47 × 109 30.8 × 10?9 2.91 × 10?12 235U 569 × 10?6 0.704 × 109 0.22 × 10?9 0.125 × 10?12 232Th 26.4 × 10?6 14.0 × 109 124 × 10?9 3.27 × 10?12 40K 29.2 × 10?6 1.25 × 109 36.9 × 10?9 1.08 × 10?12 The mean heat loss from Earth is 87 mW m?2, for a global heat loss of 4.42 × 1013 W.[82] A portion of the core's thermal energy is transported toward the crust by mantle plumes; a form of convection consisting of upwellings of higher-temperature rock. These plumes can produce hotspots and flood basalts.[83] More of the heat in Earth is lost through plate tectonics, by mantle upwelling associated with mid-ocean ridges. The final major mode of heat loss is through conduction through the lithosphere, the majority of which occurs under the oceans because the crust there is much thinner than that of the continents.[84] Tectonic plates Earth's major plates[85] Shows the extent and boundaries of tectonic plates, with superimposed outlines of the continents they support Plate name Area 106 km2 Pacific Plate 103.3 African Plate[n 9] 78.0 North American Plate 75.9 Eurasian Plate 67.8 Antarctic Plate 60.9 Indo-Australian Plate 47.2 South American Plate 43.6 Main article: Plate tectonics The mechanically rigid outer layer of Earth, the lithosphere, is broken into pieces called tectonic plates. These plates are rigid segments that move in relation to one another at one of three types of plate boundaries: convergent boundaries, at which two plates come together, divergent boundaries, at which two plates are pulled apart, and transform boundaries, in which two plates slide past one another laterally. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation can occur along these plate boundaries.[86] The tectonic plates ride on top of the asthenosphere, the solid but less-viscous part of the upper mantle that can flow and move along with the plates,[87] and their motion is strongly coupled with convection patterns inside mantle. As the tectonic plates migrate across the planet, the ocean floor is subducted under the leading edges of the plates at convergent boundaries. At the same time, the upwelling of mantle material at divergent boundaries creates mid-ocean ridges. The combination of these processes continually recycles the oceanic crust back into the mantle. Due to this recycling, most of the ocean floor is less than 100 myr old in age. The oldest oceanic crust is located in the Western Pacific, and has an estimated age of about 200 myr.[88][89] By comparison, the oldest dated continental crust is 4030 myr.[90] The seven major plates are the Pacific, North American, Eurasian, African, Antarctic, Indo-Australian, and South American. Other notable plates include the Arabian Plate, the Caribbean Plate, the Nazca Plate off the west coast of South America and the Scotia Plate in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The Australian Plate fused with the Indian Plate between 50 and 55 mya. The fastest-moving plates are the oceanic plates, with the Cocos Plate advancing at a rate of 75 mm/year[91] and the Pacific Plate moving 52–69 mm/year. At the other extreme, the slowest-moving plate is the Eurasian Plate, progressing at a typical rate of about 21 mm/year.[92] Surface Main articles: Lithosphere, Landform and Extreme points of Earth Circle frame.svg Features of Earth's solid surface shown as percentages of the planet's total surface area Oceanic ridges (22.1%) Ocean basin floors (29.8%) Continental mountains (10.3%) Continental lowlands (18.9%) Continental shelves and slopes (11.4%) Continental rise (3.8%) Volcanic island arcs, trenches, submarine volcanoes, and hills (3.7%) An aerial view of Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona. Earth's terrain varies greatly from place to place. About 70.8%[14] of the surface is covered by water, with much of the continental shelf below sea level. This equates to 361.132 million km2 (139.43 million sq mi).[93] The submerged surface has mountainous features, including a globe-spanning mid-ocean ridge system, as well as undersea volcanoes,[61] oceanic trenches, submarine canyons, oceanic plateaus and abyssal plains. The remaining 29.2% (148.94 million km2, or 57.51 million sq mi) not covered by water consists of mountains, deserts, plains, plateaus, and other landforms. The planetary surface undergoes reshaping over geological time periods due to tectonics and erosion. The surface features built up or deformed through plate tectonics are subject to steady weathering and erosion from precipitation, thermal cycles, and chemical effects. Glaciation, coastal erosion, the build-up of coral reefs, and large meteorite impacts[94] also act to reshape the landscape. Present-day Earth altimetry and bathymetry. Data from the National Geophysical Data Center's TerrainBase Digital Terrain Model. The continental crust consists of lower density material such as the igneous rocks granite and andesite. Less common is basalt, a denser volcanic rock that is the primary constituent of the ocean floors.[95] Sedimentary rock is formed from the accumulation of sediment that becomes buried and compacted together. Nearly 75% of the continental surfaces are covered by sedimentary rocks, although they form about 5% of the crust.[96] The third form of rock material found on Earth is metamorphic rock, which is created from the transformation of pre-existing rock types through high pressures, high temperatures, or both. The most abundant silicate minerals on Earth's surface include quartz, feldspars, amphibole, mica, pyroxene and olivine.[97] Common carbonate minerals include calcite (found in limestone) and dolomite.[98] The pedosphere is the outermost layer of Earth's continental surface and is composed of soil and subject to soil formation processes. It exists at the interface of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. The total arable land is 13.31% of the land surface, with 4.71% supporting permanent crops.[15] Close to 40% of Earth's land surface is used for cropland and pasture, or an estimated 1.3×107 km2 of cropland and 3.4×107 km2 of pastureland.[99] The elevation of the land surface varies from the low point of ?418 m at the Dead Sea, to a 2005-estimated maximum altitude of 8,848 m at the top of Mount Everest. The mean height of land above sea level is 840 m.[100] Besides being divided logically into Northern and Southern hemispheres centered on the poles, Earth has been divided arbitrarily into Eastern and Western hemispheres. Earth's surface is traditionally divided into seven continents and various seas. As people settled and organized the planet, nearly all the land was divided into nations. Hydrosphere Main article: Hydrosphere Elevation histogram of Earth's surface The abundance of water on Earth's surface is a unique feature that distinguishes the "Blue Planet" from other planets in the Solar System. Earth's hydrosphere consists chiefly of the oceans, but technically includes all water surfaces in the world, including inland seas, lakes, rivers, and underground waters down to a depth of 2,000 m. The deepest underwater location is Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean with a depth of 10,911.4 m.[n 10][101] The mass of the oceans is approximately 1.35×1018 metric tons, or about 1/4400 of Earth's total mass. The oceans cover an area of 3.618×108 km2 with a mean depth of 3682 m, resulting in an estimated volume of 1.332×109 km3.[102] If all of Earth's crustal surface was at the same elevation as a smooth sphere, the depth of the resulting world ocean would be 2.7 to 2.8 km.[103][104] About 97.5% of the water is saline; the remaining 2.5% is fresh water. Most fresh water, about 68.7%, is present as ice in ice caps and glaciers.[105] The average salinity of Earth's oceans is about 35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (3.5% salt).[106] Most of this salt was released from volcanic activity or extracted from cool igneous rocks.[107] The oceans are also a reservoir of dissolved atmospheric gases, which are essential for the survival of many aquatic life forms.[108] Sea water has an important influence on the world's climate, with the oceans acting as a large heat reservoir.[109] Shifts in the oceanic temperature distribution can cause significant weather shifts, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation.[110] Atmosphere Main article: Atmosphere of Earth A Typhoon as seen from low Earth orbit The atmospheric pressure on Earth's surface averages 101.325 kPa, with a scale height of about 8.5 km.[3] It has a composition of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with trace amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide and other gaseous molecules. The height of the troposphere varies with latitude, ranging between 8 km at the poles to 17 km at the equator, with some variation resulting from weather and seasonal factors.[111] Earth's biosphere has significantly altered its atmosphere. Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved 2.7 bya, forming the primarily nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere of today.[112] This change enabled the proliferation of aerobic organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer, which blocks ultraviolet solar radiation, permitting life on land. Other atmospheric functions important to life include transporting water vapor, providing useful gases, causing small meteors to burn up before they strike the surface, and moderating temperature.[113] This last phenomenon is known as the greenhouse effect: trace molecules within the atmosphere serve to capture thermal energy emitted from the ground, thereby raising the average temperature. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Without this heat-retention effect, the average surface would be ?18 °C, in contrast to the current +15 °C, and life would likely not exist.[114] Weather and climate Main articles: Weather and Climate In this scene from Antarctica, Earth's south polar continent, ice ridges contrast with towering clouds Satellite cloud cover image of Earth using NASA's Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Earth's atmosphere has no definite boundary, slowly becoming thinner and fading into outer space. Three-quarters of the atmosphere's mass is contained within the first 11 km of the surface. This lowest layer is called the troposphere. Energy from the Sun heats this layer, and the surface below, causing expansion of the air. This lower-density air then rises, and is replaced by cooler, higher-density air. The result is atmospheric circulation that drives the weather and climate through redistribution of thermal energy.[115] The primary atmospheric circulation bands consist of the trade winds in the equatorial region below 30° latitude and the westerlies in the mid-latitudes between 30° and 60°.[116] Ocean currents are also important factors in determining climate, particularly the thermohaline circulation that distributes thermal energy from the equatorial oceans to the polar regions.[117] The Earth in true color and false color as seen by the MESSENGER spacecraft. Water vapor generated through surface evaporation is transported by circulatory patterns in the atmosphere. When atmospheric conditions permit an uplift of warm, humid air, this water condenses and falls to the surface as precipitation.[115] Most of the water is then transported to lower elevations by river systems and usually returned to the oceans or deposited into lakes. This water cycle is a vital mechanism for supporting life on land, and is a primary factor in the erosion of surface features over geological periods. Precipitation patterns vary widely, ranging from several meters of water per year to less than a millimeter. Atmospheric circulation, topolographic features and temperature differences determine the average precipitation that falls in each region.[118] The amount of solar energy reaching Earth's surface decreases with increasing latitude. At higher latitudes the sunlight reaches the surface at lower angles and it must pass through thicker columns of the atmosphere. As a result, the mean annual air temperature at sea level decreases by about 0.4 °C per degree of latitude from the equator.[119] Earth's surface can be subdivided into specific latitudinal belts of approximately homogeneous climate. Ranging from the equator to the polar regions, these are the tropical (or equatorial), subtropical, temperate and polar climates.[120] Climate can also be classified based on the temperature and precipitation, with the climate regions characterized by fairly uniform air masses. The commonly used Köppen climate classification system (as modified by Wladimir Köppen's student Rudolph Geiger) has five broad groups (humid tropics, arid, humid middle latitudes, continental and cold polar), which are further divided into more specific subtypes.[116] Upper atmosphere This view from orbit shows the full Moon partially obscured by Earth's atmosphere. NASA image Above the troposphere, the atmosphere is usually divided into the stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere.[113] Each layer has a different lapse rate, defining the rate of change in temperature with height. Beyond these, the exosphere thins out into the magnetosphere, where the geomagnetic fields interact with the solar wind.[121] Within the stratosphere is the ozone layer, a component that partially shields the surface from ultraviolet light and thus is important for life on Earth. The Kármán line, defined as 100 km above Earth's surface, is a working definition for the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space.