UNIVERSE
by Jonathan O’Callaghan
EARTH
by John Farndon
by John Farndon
Introduction by Christopher Lloyd 1 2 3 4
The Big Bang 4 • Galaxies 6 • The Milky Way 8 • Stars 10 • Nebulae 12 • Constellations 14 • Watching Space from Space 16 • Black Holes 18 • Exoplanets 20 • Our Solar System 22 • The Sun 24 • Planetary Exploration 26 • Rocky Planets 28 • Gas Giants 30 • Moons 32 • Asteroids 34 • Kuiper Belt 36 • Rockets 38 • Artificial Satellites 40 • Crewed Spacecraft 42 • Space Probes 44 • End of the Universe 46 • Ask the Experts! 48 • The Quiz 49
Earth is Born 52 • Earth in Space 54 • Measuring Earth 56 • Inside Earth 58 • The Earth 60 • Plate Tectonics 62 • Volcanoes 64 • Earthquakes & Tsunamis 66 • Mountains 68 • Rocks & Minerals 70 • Giant Crystals! 72 • Earth’s Riches 74 • Fossils 76 • Finding Dinosaurs 78 • Fossil Fuels 80 • Water World 82 • Earth’s Ice 84 • The Atmosphere 86 • Weather 88 • Mega-storms 90 • Climate 92 • Natural Climate Change 94 • Ask the Experts! 96 • The Quiz 97
by Michael Bright
The Origin of Life 148 • Evolution in Action 150 • Classifying Life 152 • The Micro World 154 • Plants 156 • Forests of Fungi 158• Animals 160 • Ecology 162 • The Rain Forest 164 • The Taiga & Temperate Forests 166 • Grasslands 168 • Mount Everest 170 • Deserts 172 • Life in Freshwater 174 • The Seashore 176 • Coral Reef Crisis 178 • The Open Ocean 180 • The Deep Sea 182 • Ends of the Earth 184 • Shrinking Ice 186 • Urban Wildlife 188 • Harnessing Nature 190 • Ask the Experts! 192 • The Quiz 193 2 50 98 146
The Atom 100 • Elements 102 • Radioactivity 104 • Compounds 106 • Combustion 108 • Solids, Liquids & Gases 110 • Plasma 112 • Metals 114 • Nonmetals 116 • Plastics 118 • Chemistry of Life 120 • Energy 122 • Sound 124 • Electricity 126 • Light 128 • Speed Demons 130 • Forces 132 • Gravity 134 • Pressure 136 • Lighter than Air 138 • Stretching & Squashing 140 • Simple Machines 142 • Ask the Experts! 144 • The Quiz 145
HUMANS
by Cynthia O’ Brien
Becoming Human 196 • Human Body 198 • DNA & Genetics 200 • The Brain 202 • Emotions 204 • The Senses 206 • Food & Cooking 208 • Dress & Decoration 210 • Religious Belief 212 • Conflict & War 214 • Language & Storytelling 216 • Reading & Writing 218 • Creating Art 220 • Performing Arts 222 • Calendars 224 • Money 226 • Crime & Law 228 • Education 230 • Work 232 • Games & Sports 234 • Festivals 236 • Death Rituals 238 • Ask the Experts! 240 • The Quiz 241
ANCIENT & MEDIEVAL TIMES
by Dr. Jacob Field
by Abigail Mitchell
5 6 7 8
The First Australians 244 • The Fertile Crescent 246 • Ancient Mesopotamia 248 • Stonehenge 250 • The First Chinese Dynasties 252 • Ancient Egypt 254 • Ancient Gods 256 • Andean Civilizations 258 • Settling the Pacific 260 • The Minoans, Mycenaeans & Phoenicians 262 • The Olmecs & the Maya 264 • The Persian Empire 266 • Ancient Greece 268 • Alexander the Great 270 • The Mauryan Empire 272 • The Terra-cotta Army 274 • Ancient Rome 276 • The Byzantine World 278 • Ancient African Kingdoms 280 • Tang China 282 • The Golden Age of Islam 284 • Medieval Europe 286 • Ask the Experts! 288 • The Quiz 289
African Empires 292 • The Renaissance 294 • Aztecs & Incas 296 • Age of Sea Voyages 298 • The Mughal Empire 300 • Japan’s Great Peace 302 • New Empires 304 • British & French Colonies in North America 306 • Slavery in the Americas 308 • Age of Revolutions 310 • Medical Milestones 312 • The Industrial Revolution 314 • World War I 316 • Votes for Women 318 • The Rise of Communism 320 • Boom & Bust 322 • World War II 324 • The Cold War 326 • Decolonization 328 • Civil Rights 330 • New Tensions, New Hopes 332 • World Political Map 334 • Ask the Experts! 336 • The Quiz 337
