Our Earth: The Densest planet in the Solar System
The Earth is the third planet from the Sun and also the third innermost, the most massive (of the four innermost terrestrial/rocky planets) and the largest of the four terrestrial planets. The Earth is also the densest planet but not the most massive one in the Solar System. It is also the densest planet in the Solar System. It is around 150 million kilometres (93 million miles) from the Sun and is 12,742 kilometres in diameter. It is the only place in the universe that we know of to support life. Light from the Sun takes 8.2 minutes to reach Earth.
The Earth rotates once every 23.9 hours and completes one full orbit around the Sun once every 365.25 days. It has an axial tilt of 23.4 degrees which greatly influences the seasonal cycles we experience here. The Northern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, while the Southern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun.
Our Moon is the 5th largest moon in the Solar System. It is the brightest object in the night sky and is also the nearest celestial body to Earth. It is located at a distance of about 384,000 kilometres from Earth. It is believed to have been formed when a large Mars’ sized body collided with the Earth, leaving large amounts of space debris that merged to form our Moon.
The Earth also has a magnetosphere that is generated internally. When the fast rotation of the Earth is combined with the heat generated by the Earth’s core, an electric current is generated and with it comes a Magnetic field. It stretches about 64,000 km from the surface of the Earth and is shaped like a teardrop. Our Magnetic field is one of the strongest of the planets in the Solar System. It is strong enough to deflect particles from the Solar Wind and the particles from CMEs but sometimes, some of the particles are redirected to the poles and when they collide with gases in the atmosphere, they cause beautiful aurorae.
The Earth is the only place in the Universe that we currently know of to have life in it. Multiple factors help sustain life like our protective atmosphere and our strong Magnetosphere.