[122] Thermal energy causes some of the molecules at the outer edge of the atmosphere to increase their velocity to the point where they can escape from Earth's gravity. This causes a slow but steady leakage of the atmosphere into space. Because unfixed hydrogen has a low molecular mass, it can achieve escape velocity more readily and it leaks into outer space at a greater rate than other gases.[123] The leakage of hydrogen into space contributes to the shifting of Earth's atmosphere and surface from an initially reducing state to its current oxidizing one. Photosynthesis provided a source of free oxygen, but the loss of reducing agents such as hydrogen is believed to have been a necessary precondition for the widespread accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere.[124] Hence the ability of hydrogen to escape from the atmosphere may have influenced the nature of life that developed on Earth.[125] In the current, oxygen-rich atmosphere most hydrogen is converted into water before it has an opportunity to escape. Instead, most of the hydrogen loss comes from the destruction of methane in the upper atmosphere.[126] Magnetic field Diagram showing the magnetic field lines of Earth's magnetosphere. The lines are swept back in the anti-solar direction under the influence of the solar wind. Schematic of Earth's magnetosphere. The solar wind flows from left to right Main article: Earth's magnetic field The main part of the Earth's magnetic field is generated in the core, the site of a dynamo process that converts kinetic energy of fluid convective motion into electrical and magnetic field energy. The field extends outwards from the core, through the mantle, and up to Earth's surface, where it is, to rough approximation, a dipole. The poles of the dipole are located close to Earth's geographic poles. At the equator of the magnetic field, the magnetic-field strength at the surface is 3.05 × 10?5 T, with global magnetic dipole moment of 7.91 × 1015 T m3.[127] The convection movements in the core are chaotic; the magnetic poles drift and periodically change alignment. This causes field reversals at irregular intervals averaging a few times every million years. The most recent reversal occurred approximately 700,000 years ago.[128][129] Magnetosphere The extent of Earth's magnetic field in space defines the magnetosphere. Ions and electrons of the solar wind are deflected by the magnetosphere; solar wind pressure compresses the dayside of the magnetosphere, to about 10 Earth radii, and extends the nightside magnetosphere into a long tail. Since the velocity of the solar wind is greater than the speed at which wave propagate through the solar wind, a supersonic bowshock precedes the dayside magnetosphere within the solar wind. Charged particles are contained within the magnetosphere; the plasmasphere is defined by low-energy particles that essentially follow magnetic field lines as Earth rotates; the ring current is defined by medium-energy particles that drift relative to the geomagnetic field, but with paths that are still dominated by the magnetic field, and the Van Allen radiation belt are formed by high-energy particles whose motion is essentially random, but otherwise contained by the magnetosphere. During a magnetic storm, charged particles can be deflected from the outer magnetosphere, directed along field lines into Earth's ionosphere, where atmospheric atoms can be excited and ionized, causing the aurora.[130] Orbit and rotation Rotation Main article: Earth's rotation Earth's axial tilt (or obliquity) and its relation to the rotation axis and plane of orbit Earth's rotation period relative to the Sun—its mean solar day—is 86,400 seconds of mean solar time (86,400.0025 SI seconds).[131] Because Earth's solar day is now slightly longer than it was during the 19th century due to tidal deceleration, each day varies between 0 and 2 SI ms longer.[132][133] Earth's rotation period relative to the fixed stars, called its stellar day by the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), is 86,164.098903691 seconds of mean solar time (UT1), or 23h 56m 4.098903691s.[2][n 11] Earth's rotation period relative to the precessing or moving mean vernal equinox, misnamed its sidereal day, is 86,164.09053083288 seconds of mean solar time (UT1) (23h 56m 4.09053083288s) as of 1982.[2] Thus the sidereal day is shorter than the stellar day by about 8.4 ms.[134] The length of the mean solar day in SI seconds is available from the IERS for the periods 1623–2005[135] and 1962–2005.[136] Apart from meteors within the atmosphere and low-orbiting satellites, the main apparent motion of celestial bodies in Earth's sky is to the west at a rate of 15°/h = 15'/min. For bodies near the celestial equator, this is equivalent to an apparent diameter of the Sun or the Moon every two minutes; from Earth's surface, the apparent sizes of the Sun and the Moon are approximately the same.[137][138] Orbit Main article: Earth's orbit Earth orbits the Sun at an average distance of about 150 million kilometers every 365.2564 mean solar days, or one sidereal year. This gives an apparent movement of the Sun eastward with respect to the stars at a rate of about 1°/day, which is one apparent Sun or Moon diameter every 12 hours. Due to this motion, on average it takes 24 hours—a solar day—for Earth to complete a full rotation about its axis so that the Sun returns to the meridian. The orbital speed of Earth averages about 29.8 km/s (107,000 km/h), which is fast enough to travel a distance equal to Earth's diameter, about 12,742 km, in seven minutes, and the distance to the Moon, 384,000 km, in about 3.5 hours.[3] The Moon and Earth orbit a common barycenter every 27.32 days relative to the background stars. When combined with Earth–Moon system's common orbit around the Sun, the period of the synodic month, from new moon to new moon, is 29.53 days. Viewed from the celestial north pole, the motion of Earth, the Moon, and their axial rotations are all counterclockwise. Viewed from a vantage point above the north poles of both the Sun and Earth, Earth orbits in a counterclockwise direction about the Sun. The orbital and axial planes are not precisely aligned: Earth's axis is tilted some 23.4 degrees from the perpendicular to the Earth–Sun plane (the ecliptic), and the Earth–Moon plane is tilted up to ±5.1 degrees against the Earth–Sun plane. Without this tilt, there would be an eclipse every two weeks, alternating between lunar eclipses and solar eclipses.[3][139] The Hill sphere, or gravitational sphere of influence, of Earth is about 1.5 Gm or 1,500,000 km in radius.[140][n 12] This is the maximum distance at which the Earth's gravitational influence is stronger than the more distant Sun and planets. Objects must orbit Earth within this radius, or they can become unbound by the gravitational perturbation of the Sun. Earth, along with the Solar System, is situated in the Milky Way galaxy and orbits about 28,000 light years from the center of the galaxy. It is about 20 light years above the galactic plane in the Orion spiral arm.[141] Axial tilt and seasons Main article: Axial tilt Due to Earth's axial tilt, the amount of sunlight reaching any given point on the surface varies over the course of the year. This causes seasonal change in climate, with summer in the northern hemisphere occurring when the North Pole is pointing toward the Sun, and winter taking place when the pole is pointed away. During the summer, the day lasts longer and the Sun climbs higher in the sky. In winter, the climate becomes generally cooler and the days shorter. In northern temperate latitudes, the sun rises north of true east during the summer solstice, and sets north of true west, reversing in the winter. The sun rises south of true east in the summer for the southern temperate zone, and sets south of true west. Above the Arctic Circle, an extreme case is reached where there is no daylight at all for part of the year, up to six months at the North Pole itself, a polar night. In the southern hemisphere the situation is exactly reversed, with the South Pole oriented opposite the direction of the North Pole. Six months later, this pole will experience a midnight sun, a day of 24 hours, again reversing with the South Pole. By astronomical convention, the four seasons are determined by the solstices—the point in the orbit of maximum axial tilt toward or away from the Sun—and the equinoxes, when the direction of the tilt and the direction to the Sun are perpendicular. In the northern hemisphere, winter solstice occurs on about December 21, summer solstice is near June 21, spring equinox is around March 20 and autumnal equinox is about September 23. In the southern hemisphere, the situation is reversed, with the summer and winter solstices exchanged and the spring and autumnal equinox dates swapped.[142] NASA's Cassini spacecraft photographs Earth and the Moon (visible bottom-right) from Saturn (July 19, 2013). The angle of Earth's axial tilt is relatively stable over long periods of time. Its axials tilt does undergo nutation; a slight, irregular motion with a main period of 18.6 years.[143] The orientation (rather than the angle) of Earth's axis also changes over time, precessing around in a complete circle over each 25,800 year cycle; this precession is the reason for the difference between a sidereal year and a tropical year. Both of these motions are caused by the varying attraction of the Sun and the Moon on Earth's equatorial bulge. The poles also migrate a few meters across Earth's surface. This polar motion has multiple, cyclical components, which collectively are termed quasiperiodic motion. In addition to an annual component to this motion, there is a 14-month cycle called the Chandler wobble. Earth's rotational velocity also varies in a phenomenon known as length-of-day variation.[144] In modern times, Earth's perihelion occurs around January 3, and its aphelion around July 4. These dates change over time due to precession and other orbital factors, which follow cyclical patterns known as Milankovitch cycles. The changing Earth–Sun distance causes an increase of about 6.9%[n 13] in solar energy reaching Earth at perihelion relative to aphelion. Because the southern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun at about the same time that Earth reaches the closest approach to the Sun, the southern hemisphere receives slightly more energy from the Sun than does the northern over the course of a year. This effect is much less significant than the total energy change due to the axial tilt, and most of the excess energy is absorbed by the higher proportion of water in the southern hemisphere.[145] Habitability See also: Planetary habitability This ancient impact crater, now filled with water, marks Earth's surface A planet that can sustain life is termed habitable, even if life did not originate there. Earth provides liquid water—an environment where complex organic molecules can assemble and interact, and sufficient energy to sustain metabolism.[146] The distance of Earth from the Sun, as well as its orbital eccentricity, rate of rotation, axial tilt, geological history, sustaining atmosphere and protective magnetic field all contribute to the current climatic conditions at the surface.[147] Biosphere Main article: Biosphere Coral reef and beach A planet's life forms are sometimes said to form a "biosphere". Earth's biosphere is generally believed to have begun evolving about 3.5 bya.[112] The biosphere is divided into a number of biomes, inhabited by broadly similar plants and animals. On land, biomes are separated primarily by differences in latitude, height above sea level and humidity. Terrestrial biomes lying within the Arctic or Antarctic Circles, at high altitudes or in extremely arid areas are relatively barren of plant and animal life; species diversity reaches a peak in humid lowlands at equatorial latitudes.[148] Evolution of life Main article: Evolutionary history of life Speculative phylogenetic tree of life on Earth based on rRNA analysis Highly energetic chemical reactions are thought to have produced self–replicating molecules around four billion years ago. This was followed a half billion years later by the last common ancestor of all life.[149] The development of photosynthesis allowed the Sun's energy to be harvested directly by life forms; the resultant molecular oxygen (O2) accumulated in the atmosphere and due to interaction with high energy solar radiation, formed a layer of protective ozone (O3) in the upper atmosphere.[112] The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes.[150] True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized Earth's surface.[151] The earliest fossil evidences for life are graphite found to be biogenic in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland[152] and microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia.[153][154] Since the 1960s, it has been hypothesized that severe glacial action between 750 and 580 mya, during the Neoproterozoic, covered much of the planet in a sheet of ice. This hypothesis has been termed "Snowball Earth", and is of particular interest because it preceded the Cambrian explosion, when multicellular life forms began to proliferate.[155] Following the Cambrian explosion, about 535 mya, there have been five major mass extinctions.[156] The most recent such event was 66 mya, when an asteroid impact triggered the extinction of the (non-avian) dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared some small animals such as mammals, which then resembled shrews. Over the past 66 myr, mammalian life has diversified, and several million years ago an African ape-like animal such as Orrorin tugenensis gained the ability to stand upright.[157] This enabled tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which allowed the evolution of the human race. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, allowed humans to influence Earth in a short time span as no other life form had,[158] affecting both the nature and quantity of other life forms. Natural resources and land use Main articles: Natural resource and Land use Estimated human land use, 2000[159] Land use Mha Cropland 1,510–1,611 Pastures 2,500–3,410 Natural forests 3,143–3,871 Planted forests 126–215 Urban areas 66–351 Unused, productive land 356–445 Earth provides resources that are exploitable by humans for useful purposes. Some of these are non-renewable resources, such as fossil fuels, that are difficult to replenish on a short time scale. Large deposits of fossil fuels are obtained from Earth's crust, consisting of coal, petroleum and natural gas. These deposits are used by humans both for energy production and as feedstock for chemical production. Mineral ore bodies have also been formed within the crust through a process of ore genesis, resulting from actions of magmatism, erosion and plate tectonics.[160] These bodies form concentrated sources for many metals and other useful elements. Earth's biosphere produces many useful biological products for humans, including food, wood, pharmaceuticals, oxygen, and the recycling of many organic wastes. The land-based ecosystem depends upon topsoil and fresh water, and the oceanic ecosystem depends upon dissolved nutrients washed down from the land.[161] In 1980, 5,053 Mha (50.53 million km2) of Earth's land surface consisted of forest and woodlands, 6,788 Mha (67.88 million km2) was grasslands and pasture, and 1,501 Mha (15.01 million km2) was cultivated as croplands.[162] The estimated amount of irrigated land in 1993 was 2,481,250 square kilometres (958,020 sq mi).[15] Humans also live on the land by using building materials to construct shelters. Natural and environmental hazards Earth's volcanoes can inject gas and ash into the atmosphere. A volcano injecting hot ash into the atmosphere Large areas of Earth's surface are subject to extreme weather such as tropical cyclones, hurricanes, or typhoons that dominate life in those areas. From 1980 to 2000, these events caused an average of 11,800 deaths per year.[163] Many places are subject to earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes, sinkholes, blizzards, floods, droughts, wildfires, and other calamities and disasters. Many localized areas are subject to human-made pollution of the air and water, acid rain and toxic substances, loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, species extinction, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion, and introduction of invasive species. According to the United Nations, a scientific consensus exists linking human activities to global warming due to industrial carbon dioxide emissions. This is predicted to produce changes such as the melting of glaciers and ice sheets, more extreme temperature ranges, significant changes in weather and a global rise in average sea levels.[164] Human geography Main articles: Human geography and World The seven continents of Earth[165] North America South America Antarctica Europe Africa Asia Oceania v t e A composite picture consisting of DMSP/OLS ground-illumination data for 2000 placed on a simulated night-time image of Earth. Cartography, the study and practice of map-making, and geography, the study of the lands, features, inhabitants and phenomena on Earth, have historically been the disciplines devoted to depicting Earth. Surveying, the determination of locations and distances, and to a lesser extent navigation, the determination of position and direction, have developed alongside cartography and geography, providing and suitably quantifying the requisite information. Earth's human population reached approximately seven billion on October 31, 2011.[166] Projections indicate that the world's human population will reach 9.2 billion in 2050.[167] Most of the growth is expected to take place in developing nations. Human population density varies widely around the world, but a majority live in Asia. By 2020, 60% of the world's population is expected to be living in urban, rather than rural, areas.[168] It is estimated that one-eighth of Earth's surface is suitable for humans to live on – three-quarters of Earth's surface is covered by oceans, leaving one quarter as land. Half of that land area is desert (14%),[169] high mountains (27%),[170] or other unsuitable terrain. The northernmost permanent settlement in the world is Alert, on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada.[171] (82°28?N) The southernmost is the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, in Antarctica, almost exactly at the South Pole. (90°S) Independent sovereign nations claim the planet's entire land surface, except for some parts of Antarctica, a few land parcels along the Danube river's western bank, and the odd unclaimed area of Bir Tawil between Egypt and Sudan. As of 2013, there are 205 de facto sovereign states, including the 193 United Nations member states. In addition, there are 59 dependent territories, and a number of autonomous areas, territories under dispute and other entities.[15] Historically, Earth has never had a sovereign government with authority over the entire globe although a number of nation-states have striven for world domination and failed.[172] The United Nations is a worldwide intergovernmental organization that was created with the goal of intervening in the disputes between nations, thereby avoiding armed conflict.[173] The U.N. serves primarily as a forum for international diplomacy and international law. When the consensus of the membership permits, it provides a mechanism for armed intervention.[174] The first human to orbit Earth was Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.[175] In total, about 487 people have visited outer space and reached orbit as of 30 July 2010, and, of these, twelve have walked on the Moon.[176][177][178] Normally, the only humans in space are those on the International Space Station. The station's crew, made up of six people, is usually replaced every six months.[179] The farthest that humans have travelled from Earth is 400,171 km, achieved during the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.[180] Cultural and historical viewpoint Main article: Earth in culture The first "earthrise" ever seen directly by humans, photographed by astronauts on board Apollo 8. The standard astronomical symbol of Earth consists of a cross circumscribed by a circle, Earth symbol.svg.[181] Unlike other planets in the Solar System, humankind did not begin to view Earth as a moving object until the 16th century.[182] Earth has often been personified as a deity, in particular a goddess. In many cultures a mother goddess is also portrayed as a fertility deity. Creation myths in many religions recall a story involving the creation of Earth by a supernatural deity or deities. A variety of religious groups, often associated with fundamentalist branches of Protestantism[183] or Islam,[184] assert that their interpretations of these creation myths in sacred texts are literal truth and should be considered alongside or replace conventional scientific accounts of the formation of Earth and the origin and development of life.[185] Such assertions are opposed by the scientific community[186][187] and by other religious groups.[188][189][190] A prominent example is the creation–evolution controversy. In the past, there were varying levels of belief in a flat Earth,[191] but this was displaced by spherical Earth, a concept that has been credited to Pythagoras (6th century BC).[192] Human cultures have developed many views of the planet, including its personification as a planetary deity, its shape as flat, its position as the center of the universe, and in the modern Gaia Principle, as a single, self-regulating organism in its own right. Chronology Formation Main article: History of the Earth Artist's impression of the birth of the Solar System The earliest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4.5672±0.0006 billion years ago (bya);[193] therefore, it is inferred that Earth must have been formed by accretion around this time. By 4.54±0.04 bya[37] the primordial Earth had formed. The formation and evolution of the Solar System bodies occurred in tandem with the Sun. In theory a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, and then the planets grow out of that in tandem with the star. A nebula contains gas, ice grains and dust (including primordial nuclides). In nebular theory planetesimals commence forming as particulate accrues by cohesive clumping and then by gravity. The assembly of the primordial Earth proceeded for 10–20 myr.[194] The Moon formed shortly thereafter, about 4.53 bya.[195] The formation of the Moon remains a topic of debate. The working hypothesis is that it formed by accretion from material loosed from Earth after a Mars-sized object, named Theia, impacted with Earth.[196] This model, however, is not self-consistent. In this scenario, the mass of Theia is 10% of that of Earth,[197] it impacted Earth with a glancing blow,[198] and some of its mass merges with Earth. Between approximately 3.8 and 4.1 bya, numerous asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the greater surface environment of the Moon, and by inference, to Earth. Geological history Main article: Geological history of Earth Earth's atmosphere and oceans formed by volcanic activity and outgassing that included water vapor. The origin of the world's oceans was condensation augmented by water and ice delivered by asteroids, proto-planets, and comets.[199] In this model, atmospheric "greenhouse gases" kept the oceans from freezing when the newly forming Sun had only 70% of its current luminosity.[200] By 3.5 bya, the Earth's magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind.[201] A crust formed when the molten outer layer of Earth cooled to form a solid as the accumulated water vapor began to act in the atmosphere. The two models[202] that explain land mass propose either a steady growth to the present-day forms[203] or, more likely, a rapid growth[204] early in Earth history[205] followed by a long-term steady continental area.[206][207][208] Continents formed by plate tectonics, a process ultimately driven by the continuous loss of heat from Earth's interior. On time scales lasting hundreds of millions of years, the supercontinents have formed and broken up three times. Roughly 750 mya (million years ago), one of the earliest known supercontinents, Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia, 600–540 mya, then finally Pangaea, which also broke apart 180 mya.[209] The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 mya and then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 mya. High-latitude regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating every 40–100000 years. The last continental glaciation ended 10,000 years ago.[210] Predicted future Main article: Future of the Earth Estimates on how much longer the planet will be able to continue to support life range from 500 million years (myr), to as long as 2.3 billion years (byr).[211][212][213] The future of the planet is closely tied to that of the Sun. As a result of the steady accumulation of helium at the Sun's core, the star's total luminosity will slowly increase. The luminosity of the Sun will grow by 10% over the next 1.1 byr and by 40% over the next 3.5 byr.[214] Climate models indicate that the rise in radiation reaching Earth is likely to have dire consequences, including the loss of the planet's oceans.[215] Earth's increasing surface temperature will accelerate the inorganic CO2 cycle, reducing its concentration to levels lethally low for plants (10 ppm for C4 photosynthesis) in approximately 500-900 myr.[211] The lack of vegetation will result in the loss of oxygen in the atmosphere, so animal life will become extinct within several million more years.[216] After another billion years all surface water will have disappeared[212] and the mean global temperature will reach 70 °C[216] (158 °F). Earth is expected to be effectively habitable for about another 500 myr from that point,[211] although this may be extended up to 2.3 byr if the nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere.[213] Even if the Sun were eternal and stable, 27% of the water in the modern oceans will descend to the mantle in one billion years, due to reduced steam venting from mid-ocean ridges.[217] 14 billion year timeline showing Sun's present age at 4.6 byr; from 6 byr Sun gradually warming, becoming a red dwarf at 10 byr, "soon" followed by its transformation into a white dwarf Life cycle of the Sun The Sun, as part of its evolution, will become a red giant in about 5 byr. Models predict that the Sun will expand to roughly 1 AU (150,000,000 km), which is about 250 times its present radius.[214][218] Earth's fate is less clear. As a red giant, the Sun will lose roughly 30% of its mass, so, without tidal effects, Earth will move to an orbit 1.7 AU (250,000,000 km) from the Sun, when the star reaches its maximum radius. The planet was, therefore, initially expected to escape envelopment by the expanded Sun's sparse outer atmosphere, though most, if not all, remaining life would have been destroyed by the Sun's increased luminosity (peaking at about 5,000 times its present level).[214] A 2008 simulation indicates that Earth's orbit will decay due to tidal effects and drag, causing it to enter the red giant Sun's atmosphere and be vaporized.[218] After that, the Sun's core will collapse into a white dwarf, as its outer layers are ejected into space as a planetary nebula. The matter that once made up Earth will be released into interstellar space, where it may one day become incorporated into a new generation of planets and other celestial bodies. See also: Risks to civilization, humans, and planet Earth Moon Full moon as seen from Earth's Northern Hemisphere Characteristics Diameter 3,474.8 km Mass 7.349×1022 kg Semi-major axis 384,400 km Orbital period 27 d 7 h 43.7 m Details of the Earth–Moon system, showing the radius of each object and the Earth-Moon barycenter. The Moon's axis is located by Cassini's third law. Earth and the Moon were imaged by Mariner 10 from 2.6 million km while completing the first ever Earth–Moon encounter by a spacecraft capable of returning high-resolution digital color-image data. Main article: Moon The Moon is a relatively large, terrestrial, planet-like satellite, with a diameter about one-quarter of Earth's. It is the largest moon in the Solar System relative to the size of its planet, although Charon is larger relative to the dwarf planet Pluto. The natural satellites of other planets are also referred to as "moons", after Earth's. The gravitational attraction between Earth and the Moon causes tides on Earth. The same effect on the Moon has led to its tidal locking: its rotation period is the same as the time it takes to orbit Earth. As a result, it always presents the same face to the planet. As the Moon orbits Earth, different parts of its face are illuminated by the Sun, leading to the lunar phases; the dark part of the face is separated from the light part by the solar terminator. Due to their tidal interaction, the Moon recedes from Earth at the rate of approximately 38 mm/yr. Over millions of years, these tiny modifications—and the lengthening of Earth's day by about 23 µs/yr—add up to significant changes.[219] During the Devonian period, for example, (approximately 410 mya) there were 400 days in a year, with each day lasting 21.8 hours.[220] The Moon may have dramatically affected the development of life by moderating the planet's climate. Paleontological evidence and computer simulations show that Earth's axial tilt is stabilized by tidal interactions with the Moon.[221] Some theorists believe that without this stabilization against the torques applied by the Sun and planets to Earth's equatorial bulge, the rotational axis might be chaotically unstable, exhibiting chaotic changes over millions of years, as appears to be the case for Mars.[222] Viewed from Earth, the Moon is just far enough away to have almost the same apparent-sized disk as the Sun. The angular size (or solid angle) of these two bodies match because, although the Sun's diameter is about 400 times as large as the Moon's, it is also 400 times more distant.[138] This allows total and annular solar eclipses to occur on Earth. The most widely accepted theory of the Moon's origin, the giant impact theory, states that it formed from the collision of a Mars-size protoplanet called Theia with the early Earth. This hypothesis explains (among other things) the Moon's relative lack of iron and volatile elements, and the fact that its composition is nearly identical to that of Earth's crust.[223] Asteroids and artificial satellites The International Space Station is an artificial satellite in orbit around Earth. Earth has at least five co-orbital asteroids, including 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29.[224][225] A trojan asteroid companion, 2010 TK7, is librating around the leading Lagrange triangular point, L4, in the Earth's orbit around the Sun.[226][227] As of 2011, there were 931 operational, human-made satellites orbiting Earth.[228] There are also inoperative satellites and over 300,000 pieces of space debris. Earth's largest artificial satellite is the International Space Station. See also Celestial sphere Earth physical characteristics tables Earth science Notes Jump up ^ All astronomical quantities vary, both secularly and periodically. The quantities given are the values at the instant J2000.0 of the secular variation, ignoring all periodic variations. ^ Jump up to: a b aphelion = a × (1 + e); perihelion = a × (1 – e), where a is the semi-major axis and e is the eccentricity. The difference between Earth's perihelion and aphelion is 5 million kilometers. Jump up ^ Due to natural fluctuations, ambiguities surrounding ice shelves, and mapping conventions for vertical datums, exact values for land and ocean coverage are not meaningful. Based on data from the Vector Map and Global Landcover datasets, extreme values for coverage of lakes and streams are 0.6% and 1.0% of Earth's surface. The ice shields of Antarctica and Greenland are counted as land, even though much of the rock that supports them lies below sea level. Jump up ^ Particularly as the setting for human civilization and experience.[25] Jump up ^ From the name of the Greek earth goddess, but now particularly used for the global ecosystem.[26] Jump up ^ The number of solar days is one less than the number of sidereal days because the orbital motion of Earth around the Sun causes one additional revolution of the planet about its axis. Jump up ^ Locally varies between 5 and 200 km. Jump up ^ Locally varies between 5 and 70 km. Jump up ^ Including the Somali Plate, which is being formed out of the African Plate. See: Chorowicz, Jean (October 2005). "The East African rift system". Journal of African Earth Sciences 43 (1–3): 379–410. Bibcode:2005JAfES..43..379C. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2005.07.019. Jump up ^ This is the measurement taken by the vessel Kaik? in March 1995 and is believed to be the most accurate measurement to date. See the Challenger Deep article for more details. Jump up ^ The ultimate source of these figures, uses the term "seconds of UT1" instead of "seconds of mean solar time".—Aoki, S.; Kinoshita, H.; Guinot, B.; Kaplan, G. H.; McCarthy, D. D.; Seidelmann, P. K. (1982). "The new definition of universal time". Astronomy and Astrophysics 105 (2): 359–61. Bibcode:1982A&A...105..359A. Jump up ^ For Earth, the Hill radius is R_H = a\left ( \frac{m}{3M} \right )^{\frac{1}{3}}, where m is the mass of Earth, a is an astronomical unit, and M is the mass of the Sun. So the radius in A.U. is about \left ( \frac{1}{3 \cdot 332,946} \right )^{\frac{1}{3}} = 0.01. Jump up ^ Aphelion is 103.4% of the distance to perihelion. Due to the inverse square law, the radiation at perihelion is about 106.9% the energy at aphelion. References ^ Jump up to: a b Standish E.M. "Keplerian Elements for Approximate Positions of the Major Planets". Retrieved 15 February 2015. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Staff (2007-08-07). "Useful Constants". International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service. Retrieved 2008-09-23. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l Williams, David R. (2004-09-01). "Earth Fact Sheet". NASA. Retrieved 2010-08-09. Jump up ^ "Earth Mean Anomaly". Wolfram Alpha. Retrieved 30 December 2014. Jump up ^ Allen, Clabon Walter; Cox, Arthur N. (2000). Allen's Astrophysical Quantities. Springer. p. 294. ISBN 0-387-98746-0. Retrieved 2011-03-13. Jump up ^ Cain, Fraser (24 October 2013). "How Many Satellites Are in Space?". Universe Today. Retrieved 1 February 2014. Jump up ^ Various (2000). David R. Lide, ed. Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (81st ed.). CRC. ISBN 0-8493-0481-4. Jump up ^ "Selected Astronomical Constants, 2011". The Astronomical Almanac. Archived from the original on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2011-02-25. ^ Jump up to: a b World Geodetic System (WGS-84). Available online from National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Jump up ^ Cazenave, Anny (1995). "Geoid, Topography and Distribution of Landforms". In Ahrens, Thomas J. Global earth physics a handbook of physical constants (PDF). Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union. ISBN 0-87590-851-9. Archived from the original on 2006-10-16. Retrieved 2008-08-03. Jump up ^ IERS Working Groups (2003). McCarthy, Dennis D.; Petit, Gérard, ed. General Definitions and Numerical Standards. IERS Technical Note No. 32 (U.S. Naval Observatory and Bureau International des Poids et Mesures). Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2008-08-03. Jump up ^ Humerfelt, Sigurd (October 26, 2010). "How WGS 84 defines Earth". Retrieved 2011-04-29. Jump up ^ Earth's circumference is almost exactly 40,000 km because the metre was calibrated on this measurement—more specifically, 1/10-millionth of the distance between the poles and the equator. ^ Jump up to: a b Pidwirny, Michael (2006-02-02). "Surface area of our planet covered by oceans and continents.(Table 8o-1)". University of British Columbia, Okanagan. Retrieved 2007-11-26. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Staff (2008-07-24). "World". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2008-08-05. Jump up ^ "Solar System Exploration: Earth: Facts & Figures". NASA. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012. Jump up ^ The international system of units (SI) (2008 ed.). United States Department of Commerce, NIST Special Publication 330. p. 52. Jump up ^ Williams, James G. (1994). "Contributions to the Earth's obliquity rate, precession, and nutation". The Astronomical Journal 108: 711. Bibcode:1994AJ....108..711W. doi:10.1086/117108. ISSN 0004-6256. Jump up ^ Allen, Clabon Walter; Cox, Arthur N. (2000). Allen's Astrophysical Quantities. Springer. p. 296. ISBN 0-387-98746-0. Retrieved 2010-08-17. Jump up ^ Arthur N. Cox, ed. (2000). Allen's Astrophysical Quantities (4th ed.). New York: AIP Press. p. 244. ISBN 0-387-98746-0. Retrieved 2010-08-17. Jump up ^ "World: Lowest Temperature". WMO Weather and Clim

Michael Jackson From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other people named Michael Jackson, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation). It has been suggested that Debbie Rowe be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since February 2015. This is a featured article. Click here for more information.Page semi-protected Michael Jackson Michael Jackson in 1988.jpg Jackson performing in 1988 during Bad world tour Born Michael Joseph Jackson August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana, U.S. Died June 25, 2009 (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Cause of death Cardiac arrest Resting place Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, U.S. Residence Los Olivos, California, U.S. Other names Michael Joe Jackson Occupation Singer songwriter dancer actor record producer businessman philanthropist Net worth Increase U.S. $1.178 billion (2009 estimate)[1] Religion Jehovah's Witness (1965–1987) Christianity (1987–2009) Spouse(s) Lisa Marie Presley (m. 1994–1996; divorced) Deborah Jeanne Rowe (m. 1996–1999; divorced) Children Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson Prince Michael Jackson II Parent(s) Joseph Walter Jackson Katherine Esther Scruse Musical career Genres Pop dance-pop R&B disco post-disco rock new jack swing Instruments Vocals percussion Years active 1964–2009 Labels Steeltown Motown Epic Legacy MJJ Productions Associated acts The Jackson 5 Signature Michael Jackson's signature Michael Joseph Jackson[2][3] (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actor. Called the King of Pop,[4][5] his contributions to music and dance, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with breaking down racial barriers and with transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these videos helped to bring the then-relatively-new television channel MTV to fame. With videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream", he continued to innovate the medium throughout the 1990s, as well as forging a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop, and rock artists. Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best selling album of all time. His other albums, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best selling albums. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame as the first and only dancer from pop and rock music. His other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; 26 American Music Awards, more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s"; 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career, more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era; and the estimated sale of over 400 million records worldwide.[Note 1] Jackson has won hundreds of awards, making him the most awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.[6] Jackson became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when "Love Never Felt So Good" reached number nine on May 21, 2014.[7] Jackson traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism and in 2000, the Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.[8] Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In the mid-1990s, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount and no formal charges were brought.[9] In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his comeback concert series titled This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world.[10] Contents [hide] 1 Life and career 1.1 1958–75: Early life and The Jackson 5 1.2 1975–81: Move to Epic and Off the Wall 1.3 1982–83: Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever 1.4 1984–85: Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career 1.5 1986–90: Appearance, tabloids, Bad, films, autobiography, and Neverland 1.6 1991–93: Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII 1.7 1993–94: First child sexual abuse allegations and first marriage 1.8 1995–99: HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood 1.9 2000–03: Label dispute and Invincible 1.10 2003–05: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal 1.11 2006–09: Closure of Neverland, final years, and This Is It 2 Death and memorial 2.1 Aftermath 3 Artistry 3.1 Influences 3.2 Musical themes and genres 3.3 Vocal style 3.4 Music videos and choreography 4 Legacy and influence 5 Honors and awards 6 Earnings and wealth 7 U.S. Federal estate tax problems 8 Discography 9 Filmography 10 Tours 11 See also 12 Notes 13 References 13.1 Citations 13.2 Sources 14 External links Life and career 1958–75: Early life and The Jackson 5 The single-storey house has white walls, two windows, a central white door with a black door frame, and a black roof. In front of the house there is a walk way and multiple colored flowers and memorabilia. Jackson's childhood home in Gary, Indiana, showing floral tributes after his death Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in an African-American working-class family who lived in a two-bedroom house in Gary, Indiana, an industrial city and a part of the Chicago metropolitan area.[11][12] His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness. She once aspired to be a country and western performer who played clarinet and piano, but worked part-time at Sears to help support the family.[13] His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a steelworker at U.S. Steel. Joe also performed on guitar with a local R&B band called The Falcons to supplement the family's household income.[14] Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy).[15] A sixth brother, Marlon's elder twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.[16] Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.[17][18] In 2003, Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy.[19] Joe was also said to have verbally abused his son, often saying that he had a "fat nose".[20] Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success.[17] Speaking openly about his childhood in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993, Jackson acknowledged that his youth had been lonely and isolating.[21] Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant, especially with his father, and to remain childlike throughout his adult life, are consistent with the effects of the maltreatment he endured as a young child.[22] In an interview with Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, recalling that Joseph often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you."[23][24] Jackson (center) as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1972 In 1965, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father and which included brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. In 1966, Jackson began sharing lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5.[15] That following year, the group won a major local talent show with Jackson performing James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)".[25] From 1966 to 1968 the band toured the Midwest, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit" as the opening act for R&B artists that included Sam and Dave, The O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows and other adult acts were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances.[26][27] In August 1967, while touring the East coast, the group won a weekly amateur night concert at The Apollo Theater in Harlem.[28] The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy" (1968), their first single, for Steeltown Records, a Gary, Indiana, record label,[29] before signing with Motown Records in 1969.[15] The Jackson 5 left Gary in 1969 and relocated to the Los Angeles area, where they continued to record music for Motown.[30] Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer."[31] The group set a chart record when its first four singles—"I Want You Back" (1969), "ABC" (1970), "The Love You Save" (1970), and "I'll Be There" (1970)—peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[15] In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large home on two-acre estate in Encino, California,[32] where Michael evolved from child performer into a teen idol.[33] As Jackson began to emerge as a solo performer in the early 1970s, he continued to maintain ties to The Jackson 5 and Motown. Between 1972, when his solo career began, and 1975, Michael released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music and Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975).[34] "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, produced successful singles, as did a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".[35] The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists."[36] Although the group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's refusal to allow them creative control or input, they continued to score several top 40 hits, including the top five single, "Dancing Machine" (1974), before the group left Motown in 1975.[37] 1975–81: Move to Epic and Off the Wall In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records, a subsidiary of CBS Records,[37] and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine chose to stay with Motown and pursue a solo career.[38] The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's lead songwriter during this time, wrote hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1979), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).[25] Jackson's work in film began in 1978, when he starred as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical directed by Sidney Lumet that also starred Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross.[39] The film was a box-office disaster.[40] While working on the film Jackson met Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score, and Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album, Off the Wall.[41] In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.[42] Off the Wall (1979), which Jones and Jackson co-produced, established Jackson as a solo performer. The album helped Jackson transition from the "bubblegum pop" of his youth to the more complex sounds he would create as an adult.[43] Songwriters for the album included Jackson, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney. Off the Wall was the first solo album to generate four top 10 hits in the United States: "Off the Wall", "She’s Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You".[44][45] The album reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[46] In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".[47][48] He also won Billboard Year-End awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album, and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".[44] In 1981 Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist.[49] Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release.[50] In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.[51] 1982–83: Thriller and Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever In 1982 Jackson combined his interests in songwriting and film when he contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The song, with Quincy Jones as its producer, won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children for 1983.[52] Even more success came after the release of Thriller in late 1982. The album earned Jackson seven more Grammys[52] and eight American Music Awards, including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it.[53] "Thriller" was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983.[54][55] It became the best-selling album of all time in the United States,[56] and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 65 million copies.[57] The album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".[58] In March 2009 Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA,[59] giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. Thriller won Jackson and Quincy Jones the Grammy award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) for 1983. It also won Album of the Year, with Jackson as the album’s artist and Jones as its co-producer, and a Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year, with Jackson as artist and Jones as co-producer, and a Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, award for Jackson. "Billie Jean" won Jackson two Grammy awards, Best R&B Song, with Jackson as its songwriter, and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, as its artist.[52] Thriller also won another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding Bruce Swedien for his work on the album.[60] The AMA Awards for 1984 provided Jackson with an Award of Merit and AMAs for Favorite Male Artist, Soul/R&B, and Favorite Male Artist, Pop/Rock. "Beat It" won Jackson AMAs for Favorite Video, Soul/R&B, Favorite Video, Pop/Rock, and Favorite Single, Pop/Rock. Thriller won him AMAs for Favorite Album, Soul/R&B, and Favorite Album, Pop/Rock.[53][61] In addition to the award-winning album, Jackson released "Thriller", a fourteen-minute music video short directed by John Landis, in 1983.[62] It "defined music videos and broke racial barriers" on the Music Television Channel (MTV), a fledgling entertainment television channel at the time.[43] In December 2009, the Library of Congress selected music video for "Thriller" for inclusion in the National Film Registry. It was one of twenty-five films named that year as "works of enduring importance to American culture" that would be "preserved for all time."[63][64] The zombie-themed "Thriller" is the first and, as of 2009, the only music video to be inducted into the registry.[62][64][65] Jackson's attorney John Branca noted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point: approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record-breaking profits from sales of his recordings. The videocassette of the documentary The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. The era saw the arrival of novelties like dolls modeled after Michael Jackson, which appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12.[66] Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli writes that, "Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple."[67] In 1985, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform.[52] Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".[66] The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".[68] A defining point in Jackson's career took place on March 25, 1983, when Michael reunited with his brothers for a legendary live performance, which was taped at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an estimated audience of 47 million viewers, and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars.[69] The show is best remembered for Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean", which earned Jackson his first Emmy nomination.[70] Wearing a distinctive black-sequined jacket and a golf glove decorated with rhinestones, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier.[71] Jackson originally turned down the invitation to perform at the show, believing he had been doing too much television at the time. However at the request of Berry Gordy, Jackson relented and agreed to perform at the show in exchange for time to do a solo performance.[72] According to Rolling Stones reporter Mikal Gilmore, "There are times when you know you are hearing or seeing something extraordinary...that came that night."[33] Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.[73] Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times later wrote, "The moonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing."[74] Berry Gordy said of the performance, "from the first beat of Billie Jean, I was mesmerized, and when he did his iconic moonwalk, I was shocked, it was magic, Michael Jackson went into orbit, and never came down."[75] 1984–85: Pepsi, "We Are the World", and business career By the mid-1980s Jackson's award-winning musical career contributed to his commercial appeal, which proved to be substantial. In November 1983 Jackson, along with his brothers, partnered with PepsiCo in a $5 million promotional deal that broke advertising industry records for a celebrity endorsement. The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the United States from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included advertising, tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson, who was actively involved in creating the iconic Pepsi advertisement, suggested using his song, "Billie Jean", as its musical jingle with a revised chorus.[76] According a Billboard report in 2009, Brian J. Murphy, executive VP of branded management at TBA Global, commented, "You couldn’t separate the tour from the endorsement from the licensing of the music, and then the integration of the music into the Pepsi fabric."[76] On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi Cola commercial that was overseen by executive Phil Dusenberry,[77] a BBDO ad agency executive, and Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars on his scalp, and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter.[42] Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated his $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California. Its Michael Jackson Burn Center is named in his honor.[78] Dusenberry later recounted the episode in his memoir, Then We Set His Hair on Fire: Insights and Accidents from a Hall of Fame Career in Advertising. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for a reported $10 million. The second campaign had a global reach to more than twenty countries and provided financial support for Jackson's Bad album and his world tour in 1987–88.