Structure of the earth

The earth is the third planet away from the sun and it’s the only planet in the solar system that is known to
support life. Earth on the outside view might seem like a perfect cueball but, in fact, it resembles a Ferrero
Rocher (a chocolate ball with layered insides). The earth is made up of 4 layers:
 The crust
 The mantle
 The outer core
 The inner core

Images 1& 2: illustrations of the layers of the earth

1. The crust: Earth’s outer surface is its crust; a cold, thin, brittle outer shell made of rock. The crust is very
thin, relative to the radius of the planet. It is part of the lithosphere, which is the crust and the upper part
of the mantle. There are two very different types of crust, each with its own distinctive physical and
chemical properties. Firstly, the Oceanic crust, which is composed of magma that erupts on the seafloor
and sediments that coat the floor. Secondly, the Continental crust, which is made up of many different
types of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is considered the crust that supports the
continents and all visible land.
2. The mantle: The mantle is the mostly solid bulk of Earth's interior. The mantle lies between Earth's
dense, super-heated core and its thin outer layer, the crust. The mantle is about 2,900 kilometers (1,802
miles) thick and makes up 84% of Earth’s total volume. It is found in the lower part of the lithosphere
and the asthenosphere, which is the molten earth’s layer.
3. The outer core: This part of the core is also made from iron and nickel, just in liquid form. It sits some
5,180 to 2,880 kilometers (3,220 to 1,790 miles) below the surface. Heated largely by the radioactive
decay and this liquid churns in huge, turbulent currents. That motion generates electrical currents. They,
in turn, generate Earth’s magnetic field.
4. The inner core: This solid metal ball has a radius of 1,220 kilometers (758 miles), or about three-
quarters that of the moon. It’s located some 6,400 to 5,180 kilometers (4,000 to 3,220 miles) beneath
Earth’s surface. It is extremely dense, and it’s made mostly of iron and nickel. The inner core spins a bit
faster than the rest of the planet. It’s also intensely hot where temperatures are at 5,400° Celsius which is
comparable to the surface of the sun. The pressure is also greater at the inner core.
 Structure of the solar system
A solar system is made up of a star and all the objects that orbit it—planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and
meteoroids. Most stars host their own planets, so there are likely tens of billions of other solar systems in the
Milky Way galaxy alone. Solar systems can also have more than one star. These are called binary-star systems,
if there are two stars, or multi-star systems, if there are three or more stars. The solar system we call home is in
an outer spiral arm of the vast Milky Way galaxy. It consists of the Sun (our star) and everything that orbits
around it. This includes the eight planets and their natural satellites (such as our moon), dwarf planets and their
satellites, as well as asteroids, comets, and countless particles of smaller debris. Our solar system is made up of
eight celestial bodies and one medium sized star, called the sun:
 Mercury
 Venus
 Earth
 Mars
 Jupiter
 Saturn
 Uranus
 Neptune

Image 3: illustration of the structure of the solar system

 Movement of the planets and the moon
The planets are not evenly spaced but are in three groups: the inner planets, Mercury, Venus, the Earth and
Mars; the gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn; the ice giants, Uranus, and Neptune.

Planets have two types of movement: rotation and revolution.

1. Rotation is the movement caused when a planet rotates on its axis; for example, the Earth rotates from
west to east on its axis.
2. Revolution is the movement when a planet revolves around the Sun in a fixed path. The path of
revolution of each planet is either egg-shaped or elliptical; this path is known as an orbit.

The moon is considered a natural satellite. A natural satellite is any celestial body in space that orbits around a
larger body. Moons are called natural satellites because they orbit planets. Most of the planets have moons for
example: Jupiter has about 95 moons whereas earth only has one. The moon (Luna) moves in an elliptical
fashion around the earth, which is called its orbit and in earth’s case, it usually takes 28 days for the moon to
complete one orbit.

Image 4: illustration of the movement of earth and the moon

 Seasons on the earth
A season is a period of the year that is distinguished by special climate. The four seasons—spring, summer, fall,
and winter—follow one another regularly. Each has its own light, temperature, and weather patterns that repeat
yearly. However, one might think that the closer the earth moves to the sun, the closer summer approaches. This
is incorrect.
Earth's tilted axis causes the seasons. Throughout the year, different parts of Earth receive the Sun's most direct
rays. So, when the North Pole tilts toward the Sun, it's summer in the Northern Hemisphere and when the South
Pole tilts toward the Sun, it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

Image 5: illustration of how the seasons occur on the earth.

 Phases of the moon
The phases of the Moon are caused by the changing positions of the Moon, Earth, and the Sun. As the Moon
goes around the Earth, different parts of it are illuminated by the Sun. But because the same side of the Moon
always points toward Earth, most of the time some of the illuminated part (daytime on the Moon) faces away
from us; and some of the non-illuminated part (nighttime on the Moon) faces toward us. This creates the
different phases of the Moon. The main moon phases are:
 New moon  Waxing gibbous  Third quarter
 Waxing crescent  Full moon  Waning crescent
 First quarter  Waning gibbous

Image 6: illustration showing phases of the moon.

