We all have gazed at the night sky to feast on the divine beauty of the universe. We've been curious about the vast expanse of the universe and its superior collection of unique planets and radiant stars.

Today, let's embark on an exciting journey of learning something new about our home in the galaxy- Our Earth and The Solar System.

EARTH:

A warm atmosphere, plenty of water (approx 71% surface coverage), and a habitable temperature make life on Earth possible. Earth isn't a perfect sphere. It bulges an extra 0.3% at the equator as it rotates on its axis at about 1,674 km/hr. It's also tilted on its axis at around 23.4 degrees, which causes our yearly cycle of seasons.

The Earth's outer core consists of hot molten iron and nickel, generating electric currents. The rotation of our planet causes a dynamo effect which creates the magnetic field around Earth, shielding us from solar radiation.

After this comes the Mantle, consisting of magma, which is hot molten rock. The outermost layer, called the Crust, has multiple regions with tectonic plates. The magma in the mantle causes these plates to move and clash, which creates earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, mountain formations, and Ocean trenches.

This process recycles carbon when microscopic organisms and plants fall in the space created by the shift in the plates. This process pulls carbon from the atmosphere and creates a fresh crust when the magma solidifies.

Because of such favourable conditions, life thrives on Planet Earth.

The Solar System:

Some 4.5 billion years ago, a dense cloud of interstellar gas and dust collapsed and formed a spinning disk of matter called a solar nebula.

Gravity pulled in more material at the center and the core got so pressurized that it combined hydrogen atoms to form helium. It released an enormous level of energy, giving birth to our Sun.

Farther out in the disk, the matter clumped together and formed larger objects. Their gravity shaped them into spheres, and that’s how our planets, asteroids, and moons were formed.

Now that we're up to pace with our history, let’s learn a cool fact about each planet in the solar system-

Mercury takes about 58.6 Earth days to complete one day!

Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system because of a toxic atmosphere of carbon dioxide and sulphuric acid clouds, which trap heat and maximize the greenhouse effect.

The rocks on Mars are mainly composed of iron, which oxidizes and turns reddish. Mars appears red when this rusty dust gets kicked up in the atmosphere

The infamous Red Spot-on Jupiter is a giant storm, even wider than the earth! It has been raging for over 300 years!

Saturn's Rings are fragments of comets, asteroids, shattered moons, and dust particles ripped apart by its gravity before entering its atmosphere.

Uranus is tilted on its axis at an angle of 97.77 degrees, which makes it spin on its side.

Neptune takes about 165 Earth years to complete one orbit around the sun!

We hope you now have a better understanding of our home in the universe. But don’t get intimidated by the universe, because the whole point of the universe is not to feel small in comparison, but to be grateful to be part of something so magnificent.

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