[76] Although Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as L.A. Gear, Suzuki, and Sony, none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi, which later signed other music stars such as Britney Spears and Beyoncé to promote its products.[76][76][79] President Reagan wearing a suit and tie stands at a podium and turns to smile at Mrs Reagan, who is wearing a white outfit, and Jackson, who is wearing a white shirt with a blue jacket and a yellow strap across his chest. Jackson at the White House being presented with an award by President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan, 1984 Jackson’s humanitarian work was recognized on May 14, 1984, when he was invited to the White House to receive an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse,[80] and in recognition of his support for the Ad Council's and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson donated the use of "Beat It" for the campaign's public service announcements.[81] Unlike later albums, Thriller did not have an official tour to promote it, but the Victory Tour of 1984 headlined The Jacksons and showcased much of Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he would do with his brothers.[82] Following a controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson held a press conference and announced that he would donate his share of the proceeds from the Victory Tour, an estimated $3 to 5 million, to charity.[83][84] Jackson's charitable work and humanitarian awards continued with the release of "We Are the World" (1985), which he co-wrote with Lionel Richie.[85] Released worldwide in March 1985 to aid the poor in the United States and Africa, the song earned $63 million for famine relief,[86] and became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 20 million copies sold. "We Are the World" won four Grammys for 1985, including Song of the Year going to Jackson and Richie as its co-songwriters.[85] Although the American Music Award directors removed the charity song from the competition because they felt it would be inappropriate, the AMA show in 1986 concluded with a tribute to the song in honor of its first anniversary. (The song was recorded on January 28, 1985).[87] The project's creators received two special AMA honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Quincy Jones, and entertainment promoter Ken Kragan received special awards for their roles in creation of the song.[87][88][89][90] Jackson's financial interests in the music publishing business expanded after collaborating with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s. He subsequently learned that McCartney made approximately $40 million a year from other people's songs.[86] By 1983 Jackson had begun investing in publishing rights to songs that others had written, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson’s early acquisitions of music catalogs and song copyrights such as the Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968), Len Barry's "1–2–3" (1965), and Dion DiMucci's "The Wanderer" (1961) and "Runaround Sue" (1961); however, Jackson's most significant purchase came in 1985, when he acquired the publishing rights to ATV Music Publishing after months of negotiation.[86] ATV had acquired the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including the Northern Songs catalog that contained the majority of the Lennon–McCartney compositions recorded by The Beatles.[91] In 1984, Robert Holmes à Court, the wealthy Australian investor who owned ATV Music Publishing, announced he was putting the ATV catalog up for sale.[91] In 1981,[92] McCartney was offered the ATV music catalog for £20 million ($40 million).[86][93] According to McCartney, he contacted Yoko Ono about making a joint purchase by splitting the cost at £10 million each, but Ono thought they could buy it for £5 million each.[86][93] When they were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney, who did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, did not pursue an offer on his own.[92][93] According to a negotiator for Holmes à Court in the 1984 sale, "We had given Paul McCartney first right of refusal but Paul didn't want it at that time."[94] Jackson was first informed about the sale by his attorney, John Branca, in September 1984.[91] An attorney for McCartney also assured Branca that McCartney was not interested in bidding. McCartney reportedly said "It's too pricey",[86][92] but several other companies and investors were interested in bidding. Jackson submitted a bid of $46 million on November 20, 1984.[91] His agents thought they had a deal several times, but encountered new bidders or new areas of debate. In May 1985, Jackson's team walked away from talks after having spent more than $1 million and four months of due diligence work on the negotiations.[91] In June 1985 Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative agreement with Holmes à Court to buy ATV Music for $50 million; however, in early August, Holmes à Court's team contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson raised his bid to $47.5 million, which was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence of ATV Music.[91] Jackson also agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon.[94] Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.[91] 1986–90: Appearance, tabloids, Bad, films, autobiography, and Neverland See also: Michael Jackson's health and appearance Jackson's skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the mid-1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he might be bleaching his skin.[95] According to J. Randy Taraborrelli's biography, in 1986, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo which Taroberrelli noted, may be a consequence of skin bleaching. Taraborelli claimed Jackson was diagnosed with lupus; the vitiligo partially lightened his skin, and the lupus was in remission; both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight. The treatments he used for his condition further lightened his skin tone, and, with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear very pale.[96] Jackson was also diagnosed with vitiligo in his autopsy though not with lupus.[97] Jackson claimed that he had only two rhinoplasties and no other surgery on his face, although at one point he mentioned having a dimple created in his chin. Jackson lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet and a desire for "a dancer's body".[98] Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy and speculated that he was suffering from anorexia nervosa; periods of weight loss would become a recurring problem later in life.[99] During the course of his treatment, Jackson made two close friends: his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, and Klein's nurse Debbie Rowe. Rowe eventually became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his two eldest children. He also relied heavily on Klein for medical and business advice.[100] Jackson became the subject of increasingly sensational reports. In 1986, the tabloids ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow the aging process; he was pictured lying down in a glass box. Although the claim was untrue, according to tabloid reports that are widely cited, Jackson had disseminated the fabricated story himself.[101] When Jackson bought a chimpanzee called Bubbles from a laboratory, he was reported to be increasingly detached from reality.[102] It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of Joseph Merrick (the "elephant man") and although untrue, Jackson did not deny the story.[103] Although initially he saw these stories as opportunities for publicity, he stopped leaking untruths to the press as they became more sensational. Consequently the media began making up their own stories.[101][104][105] These reports became embedded in the public consciousness, inspiring the nickname "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise.[106] Responding to the gossip, Jackson remarked to Taraborrelli: Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars? Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, "I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight," people would say, "Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a single word that comes out of his mouth."[107] A black jacket with five round golden medals on its left and right shoulders, a gold band on its left arm sleeve, and two belt straps on the right bottom sleeve. Underneath the jacket is a golden belt, with a round ornament in its center. Jackson wore a gold-plated military style jacket with belt during the Bad era Jackson collaborated with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola on the 17-minute 3-D film Captain EO, which debuted in September 1986 at both the original Disneyland and at EPCOT in Florida, and in March 1987 at Tokyo Disneyland. The $30 million movie was a popular attraction at all three parks. A Captain EO attraction was later featured at Euro Disneyland after that park opened in 1992. All four parks' Captain EO installations stayed open well into the 1990s: the Paris installation was the last one to close, in 1998.[108] The attraction would later return to Disneyland in 2010 after Jackson's death.[109] In 1987, Jackson disassociated himself from the Jehovah's Witnesses, in response to their disapproval of the Thriller video.[110] With the industry expecting another major hit, Jackson's first album in five years, Bad (1987), was highly anticipated.[111] It did not top Thriller as a commercial or artistic triumph, but Bad was still a substantial success in its own right. Jackson performing in 1988 The Bad album spawned seven hit singles in the U.S., five of which ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana") reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. This was a record for most number one Hot 100 singles from any one album, including Thriller.[112] Although the title track's video was arguably derivative of the video for the earlier single "Beat It", the "Bad" video still proved to be one of Jackson's iconic moments. It was a gritty but colorful epic set against the backdrop of the New York City Subway system, with costuming and choreography inspired by West Side Story. As of 2012, the album sold between 30 to 45 million copies worldwide.[113][114][115][116][117][118] Thanks to the Bad album, Bruce Swedien, and Humberto Gatica won one Grammy in 1988 for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and Michael Jackson won one Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Leave Me Alone" in 1989.[52][60] In the same year, Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards because Bad is the first album ever to generate five number one singles in the U.S., the first album to top in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and in 1988.[119][120][121][122] In 1988, "Bad" won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single.[123] The Bad world tour began on September 12 that year, finishing on January 14, 1989.[124] In Japan alone, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record of 200,000 in a single tour.[125] Jackson broke a Guinness World Record when 504,000 people attended seven sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium.[126] He performed a total of 123 concerts to an audience of 4.4 million people.[127][128] The Bad Tour turned out to be the last of Jackson's concert tours to include shows in the continental United States, although later tours did make it to Hawaii. In 1988, Jackson released his only autobiography, Moonwalk, which took four years to complete and sold 200,000 copies.[129] Jackson wrote about his childhood, The Jackson 5, and the abuse he had suffered.[130] He also wrote about his facial appearance, saying he had had two rhinoplastic surgeries and a dimple created in his chin.[98] He attributed much of the change in the structure of his face to puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hair style, and stage lighting.[98] Moonwalk reached the top position on The New York Times best sellers' list.[131] The musician then released a film called Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films that starred Jackson and Joe Pesci. The film was originally intended to be released to theaters, but due to financial issues, the film was released direct-to-video. It saw a theatrical release in Germany, though. It debuted atop the Billboard Top Music Video Cassette chart, staying there for 22 weeks. It was eventually knocked off the top spot by Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues.[132] In March 1988, Jackson purchased land near Santa Ynez, California, to build Neverland Ranch at a cost of $17 million. He installed several carnival rides on the 2,700-acre (11 km2) property including a Ferris wheel, a carousel and a menagerie, as well as a movie theater and a petting zoo. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. In 2003, it was valued at approximately $100 million.[133][134] In 1989, his annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and concerts were estimated at $125 million for that year alone.[135] Shortly afterwards, he became the first Westerner to appear in a television ad in the Soviet Union.[132] His success resulted in him being dubbed the "King of Pop".[136][137][138][139] The nickname was popularized by Elizabeth Taylor when she presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, proclaiming him "the true king of pop, rock and soul."[140] President George H.W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade".[141] From 1985 to 1990, he donated $455,000 to the United Negro College Fund,[142] and all of the profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity.[143] Jackson's live rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis, Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration allowed Jackson to receive his second Emmy nomination.[70][132] 1991–93: Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation, and Super Bowl XXVII In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65 million, a record-breaking deal at the time,[144] displacing Neil Diamond's renewal contract with Columbia Records.[145] He released his eighth album, Dangerous, in 1991. The Dangerous album was co-produced with Teddy Riley, who convinced Michael to feature a rapper on his album for the first time. As of 2013, the album has shipped seven million copies in the U.S. and has sold approximately 30 million copies worldwide.[146][147][148] In the United States, the album's first single "Black or White" was its biggest hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot; 100 and remaining there for seven weeks, with similar chart performances worldwide.[149] The album's second single "Remember the Time" spent eight weeks in the top five in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[150] At the end of 1992, Dangerous was awarded the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" was awarded best-selling single of the year worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. Additionally, he won an award as best-selling artist of the 1980s.[151] In 1993, Jackson performed the song at the Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he had suffered an injury in rehearsals.[152] In the UK and other parts of Europe, "Heal the World" was the biggest hit from the album; it sold 450,000 copies in the UK and spent five weeks at number two in 1992.[150] Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity organization brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to enjoy theme park rides that Jackson had built on the property. The foundation also sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. In the same year Jackson published his second book, the bestselling collection of poetry, Dancing the Dream. While it was a commercial success and revealed a more intimate side to Jackson's nature, the collection was mostly critically unacclaimed at the time of release. In 2009, the book was republished by Doubleday and was more positively received by some critics in the wake of Jackson's untimely death. The Dangerous World Tour grossed $100 million. The tour began on June 27, 1992, and finished on November 11, 1993. Jackson performed to 3.5 million people in 70 concerts.[150][153] He sold the broadcast rights to his Dangerous world tour to HBO for $20 million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.[154] Following the illness and death of Ryan White, Jackson helped draw public attention to HIV/AIDS, something that was still controversial at the time. He publicly pleaded with the Clinton Administration at Bill Clinton's Inaugural Gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research.[155][156] In a high-profile visit to Africa, Jackson visited several countries, among them Gabon and Egypt.[157] His first stop to Gabon was greeted with a sizable and enthusiastic reception of more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read, "Welcome Home Michael."[157] In his trip to Côte d'Ivoire, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief.[157] He then thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed official documents formalizing his kingship and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.[157] In January 1993, Jackson made a memorable appearance at the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII. Because of dwindling interest during halftime in the years before, the NFL decided to seek big-name talent that would keep viewers and ratings high, with Jackson being selected because of his popularity and universal appeal.[158] It was the first Super Bowl where the audience figures increased during the half-time show to more than the game itself. The performance began with Jackson catapulting onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him. As he landed on the canvas, he maintained a motionless "clenched fist, standing statue stance", dressed in a gold and black military outfit and sunglasses; he remained completely motionless for a minute and a half while the crowd cheered. He then slowly removed his sunglasses, threw them away and sang four songs: "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Jackson's Dangerous album rose 90 places up the album chart.[95] In February 1993, Jackson was given the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. "Black or White" was Grammy-nominated for best vocal performance. "Jam" gained two nominations: Best R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song.[150] The Dangerous album won a Grammy for Best Engineered – Non Classical, awarding the work of Bruce Swedien and Teddy Riley. In the same year, Michael Jackson won three American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time") and was the first to win the International Artist Award, for his global performances and humanitarian concerns. This award will bear his name in the future.[52][60][159] 1993–94: First child sexual abuse allegations and first marriage Main article: 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson Jackson gave a 90-minute interview to Oprah Winfrey on February 10, 1993, his second television interview since 1979. He grimaced when speaking of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood years, admitting that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, stating for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its original release.[24][95][150] In the summer of 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy named Jordan Chandler and his father, Evan Chandler, a dentist.[160][161][162] The Chandler family demanded payment from Jackson, and the singer initially refused. Jordan Chandler eventually told the police that Jackson had sexually abused him.[163] Evan Chandler was tape-recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, saying, "If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever..... Michael's career will be over". Jordan's mother was, however, adamant at the time that there had been no wrongdoing on Jackson's part.[162] Jackson later used the recording to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort money from the singer.[162] In January 1994, however, after investigation on allegations of extortion against the singer by Chandler, deputy Los Angeles County district attorney Michael J. Montagna stated that Chandler would not be charged due to lack of cooperation from Jackson's camp and its willingness to negotiate with Chandler for several weeks among other reasons.[164] In August 1993, Jackson's home was raided by the police who, according to court documents, found books and photographs in his bedroom featuring young boys with little or no clothing.[165] Since the books were legal to purchase and own, the jury decided to not indict Jackson.[166] In December 1993, Jackson was strip searched.[167] Jordan Chandler had reportedly given police a description of Jackson's intimate parts, and the strip search revealed that Jordan had correctly claimed Jackson had patchy-colored buttocks, short pubic hair, and pink and brown marked testicles.[167] Reportedly, Jordan had also previously drawn accurate pictures of a dark spot on Jackson's penis only visible when his penis was lifted.[168] Despite differing initial internal reports from prosecutors and investigators[169] and later, with reports of jurors feeling otherwise that the photos did not match the description,[170][171][172] the DA stated his belief in a sworn affidavit that the description was accurate,[173] along with the sheriff's photographer stating the description was accurate.[174] A 2004 motion filed by Jackson's defense asserted that Jackson was never criminally indicted by any grand jury and that his settlement admitted no wrongdoing and contained no evidence of criminal misconduct.[175] Jackson's friends said he never recovered from the humiliation of the strip search. The investigation was inconclusive and no charges were ever filed.[176] Jackson described the search in an emotional public statement, and proclaimed his innocence.[160][167][177] On January 1, 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for $22 million. A Santa Barbara County grand jury and a Los Angeles County grand jury disbanded on May 2, 1994 without indicting Jackson,[178] and the Chandlers stopped co-operating with the criminal investigation around July 6, 1994.[179][180][181] The out-of-court settlement's documentation specifically stated Jackson admitted no wrongdoing and no liability; the Chandlers and their family lawyer Larry Feldman signed it without contest.[182] Feldman also explicitly stated "nobody bought anybody's silence".[183] A decade after the fact, during the second round of child abuse allegations, Jackson's lawyers would file a memo stating that the 1994 settlement was done without his consent.[180] A later disclosure by the FBI of investigation documents compiled over nearly 20 years led to Jackson's attorney to make the suggestion that there was no evidence of molestation or sexual impropriety from Jackson towards minors.[184] According to reports the DCFS had investigated Jackson beginning in 1993 with the Chandler allegation and again in 2003. Reports show the LAPD and DCFS did not find credible evidence of abuse or sexual misconduct.[185][186] In May 1994, Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. They had first met in 1975, when a seven-year-old Presley attended one of Jackson's family engagements at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and were reconnected through a mutual friend.[187] According to a friend of Presley's, "their adult friendship began in November 1992 in L.A."[188] They stayed in contact every day over the telephone. As the child molestation accusations became public, Jackson became dependent on Presley for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health and addiction to drugs.[189] Presley explained, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it."[190] She eventually persuaded him to settle the civil case out of court and go into rehabilitation to recover.[189] Jackson proposed to Presley over the telephone towards the fall of 1993, saying, "If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?"[189] They married in the Dominican Republic in secrecy, denying it for nearly two months afterwards.[191] The marriage was, in her words, "a married couple's life..... that was sexually active".[192] At the time, the tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a ploy to prop up Jackson's public image.[191] The marriage lasted less than two years and ended with an amicable divorce settlement.[193] In a 2010 interview with Oprah, Presley admitted that they spent four more years after the divorce "getting back together and breaking up", until she decided to stop.[194] 1995–99: HIStory, second marriage, and fatherhood In 1995, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division creating Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Jackson retained half-ownership of the company, earned $95 million upfront as well as the rights to even more songs.[195][196] He then released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc, HIStory Begins, was a 15-track greatest hits album, and was later reissued as Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I in 2001, while the second disc, HIStory Continues, contained 13 new songs and 2 cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for seven million shipments in the US.[197] It is the best-selling multiple-disc album of all-time, with 20 million copies (40 million units) sold worldwide.[149][198] HIStory received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year.[199] The first single released from the album was "Scream/Childhood". "Scream" was a duet, performed with Jackson's youngest sister Janet. The song fights against the media, mainly for what the media made him out to be during his 1993 child abuse allegations. The single had the highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals".[199] "You Are Not Alone" was the second single released from HIStory; it holds the Guinness World Record for the first song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[135] It was seen as a major artistic and commercial success, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance".[199] Close-up of a pale skinned Jackson with black hair. He is wearing a black jacket with white designs on it. Michael Jackson at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for the Ghosts music video premier In late 1995, Jackson was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance; the incident was caused by a stress-related panic attack.[200] "Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995; it sold a million copies, making it Jackson's most successful single in the UK.[199] The track "They Don't Care About Us" became controversial when the Anti-Defamation League and other groups criticized its allegedly antisemitic lyrics. Jackson quickly put out a revised version of the song without the offending lyrics.[201] In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.[52][202] The album was promoted with the successful HIStory World Tour. The tour began on September 7, 1996, and finished on October 15, 1997. Jackson performed 82 concerts in 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans, and grossed a total of $165 million. The show, which visited five continents and 35 countries, became Jackson's most successful in terms of audience figures.