View of Earth
View of Earth from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer aboard the Terra satellite. NASA/JPL.

A recent research by NASA scientists has revealed and confirmed that planet Earth is not expanding, putting all previous speculations since Darwin’s time to rest.

Our study provides an independent confirmation that the solid Earth is not getting larger at present, within current measurement uncertainties, Xiaoping Wu of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was quoted as saying by Space.com.

Scientists used a cadre of space measurement tools and a new data calculation technique to determine any significant expansion of the solid Earth.

Though no statistical observation was made, a minor change in Earth’s radius was estimated.

On average, Earth’s radius changes by about 0.004 inches (0.1 millimeters) per year. That’s about the thickness of a human hair which is statistically insignificant.

“Tectonic forces such as earthquakes and volcanoes push mountains higher, while erosion and landslides wear them down. In addition, large-scale climate events such as El Nino and La Nina redistribute vast water masses among Earth's ocean, atmosphere and land.”

Even though the planet is not expanding, it is constantly changing and scientists are planning to study the scale of these changes, they said.