Earth and Its Moon
Earth and Its Moon :
Earth is unique amongst the planets in our solar system. It is the only one with all the conditions needed for life to exist.
Earth is the only planet with a temperature that allows liquid water to exist. The other planets are either too close to the Sun or too far away. It is also the only planet to have an atmosphere that contains 21% oxygen which we need to breathe and 78% nitrogen. This atmosphere protects Earth from the Sun's ultraviolet rays. It also traps some of the Sun’s heat and transports liquid around the planet in the form of rain.
Earth only has one satellite - the Moon. It is about one-quarter the size of Earth and has no water, wind, air or atmosphere. The Moon is held in orbit by Earth's gravity. On Earth, we only ever see the same side of the Moon. This is because the Moon takes the same time to spin on its axis as it does to orbit the Earth.
Although the Moon only has weak gravity, it is close enough to Earth to affect our oceans. It is the Moon that causes the rise and fall of our tides.
AMAZING FACTS about Our Solar System :
The inner solar system is separated from the outer by the asteroid belt.
The solar system is port of the Milky Way galaxy which is a barred-spiral galaxy.
There were 9 planets in the Solar System until 2006 when the International Astronomical Union decided that Pluto could no longer be considered a plonet due to its size being smaller than our moon.
If all the planets were joined together, the Sun would still be more than 700 times bigger. It contains over 99% of the solar system's mass.
It takes two million years for gamma rays produced in the core of the Sun to reach its surface.
The Sun is the largest object the solar system. It is about 332 950 times more mossive than Earth.
The relationship between the Sun and the Earth drives the seasons, currents in the ocean, weather and climate.
The Sun has been burning for about five billion years and will bum for another five billion.
If you stood on Venus, the atmospheric pressure would be the same as if you were 900 metres underneath an ocean on Earth.
Much of the surface of Venus, including craters, has been covered in lava from previous eruptions.
Mercury and Venus are the only two planets in our solar system that don't have moons.
Mercury has the greatest variation in surface temperature of any planet in the solar system — can be over 600 degrees Celsius.
Because there is no wind or rain on the Moon, any footprints left by the astronauts should remain for millions of years.
It is thought that Earth was hit by a lorge object and the debris that was ejected into space joined together to form the Moon.
The official Latin name for planet Earth is Terra. It is named after the Roman goddess of fertility and growth - Terra Mater.
The Moon is the only other planet or satellite in the solar system that humans hove set foot upon.