[124] During the tour, Jackson married his longtime friend Deborah Jeanne Rowe, a dermatology nurse, in an impromptu ceremony in Sydney, Australia. Rowe was approximately six months pregnant with the couple's first child at the time. Originally, Rowe and Jackson had no plans to marry, but Jackson's mother Katherine persuaded them to do so.[203] Michael Joseph Jackson Jr (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998.[193][204] The couple divorced in 1999, and Jackson got full custody of the children. The divorce was relatively amicable, but a subsequent custody suit was not settled until 2006.[205][206] In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which contained remixes of hit singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at 6 million copies, it is the best selling remix album ever released.[207] It reached number one in the UK, as did the title track.[207][208] In the US, the album was certified platinum, but only reached number 24.[146][199] Forbes placed his annual income at $35 million in 1996 and $20 million in 1997.[134] Throughout June 1999, Jackson was involved in a number of charitable events. He joined Luciano Pavarotti for a benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show was in support of the nonprofit organization War Child, and raised a million dollars for the refugees of Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia, as well as additional funds for the children of Guatemala.[209] Later that month, Jackson organized a set of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included Slash, The Scorpions, Boyz II Men, Luther Vandross, Mariah Carey, A. R. Rahman, Prabhu Deva Sundaram, Shobana, Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Red Cross and UNESCO.[210] From August 1999 through 2000, he lived in New York City at 4 East 74th Street.[211] 2000–03: Label dispute and Invincible At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s.[212] Throughout 2000 and 2001, Jackson worked in the studio with Teddy Riley and Rodney Jerkins, as well as other collaborators. These sessions would result in the album Invincible, released in October 2001. Invincible was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and it would be the last album of new material he released while still alive. The release of the album was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him sometime in the early 2000s. Once he had the licenses, he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep all the profits. However, due to various clauses in the contract, the revert date turned out to be many years away. Jackson discovered that the attorney who represented him in the deal was also representing Sony.[208] Jackson was also concerned about the fact that for a number of years, Sony had been pressuring him to sell his share in their music catalog venture. Jackson feared that Sony might have a conflict of interest, since if Jackson's career failed, he would have to sell his share of the catalog at a low price.[213] Jackson sought an early exit from his contract.[208] In September 2001, two 30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark the singer's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson appeared onstage alongside his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured performances by Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, NSYNC, Destiny's Child, Monica, Luther Vandross, and Slash, among other artists.[214] The second of the two shows took place the night before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.[215] After 9/11, Jackson helped organize the United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The concert took place on October 21, 2001, and included performances from dozens of major artists, including Jackson, who performed his song "What More Can I Give" as the finale.[213] Jackson's solo performances were omitted from the televised version of the benefit concert, although he could still be seen singing background vocals. This omission happened because of contractual issues related to the earlier 30th Anniversary concerts: those concerts were boiled down into a two-hour TV special titled Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration which debuted in November 2001. In spite of the events preceding its release, Invincible came out in October 2001 to much anticipation. Invincible proved to be a hit, debuting atop the charts in 13 countries and going on to sell approximately 13 million copies worldwide. It received double-platinum certification in the U.S.[146][149] However, the sales for Invincible were lower than those of his previous releases, due in part to a lack of promotion, no supporting world tour and the label dispute. The album also came out at a bad time for the music industry in general.[213] The album cost $30 million to record, not including promotional expenditures.[216] Invincible spawned three singles, "You Rock My World", "Cry", and "Butterflies", the latter without a music video. Jackson alleged in July 2002 that the-then Sony Music chairman Tommy Mottola was a "devil" and a "racist" who did not support his African-American artists, using them merely for his own personal gain.[213] He charged that Mottola had called his colleague Irv Gotti a "fat nigger".[217] Sony refused to renew Jackson's contract, and claimed that a $25 million promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the United States.[216] In 2002, Michael Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century.[218] In the same year, Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket") was born.[219] The mother's identity was not announced, but Jackson has said the child was the result of artificial insemination from a surrogate mother and his own sperm.[205] On November 20 of that year, Jackson brought his infant son onto the balcony of his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, as fans stood below, holding him in his right arm, with a cloth loosely draped over the baby's face. The baby was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground level, causing widespread criticism in the media. Jackson later apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake".[220] Sony released Number Ones, a compilation of Jackson's hits on CD and DVD. In the U.S., the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units.[146][221] 2003–05: Second child sexual abuse allegations and acquittal Further information: Living with Michael Jackson and People v. Jackson Jackson in Las Vegas, 2003 Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary film crew, led by British TV personality Martin Bashir, to follow him around nearly everywhere he went. Bashir's film crew was with Jackson during the "baby-dangling incident" in Berlin. The program was broadcast in March 2003 as Living with Michael Jackson. In a particularly controversial scene, Jackson was seen holding hands and discussing sleeping arrangements with a young boy.[222] As soon as the documentary aired, the Santa Barbara county attorney's office began a criminal investigation. After an initial probe from the LAPD and DCFS was conducted in February 2003, they had initially concluded that molestation allegations were "unfounded" at the time.[223] After the young boy involved in the documentary and his mother later told investigators that Jackson had been improper with the boy, Jackson was arrested in November 2003, and was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year old boy shown in the film.[222] Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted five months, until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts.[224][225][226] After the trial, in a highly publicized relocation he moved to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah.[227] Bahrain was also where the family intended to send Jackson if he was convicted (though Jackson did not know about the plan), according to a statement by Jermaine Jackson printed in The Times of London in September 2011.[228] 2006–09: Closure of Neverland, final years, and This Is It Jackson and his son Blanket in Disneyland Paris, 2006 In March 2006, the main house at the Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure.[229] There were numerous reports around that time that Jackson was having financial problems. Jackson had been delinquent on his repayments of a $270 million loan secured against his music publishing holdings, even though those holdings were reportedly making him as much as $75 million a year.[230] Bank of America sold the debt to Fortress Investments. Sony reportedly proposed a restructuring deal which would give them a future option to buy half of Jackson's stake in their jointly owned publishing company (leaving Jackson with a 25% stake).[196] Jackson agreed to a Sony-backed refinancing deal in April 2006, although the exact details were not made public.[231] Jackson did not have a recording contract in place with Sony or any other major record label at the time. In early 2006, there was an announcement that Jackson had signed a contract with a Bahrain-based startup called Two Seas Records. However, nothing ever came of that deal, and the CEO of Two Seas, Guy Holmes, later stated that the deal had never been finalized.[232][233] Throughout 2006, Sony repackaged 20 singles from the 1980s and 1990s as the Michael Jackson: Visionary series, which subsequently became a box set. Most of those singles returned to the charts as a result. In September 2006, Jackson and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe confirmed reports that they had settled their long-running child custody suit. The terms were never made public. Jackson continued to be the custodial parent of the couple's two children.[206] In October 2006, Fox News entertainment reporter Roger Friedman said that Jackson had been recording at a studio in rural Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known at the time what Jackson might be working on, or who might be paying for the sessions, since his publicist had recently issued a statement claiming that he had left Two Seas.[233][234] In November 2006, Jackson invited an Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and MSNBC broke the story that he was working on a new album, produced by will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas.[149] Jackson performed at the World Music Awards, in London on November 15, 2006, and accepted a Diamond Award for selling over 100 million records.[149][235] Jackson returned to the United States after Christmas 2006 to attend James Brown's funeral in Augusta, Georgia. He gave one of the eulogies, saying that "James Brown is my greatest inspiration."[236] In the spring of 2007, Jackson and Sony teamed up to buy yet another music publishing company: Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by Viacom. This deal gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira and Beck, among others.[237] Jackson recorded extensively during this period in New York with songwriter and producer will.i.am and also in Las Vegas with producers Akon and RedOne.[238][239] In March 2007, Jackson gave a brief interview to the Associated Press in Tokyo, where he said, "I've been in the entertainment industry since I was 6 years old, and as Charles Dickens would say, 'It's been the best of times, the worst of times.' But I would not change my career..... While some have made deliberate attempts to hurt me, I take it in stride because I have a loving family, a strong faith and wonderful friends and fans who have, and continue, to support me."[240] In March 2007, Jackson visited a U.S. Army post in Japan named Camp Zama to greet 3,000 plus U.S. troops and their families. The hosts presented Jackson with a Certificate of Appreciation for his devotion to U.S. Military troops and their families.[241] In September 2007, Jackson was reportedly still working with will.i.am, but the album was apparently never completed.[242] However, in 2008, Jackson and Sony released Thriller 25 to mark the 25th anniversary of the original Thriller. This album featured the previously unreleased song "For All Time" (an outtake from the original sessions) as well as remixes, where Jackson collaborated with younger artists who had been inspired by his work.[243] Two of the remixes were released as singles with only modest success: "The Girl Is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am) and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (with Akon). The first single was based on an early demo version, without Paul McCartney. The album itself was a hit, however.[243][244][245][246] In anticipation of Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest-hits albums called King of Pop. Slightly different versions were released in various countries, based on polls of local fans.[247] King of Pop reached the top 10 in most countries where it was issued, and also sold well as an import in other countries (such as the United States.)[248][249] An aerial view of part of Jackson's 2,800-acre (11 km2) Neverland Valley Ranch near Los Olivos, CA showing the many rides In late 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson used as collateral for loans running into many tens of millions of dollars. However, Fortress opted to sell Jackson's debts to Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, which was a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. This deal cleared Jackson's debt, and he reportedly even gained an extra $35 million from the venture. At the time of his

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