by Jonathan O’Callaghan
One World 340 • Anything, Anywhere 342 • Inequality 344 • Feeding the World 346 • Powering the Planet 348 • Modern Warfare 350 • The Mega-rich 352 • Cities 354 • The Internet 356 • The Media 358 • Artificial Materials 360 • Med Tech 362 • Smart Tech & AI 364 • Environmental Challenges 366 • Extinction Event 368 • Endangered 370 • The Effects of Climate Change 372 • Stopping Climate Change 374 • Nuclear Power 376 • Renewable Energy 378 • Cities of Tomorrow 380 • Future Humans 382 • Ask the Experts! 384 • The Quiz 385
Source Notes 386 • Glossary 394 • Index 402 • Picture Credits 414
NEBULAE
In interstellar space—the areas between the stars of a galaxy—swirling dust and gases like helium and hydrogen form clouds called nebulae. Sometimes this gas and dust simply clumps together under the force of gravity, and sometimes it is ejected by dying stars. Some of the biggest, most impressive nebulae form from exploding supernovae—an event that can lead to the creation of brand-new stars.
Star nursery
The nebula RCW 49 in the southern constellation Carina is a nursery for more than 2,200 new stars. Normally, dark dust hides the nebula, but this infrared image taken by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope picks up matter sending out infrared radiation (a type of light that we feel as heat) that can pass through dust and gas. It shows old stars (in the center) and many new stars.
EXPERT CONSULTANT:
The Pillars of Creation
One of the most famous nebulae is the Eagle Nebula, especially a section called the Pillars of Creation. About 6,500 light-years from Earth in the Serpens constellation of the Milky Way, this amazing mass of dust and gas forms pillar-shaped clouds that are five light-years long. The entire Eagle Nebula is approximately 70 light-years across.
Sotiria Fotopoulou SEE ALSO: The Big Bang, p.4–5; Galaxies, p.6–7; The Milky Way, p.8–9; Stars, p.10–11; Gas Giants, p.30–31; Solids, Liquids & Gases, p.110–11; Gravity, p.134–35
Winds from nearby stars shape the towers of gas and dust
Older stars
New stars
Different types of nebulae
Scientists classify nebulae according to their appearance and how they formed. They can be very large—a few hundred light-years across—and fantastically shaped, though planetary nebulae, which expand from the center, are often small (about two light-years across) and evenly shaped. Nebulae are broadly divided into bright and dark nebulae.
Planetary nebulae, formed from dying stars but not supernovae, are often round.
A supernova
Stars are maintained by a balance of forces—the inward force of gravity and the outward pressure of heat and gas from the inner core. When a big star runs out of fuel, it can no longer support itself and gravity wins, causing the star to collapse. When the outer shell hits the star’s core, it rebounds out again like a trampolinist. This powerful and very bright explosion is called a supernova. All the dust and gas that is thrown out into space may form a nebula, and sometimes it leaves behind a really dense object—a black hole.
A nebula cloud the size of Earth would weigh the same as a small sack of potatoes! This is because all the dust and gas in a nebula is really light. However, when the dust and gas stretch over many lightyears, there is enough mass and gravity for the nebula to collapse and form new stars.
Hydrogen atoms in an emission nebula are excited by ultraviolet light from very hot stars, giving out red light.
