Where Life Dwells

Earth's biosphere is a band of rock (lithosphere), water (hydrosphere), and air (atmosphere) that harbors life. It is

"The place on Earth's surface where life dwells."
— Eduard Suess (1875)

Earth is the only planet so far that supports and sustains living organisms.

There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. — Carl Sagan

Earth is small planet compared to the vast cosmos where it resides. Approximately 80 minutes after sunset on Mars and about 99 million miles its home planet, NASA's Curiosity rover snapped an image of the Earth (below).

Earth in Mars' night sky.
Image from NASA's Curiosity rover, Jan. 31, 2014

"Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives." — Carl Sagan

REFERENCES

• Mars Science Laboratory, NASA.
• NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Sees 'Evening Star' Earth. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology.