Earth

Earth is the only planet in the solar
system with a crust of tectonic
plates floating on top of a magma
interior. Over time, the plate
tectonics pull carbon and other
remnants of life back into the interior
of the Earth where they are
recycled. Without the plate tectonics
there would be no way to recycle
the carbon, and the Earth would
overheat and our planet would end
up hot and barren like Venus.
Seventy percent of the Earth’s
surface may be covered in water,
but the rest of the planet is
composed mainly of iron, oxygen
and silicon. The molten core of the
Earth is 88% iron, creating a giant
magnetic effect with opposite poles
at the top and bottom. The
magnetosphere field extends
thousands of miles out from the
surface where it channels the solar
winds and protects us from harmful
radiation.
The Earth’s atmosphere also extends
out thousands of miles, although
75% of the atmosphere is contained
within the first ten miles above the
planet ’s surface. At higher altitudes
the atmosphere is extremely thin
and there is less protection, free-
moving particles can escape the pull
of the earth ’s gravity and get blown
into space by solar winds.
We’ve discovered evidence of water
on Mars, and the building blocks of
life ’s proteins on Saturn’s moons.
Scientists have also seen amino
acids in nebulae in deep space, but
for now, Earth is the only planet
known to have life and we are very
lucky to be on it. Help keep the Earth
healthy and we will all have a
brighter tomorrow.