The Horsehead Nebula in the Orion constellation is a dark nebula, in which dense dust absorbs light.
The dust in a reflection nebula scatters the blue light from very hot stars nearby. It doesn’t produce much light itself.
Different colors indicate the chemical elements that are present in a nebula. Red indicates sulfur
FORESTS OF FUNGI
Fungi, which include yeasts, rusts, lichens, molds, and mushrooms, vary in size from microscopic to among the largest living organisms on Earth. Although they exist all around us, most remain hidden from sight because they grow mostly underground, inside food, plants and animals (including us!), and in rivers and seas. These extraordinary, mysterious organisms are essential to life as we know it: they act as decomposers that break down plants and animals, and also as mutualists that help plants and animals to survive. But they can also be parasites, feeding on other living things.
Red alert
Some fungi, such as the bright red and poisonous fly agaric, grow near tree roots. They have a mutualistic relationship with nearby trees, which means the fungi and trees help each other survive. The fungi help the tree roots gather nutrients and water in the soil through a network of underground threadlike pipes called mycelium. In return, the tree supplies the fungi with sugars.
Mushrooms like these are the “fruiting body” of some fungi. They sprout aboveground in order to release their spores into the air, enabling the fungus to reproduce
EXPERT CONSULTANT: Matthew P. Nelsen SEE ALSO: Classifying Life, p.152–53; The Micro World, p.154-55; Plants, p.156-57; Ecology, p.162-63; The Taiga & Temperate Forests, p.166–67; Environmental Challenges, p.366–67
Carpenter ant
Fungus
Zombie fungi
The parasitic fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis infects carpenter ants, controls their minds, and eventually kills them. Under the influence of the fungus, the infected ant leaves the safety of its nest and climbs up a nearby plant, clamping its jaws around it. The fungus grows inside and out of the ant’s body and anchors it to the plant, eventually sprouting a stalk out of the ant’s head. The stalk then releases spores in order to infect other ants wandering about below.
Gills produce and disperse the mushroom’s spores. Not all mushrooms have gills: some have spongey pores, branching ridges or shaggy toothlike structures that serve the same function
Note from theexpert!
MATTHEW P. NELSEN
Research scientist
Matthew P. Nelsen is fascinated by fungi and their diverse interactions with other organisms. He describes fungi as beautiful, complex, and bizarre and wants to know how their evolution influenced the world.
“ We already know of almost ten times as many species of fungi as species of birds and mammals combined. We also know that there are millions of fungal species out there yet to be documented.”
THE DEEP SEA
The ocean is the planet’s largest habitat, most of which is deep sea, yet scientists have explored only a fraction of the deepsea floor. In fact, we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the deepest ocean. The invention of new underwater vehicles called submersibles is changing all that, revealing many kinds of strange and fascinating creatures.
Sunlight zone (epipelagic), 0–650 ft (0–200 m)
Pressure 0 to 20 times that at the surface
Twilight zone (mesopelagic) 650–3,300 ft (200–1,000 m)
Pressure 20–100 times that at the surface
Dumbo octopus
Midnight zone (bathypelagic)
3,300–13,100 ft (1,000–4,000 m)
Pressure 100–400 times that at the surface
Abyssal zone (abyssopelagic)
13,100–19,700 ft (4,000–6,000 m)
Pressure 400–600 times that at the surface
This species reaches the greatest depth of any known octopus. It is 8–12 inches (20–30 cm) high and gets its name from its flaplike fins, which resemble the ears of Disney’s Dumbo.
Hadal zone (hadalpelagic)
19,700–33,000 ft (6,000–10,000 m)
Pressure 600–1,100 times that at the surface
LAYERS OF THE SEA
Scientists divide the ocean into layers according to depth, pressure, and the amount of sunlight they receive. In the deepest zone, the pressure is so great it’s as if an elephant is standing on each square inch of the ocean floor.
Snailfish
Tripod fish
The tripod fish is 12–15 inches (30–40 cm) long and stands on stilts formed by its pelvic and tail fins. It is then at the right height to catch passing prey swimming in the current.
The snailfish is 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) long. In 2023, Australian scientists filmed a snailfish 27,349 feet (8,336 meters) deep in the Pacific Ocean’s Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan. This is about as deep as any fish is able to go.
CONSULTANT: Monika Bright
Glow-in-the-dark
Many animals in the deep sea are bioluminescent—they light up in the dark. They can do this because of a chemical reaction in their bodies or in bacteria that they host. Female deep-sea angler fish, which live in the twilight and midnight zones, have a bioluminescent bacteria-filled lure on the end of a long fin spine like a fishing rod. The light attracts prey toward its tooth-filled mouth.
Only female angler fish have a lightproducing lure
The large mouth has long, sharp teeth, giving the angler fish a fierce reputation. They eat other deep-sea fish and shrimps
Angler fish can inflate their stomachs to incredible sizes. This allows them to consume prey far bigger than themselves
Deep-sea exploration
Underwater vehicles called submersibles are specially strengthened to resist high pressures at great depths. They enable scientists to observe deep-sea animals. Scientists sometimes bring creatures to the surface in cooled and pressurized tanks so that they can study them in the laboratory.
These scientists sit in a spherical capsule with views all around
Female angler fish are around 7 inches (18 cm) long. The males are much smaller at just 1 inch (2.5 cm) long
Like many deep-sea fish, the angler fish has a soft body. In some species, the male angler fish latches onto the body of the female with its teeth, and the two stay connected for the rest of their lives
Note from theexpert!
MONIKA BRIGHT Marine biologist
Monika Bright’s first encounters with the ocean were during vacations to the Mediterranean Sea as a child. Fascinated by the diversity of animals in the sea, she went on to study zoology and marine biology.
“ Only when you go down to the bottom of the ocean in a submersible do you start to understand how huge this habitat is.”
THE MEGA-RICH
A small number of people in the world have a great deal of wealth. In fact, over 45 percent of the world’s wealth is owned by just 1 percent of people on the planet. This creates great inequality. Many very rich people show off their wealth by buying fast cars, yachts, mansions, and other expensive goods, but some wealthy people use their money to help other people. This is known as “philanthropy.”
The billionaires
The world has over 3,000 billionaires—people whose personal wealth is more than $1 billion. The list of who is the richest is constantly changing due to stock market fluctuations. North America is home to more than 30 percent of billionaires. Pop sensation Taylor Swift became a billionaire in 2023 at the age of 33, partly due to the success of her global Eras Tour. She is currently worth more than $1.6 billion.
Taylor Swift is the first musician to become a billionaire thanks to her music alone. Others needed brand sponsorships and other businesses as well. She has lobbied for artists to receive a greater proportion of money from streaming services
The
Richest
People
on
Earth LISTIFIED .
Rich people earn their money in different ways. Here are the world’s ten richest people (2024).
1. Elon Musk The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is worth an estimated $265 billion.
2. Jeff Bezos The founder of the online company Amazon.com is worth more than $216 billion.
3. Larry Ellison The cofounder of the computer software firm Oracle is worth $209 billion.
4. Mark Zuckerberg The cofounder and CEO of Facebook is worth about $198 billion.
5. Bernard Arnault The owner of many fashion brands, including Louis Vuitton, is worth $172 billion.
6. Larry Page The cofounder of Google is worth $141 billion. Along with Sergey Brin, he invented the algorithm the search engine uses.
7. Warren Buffet This investor and philanthropist is said to be worth about $140 billion.
8. Sergey Brin A cofounder of Google, Brin is worth an estimated $135 billion.
9. Amancio Ortega The fast-fashion pioneer cofounded Inditex, which owns Zara and other stores. His fortune is worth $128 billion.
