Interesting facts Interesting facts about the atmosphere Gravity holds the atmosphere close to the Earth.

. It is divided into various layers according to differences in temperature: The Troposphere: o We live in the Troposphere o It contains more than 75% of the atmosphere The Stratosphere: o Most of the clouds and rain are in this layer o It extends up to 48km above the earth! The ozone layer is between the Stratosphere and Mesosphere The Mesosphere: o This layer extends to 80km above the Earth! The Thermosphere o Here the air is very thin o Over 99.99% of the atmosphere lies below this layer o It is comprised of: The Ionosphere: Reflects radiowaves back to Earth so signals can be sent around the world The Exosphere: This layer begins at ~480km above the Earth and fades away into space

Did you know...The mixture of gases in the atmosphere has taken over 4.5 billion years to evolve? About 99% of the atmosphere is made up of oxygen and nitrogen. The remainder is made up of argon, carbon dioxide and very small amounts of hydrogen, ozone, methane, carbon monoxide, helium, neon, krypton and xenon.

Interesting facts about space

Any free-moving liquid in outer space will form itself into a sphere, because of its surface tension. Mercury, Venus, earth and Mars are called the inner planets as they are closest to the sun! December 21st 1968, was the first time that humans truly left Earth, when Apollo 8 became the first manned space vehicle to leave Earth orbit and to orbit the Moon. Olympus Mons, a volcano found on Mars, is the largest volcano found in solar system. It is 370 miles (595 km) across and rises 15 miles (24 km). We know more about space than we do about our deep oceans! The space age began on the 4th October 1957. If you attempted to count all the stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3,000 years to count them all. The one and only satellite that Britain has launched was called Black Arrow. The odds of being killed by space debris - 1 in 5 billion. The Earth's revolution time increases .0001 seconds annually. Driving at 75 miles (121 km) per hour, it would take 258 days to drive around one of Saturn's rings. Astronaut Neil Armstrong (the first man on the moon) first stepped on the moon with his left foot. "Moon" was Buzz Aldrin's (second man on the moon) mother's maiden name. The first conventional use for rockets was rocket mail and catching whales and deer. The only married couple to fly together in space were Jan Davis and Mark Lee, who flew aboard the Endeavour space shuttle from September 12-20, 1992. The first millennium, 1 - 1000 AD, consisted of 365,250 days. Our current millennium, 1001 2000 AD, will consist of 365,237 days. The third millennium, 2001 - 3000 AD, will consist of 365,242 days. The reason for the differences is the calendar system that was in use during the milleniums. If you shouted in space even if someone was right next to you they wouldn't be able to hear you. Feb 1865 and Feb 1999 are the only months in recorded history not to have a full moon. The first man-made satellite in space was called sputnik. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. Just 20 seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the moon. The first woman in space was a Russian called Valentina Tereshkova. One Day on the planet Pluto is about the length of a week on Earth.

EARTH FACTS

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and is the largest of the terrestrial planets. Unlike the other planets in the solar system that are named after classic deities the Earths name comes from the Anglo-Saxon worderda which means ground or soil. The Earth was formed approximately 4.54 billion years ago and is the only known planet to support life. Planet Profile Circumference at Equator : 40,030.2 km Mass : 5,972,190,000,000,000 billion kg

Average Distance from Sun : 149,598,262 km (1 AU) Known Satellites Notable Satellites Length of Orbit Surface Temperature :1 : The Moon : 365.26 Earth days : -88 to 58C

MOON FACTS

The Moon is the Earths only natural satellite and was formed 4.6 billion years ago around some 3050 million years after the formation of the solar system. The Moon is in synchronous rotation with Earth meaning the same side is always facing the Earth. The first unmanned mission to the Moon was in 1959 by the Soviet Lunar Program with the first manned landing being Apollo 11 in 1969. Moon Profile Circumference at Equator Diameter Mass Average Distance from Earth Length of Orbit Surface Temperature : 10,917.0 km : 3,475 km : 73,476,730,924,573,500 million kg : 384,400 km : 27.3 Earth days : -233 to 123 C

Facts About The Moon

1. The Moon is moving away from the Earth by approximately 3.8cm a year 2. The last manned mission to the Moon was Apollo 17 in 1972 since then it has only be visited by unmanned vehicles 3. The Moon is the fifth largest satellite in the solar system 4. The Moons diameter is a quarter of the Earths (3,475 km compared to 12,742 km) 5. The dark side of the moon is a myth, in reality both sides of the Moon see the same amount of Sun however only one side is ever visible from the Earth. 6. The Moons gravity is a major factor in the cause of the Earths tides. 7. The most commonly accepted hypothesis is the Moon was formed by an impact of a Mars sized object with a young Earth. 8. In 1985 during the Cold War the USA considered detonating a nuclear bomb on the Moon.

SUN FACTS

The Sun or Sol, is the star at the centre of our solar system and is responsible for the Earths climate and weather. The Sun is an almost perfect sphere with a difference of just 10km in diameter between the poles and the equator. The average radius of the Sun is 695,508 km (109.2 x that of the Earth) of which 2025% is the core.

Star Profile Age Type Diameter : 4.6 Billion Years : Yellow Dwarf (G2V) : 1,392,684 km

Circumference at Equator : 4,370,005.6 km Mass Surface Temperature : 1,989,100,000,000,000,000,000 billion kg : 5500 C

Size Of The Sun

Facts About The Sun

1. It takes the Sun 225250 million years to orbit the centre of the Milky Way 2. The Sun makes up 99.86% of the mass of the Solar System 3. The Earth could fit inside the Sun approximately 1 million times 4. At its core the Sun has a temperatures of 15 million C 5. It is composed of 92.1% Hydrogen and 7.8% Helium 6. The Sun is 24,000 26,000 light-years from the galactic centre 7. The Sun is currently a type of star known as a Yellow Dwarf 8. In approximately 6.4 billion years the Sun will become a Red Giant, expanding to the point that it will engulf Mercury and Venus 9. After becoming a Red Giant eventually the Sun will begin to cool and will finally become a White Dwarf 10. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is called an Astronomical Unit (AU)