Geology is the study of the Earth, including the materials that it is made of, the physical and chemical

changes that occur on its surface and in its interior, and the history of the planet and its life forms. The Earth s radius is about 6370 kilometers Most of the Earth is composed of rocks, Rocks, in turn, are composed of minerals. Geologists study the origins, properties, and compositions of both rocks and minerals. Geologists also explore the Earth for the resources needed in our technological world: fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas; mineral resources such as metals; sand and gravel; and fertilizers. Some search for water in reservoirs beneath Earth s surface (1654 ) James Ussher claimed that the Earth was created on October 26, 4004 B.C. 1860, physicist William Thomson Kelvin calculated an age of 25 million years. Hutton observed that a certain type of rock, called sandstone (arenisca), is composed of sand grains cemented together. He also noted that rocks slowly decompose into sand, and that streams carry sand into the lowlands. He inferred that sandstone is composed of sand grains that originated by the erosion of ancient cliffs and mountains. Hutton tried to deduce how much time was required to form a thick bed of sandstone. He studied sand grains slowly breaking away from rock outcrops. The principle states that geologic change occurs over long periods of time, by a sequence of almost imperceptible events. Hutton surmised (conjeturo) that geologic processes operating today also operated in the past. The present is the key to the past. Planeta enano es el trmino creado por la Unin Astronmica Internacional (UAI) para definir a una nueva clase de cuerpos celestes, diferente de la de "planeta" y de la de "cuerpo menor del Sistema Solar" (y/o "planeta menor"). Fue introducida en la resolucin de la UAI el 24 de agosto de 2006, sobre la definicin de planeta para los cuerpos del Sistema Solar. Segn la Unin Astronmica Internacional, un planeta enano es aquel cuerpo celeste que: y y y y Est en rbita alrededor del Sol. Tiene suficiente masa para que su propia gravedad haya superado la fuerza de cuerpo rgido, de manera que adquiera un equilibrio hidrosttico (forma casi esfrica). No es un satlite de un planeta u otro cuerpo no estelar. No ha limpiado la vecindad de su rbita.

Segn estas caractersticas, la diferencia entre los planetas y los planetas enanos es que estos ltimos no han limpiado la vecindad de su rbita; esta caracterstica sugiere un origen distinto para los dos tipos de planeta. Las consecuencias ms inmediatas de esta nueva definicin fueron la prdida de Plutn del estatus de "planeta" y su renombramiento como (134340) Plutn, y el aumento de categora de Ceres, antes considerado un asteroide, y de Eris, conocido anteriormente como Xena (de manera informal) o por su denominacin provisional 2003 UB313.