1. New moon: This is when the Moon can’t be seen easily at all, because the part that is illuminated by the
Sun is on the side of the Moon pointing away from Earth. This phase happens when the Moon is between
the Sun and Earth.
2. Waxing crescent: As it moves in its orbit, a small sliver of the Moon becomes visible. It takes a crescent
shape because of the Moon’s roundness; only the edge of the part that’s illuminated by the Sun is seen,
and that edge is on a round object, so it appears curved.
3. First quarter: This is when half of the Moon’s illuminated surface is visible from Earth. This is the
equivalent of saying we are seeing one-quarter of the total Moon’s surface illuminated.
4. Waxing gibbous: When more than half of the Moon’s surface visible from Earth is illuminated, it is
called a Gibbous Moon.
5. Full moon: When the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun, the entire near-side of the
Moon is illuminated.
6. Waning gibbous: After the full Moon, the illuminated portion of the Moon visible from Earth begins to
wane or decrease in size. During the waning gibbous phase, the Moon’s surface visible from Earth is still
mostly illuminated.
7. Third quarter: This is when half of the Moon’s illuminated surface is visible from Earth. The
illuminated part is the half of the near side of the Moon that was not illuminated at first quarter.
8. Waning crescent: The final phase of the Moon is the waning crescent, which happens when only a small
sliver of the Moon is visible (on the far side of the Moon’s visible surface, compared to the waxing
crescent) before it disappears into the new Moon phase once again.
 Tides and the moon
The Moon and Earth exert a gravitational pull on each other. On Earth, the Moon’s gravitational pull causes the
oceans to bulge out on both the side closest to the Moon and the side farthest from the Moon. These bulges
create high tides. The low points are where low tides occur. The Moon’s gravitational pull on Earth causes
Earth’s water to be redistributed, ultimately creating bulges of water on the side closest to the Moon and the side
farthest from the Moon.
Types of tides:
 Spring tides: Spring tides are formed when the sun and the moon are in line with each other and pull the
ocean surface in the same direction. This leads to higher high tides and lowers low tides, and such tide is
called a spring tide. These occur in full or new moon days. In both new moon and full moon days, the
sun’s gravitational pull is added to the moon’s gravitational pull on Earth, causing the oceans to bulge a
bit more than usual. This results in ‘higher’ high tides and ‘lower’ low tides.
 Neap tides: This occurs seven days after the spring tide. The prominent point is that the sun and the
moon are at the right angle to each other. This tide occurs during the first and the last quarter of the
moon. The gravitational pull of the moon and the resulting oceanic bulge is cancelled out by the
gravitational pull of the sun and its resulting oceanic bulge. Also, in contrast to spring tides, the high
tides are ‘lower’ and the low tides are comparatively ‘higher’ in neap tides.

Image 7: illustration of tides affected by the moon.

 Eclipses of the sun and moon
An eclipse occurs when one heavenly body ( any natural object in space or visible in the sky) such as a moon or
planet moves into the shadow of another heavenly body.
There are two types of eclipses:
 Lunar eclipse: The Moon moves in an orbit around Earth. At the same time, Earth orbits the Sun.
Sometimes Earth moves between the Sun and the Moon. When this happens, Earth blocks the sunlight
that normally is reflected by the Moon. (This sunlight is what causes the Moon to shine.) Instead of light
hitting the Moon's surface, Earth's shadow falls on the Moon. This is an eclipse of the Moon, or a lunar
eclipse. A lunar eclipse can occur only when the Moon is full.

Images 8 & 9: illustrations of a lunar eclipse

 Solar eclipse: Sometimes when the Moon orbits Earth, the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth.
When this happens, the Moon blocks the light of the Sun from reaching Earth. This causes an eclipse of
the Sun, or a solar eclipse. During a solar eclipse, the Moon casts a shadow onto Earth.

Images 10 & 11: illustrations of a solar eclipse

Satellites and space travel

A satellite is a moon, planet or machine that orbits a planet or star. There are two main types of satellites:
 Natural satellites: This is a heavenly body that has not been altered or utilized by man. Examples are:
the moon is a satellite to earth; and the earth is a satellite to the sun.

Image 12: illustration of earth’s natural satellite, the moon.

 Man-made satellites: These are machines engineered by man for exploration, communication,
monitoring and collection of data outside of the earth. Examples are: Sputnik 1,2,3; Vanguard 1; and
Explorer 11.

Image 13: illustration of a man-made satellite

Space travel
This is the voyage of moving outside of the earth’s atmosphere. It is immensely difficult and expensive to
undertake. Although, there were a few landings on the moon, that is still the furthest that any human was able to
travel. Space exploration, however, is more likely. Space exploration is the ongoing discovery and exploration
of celestial structures in outer space by means of continuously evolving and growing space technology. So far,
Jupiter’s red spot was discovered and Pluto’s status as a planet was receeded.