10. Steve Ballmer The former CEO of the computer company Microsoft is worth $122 billion.
EXPERT CONSULTANT: Silvana Tenreyro SEE ALSO: Dress & Decoration, p.210–11; Money, p.226–27; Ancient Greece, p.268–69; The Rise of Communism, p.320–21; Boom & Bust, p.322–23; Inequality, p.344–45; The Media, p.358–59; Smart
Tech & AI, p.364–65
Philanthropy
Some wealthy people give away money to good causes. For example, Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda Gates, have donated billions of dollars toward tackling poverty and improving health care, including coronavirus research. One project they are funding is an effort to rid the world of malaria. The disease is spread by mosquitoes and kills hundreds of thousands of people each year. In addition to health care, their foundation also funds education, both in the developing world and in the form of scholarships to students in the US.
Solid gold
This gold toilet with a bulletproof seat, studded with 40,000 diamonds, was on display at a trade fair in Shanghai in 2019. Buying things to show off how much money you have is called conspicuous consumption. A gold toilet, a luxury car, or a diamond-studded pet collar are all ways to display one’s status in society.
Billionaire playthings
Some people who become very rich like to buy supercars or—even more expensive—hypercars. The Bugatti La Voiture Noire, pictured here, is a hypercar. Costing $18.7 million, it is one of the most expensive cars ever built. Often such expensive cars are just a show of wealth, or bought as an investment. They won’t be driven very far.
FACTastic!
It would take 17,000 years for the average US worker to earn enough to become a billionaire. To look at it another way, many of the superrich earn the average yearly salary of $60,000 in less than a minute.
SMART TECH & AI
Smart electronic devices communicate with people and with other machines using Wi-Fi networks. We can command smart machines to perform tasks. These devices include artificial intelligence assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of machines to think, learn, and do tasks usually associated with intelligent beings such as humans.
Smart homes
A smart home has a network of devices that communicate with each other. The refrigerator could tell our smartphone that we are low on milk, or the heating system could come on when it detects from our smartphone that we are nearly home. Robot vacuums exist today; in the future, we will have more robotic helpers.
We can control appliances such as microwaves, ovens, and refrigerators via smart devices
EXPERT CONSULTANT: Yingjie Hu SEE ALSO: Earth’s Riches, p.74–75; Emotions, p.204–05; Modern Warfare, p.350–51; The Internet, p.356–57; Med Tech, p.362–63; Cities of Tomorrow, p.380–81
When we are on vacation, we can check on our houses, cars, and possessions by using cameras linked to the Internet
Today’s computers, phones, smartwatches, and tablets have built-in AI
We can remotely activate TVs, printers, and music systems via voice commands
Smart Tech TIMELINE
1990 A researcher develops a “smart toaster” that can be turned on and off over the Internet.
1999 The term Internet of Things (IoT) is used for the first time. IoT is the idea that our everyday devices can be connected to the Internet.
2000 South Korean electronics company LG invents the first “smart refrigerator.”
2008 The number of online devices on Earth exceeds the number of humans.
2009 Google starts developing one of the first commercial self-driving cars. Car manufacturers soon follow with work on their own prototypes.
2022 Release of the first version of Chat GPT, a chatbot capable of holding a conversation, answering questions, and writing texts.
2024 Globally, the number of devices connected to the Internet jumps above 30 billion.
GAME CHANGER
RANA EL KALIOUBY
Computer scientist, born 1978 USA
This Egyptian-American computer scientist is a pioneer of AI and smart technology. Her main area is artificial emotional intelligence. This is technology that detects emotions in humans by analyzing or studying their faces. As part of this work, she is creating the world’s largest emotion-recognition database. So far, her company has examined 17.4 million face videos in 90 countries.
Creativity and art
Can a computer be an artist? Artificial intelligence (AI) can now generate highly detailed images based on human prompts, like this picture of a ballerina cat on the Moon. AI “learns” by analyzing art and photographs by humans and mimicking different aspects to fit the instructions it receives.
KNOWN UNKNOWN
Could robots ever feel emotions?
AI is getting smarter and more efficient all the time, but can it feel emotions like a human being?
This is something researchers are not sure about at the moment. It would require machines to have thought processes more similar to humans, but those are difficult to create. So while a robot can beat a human at chess or a video game, it might be a while before it gets upset about losing.
Praise for the original edition
“A refreshing transparency, from the ultrasmart subtitle to the mini profiles of its experts. Visually driven, with factoids, lists, infographics, even quizzes.”
NEW YORK TIMES
“Chock full of fun and fascinating facts and brimming with explanations that get kids asking for more.”
USA TODAY
“This exciting single-volume compendium ranges across time and space, and it’s packed with pictures.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL
“A perfect bookshelf addition for curious kids… Older kids will keep coming back to this book again and again.”
FORBES
The original edition has sold more than half a million copies.
WOW!
Time flies! It’s been 15 years since illustrator extraordinaire Andy Forshaw and I founded What on Earth!—a nonfiction storytelling organization dedicated to showing how the real world is far more amazing than anything you can make up.
In that time our wonderful team has published more than 100 books for ages 0 to 16, covering everything from stories about amazing places (from Antarctica to the Galapagos) to giant timelines that unfold to reveal the whole history of everything over 13.8 billion years.
But our biggest highlight came in 2019, when we forged a partnership with the 250-year-old Encyclopaedia Britannica to create books for a new generation of readers. With these books, we are dedicated to bringing nonfiction to the forefront of a child’s desire to read for pleasure.
Our flagship title was launched just one year later. The Britannica All New Kids’ Encyclopedia has gone on to sell more than half a million copies in 26 languages. Wow!
So not only are we celebrating 15 years of wonderful storytelling at What On Earth!, but we are also incredibly proud to be launching this fabulous updated edition of our kids’ Britannica Encyclopedia, packed with even more extraordinary facts in eight chapters from the beginning of time to the present day.
We hope you will have as much fun reading it as we have had making it!
Christopher Lloyd Founder, What on Earth!
February
2025
Pub date: Sept 2nd, 2025
Price: $35.00
Size: 8.26 x 11.02 in
Format: Hardcover
Extent: 424 pages
Age: 8-12
ISBN: 9781804661505
Fully updated edition of Britannica’s landmark children’s encyclopedia, with up-to-the-minute facts, figures, and images, featuring everything from supernovas to Taylor Swift, and from ancient Egypt to artificial intelligence. Earth, Space, Animals, History, STEM: This landmark encyclopedia from Britannica has them all! With more than 400 pages of up-to-the-minute information, including the very latest facts and figures, cuttingedge expert insights, and over 1,000 illustrations, photographs, and maps, this gorgeous compendium will satisfy even the most curious minds. Unlike old encyclopedias that are structured from A to Z, this encyclopedia will take you on a journey from the beginning of time to the present day and even into the future! A hundred experts from around the world and a whole team of Britannica fact-checkers scrutinized every word and image to ensure this encyclopedia lives up to Britannica’s 250-year legacy of authoritative information you can trust, and the team at What on Earth! packed every page with fascination and surprise, too!
Selling points
• The original edition has sold over 500,000 copies. This 100% updated edition includes 10% brand-new content and 50 stunning new images. Updates include the latest moon landings, developments in artificial intelligence, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and so much more.
• 424 pages of essential information about the universe, Earth, animals, humans, history, and more, as well as over 1,000 illustrations, photographs, and maps.
• Packed full of trustworthy and authoritative information, with 100 expert consultants, as well as Britannica fact-checkers, behind every entry.
Christopher Lloyd was Technology Editor with The Sunday Times newspaper in London before becoming a bestselling author. His books for children include the What on Earth! series of Wallbooks, Humanimal and the bestselling Absolutely Everything! He is in great demand as a lecturer and public speaker. Christopher Lloyd lives in Tonbridge, UK.
Britannica Group is a global education leader with over 250 years of dedication to seeking out facts and providing insight into the mysteries of the universe. Its beloved Encyclopaedia Britannica is the world’s oldest English-language general encyclopedia, first published in 1768 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Today, Britannica continues to create innovative and engaging learning experiences through books, digital content, and educational tools. Over three thousand expert contributors have helped make Britannica what it is today, including former US presidents, professional athletes, Nobel laureates, and Pulitzer Prize winners. Britannica’s mission to inspire curiosity and the joy of learning helps build the world’s future thinkers and innovators.
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