Earth-Sun Relationship’s
Monday, June 15, 2026 11:37 AM
The Earth in Space
- The universe is made up of mostly empty space, but includes billions of galaxies &
billions of stars within each galaxy
- The Milky Way Galaxy is one of billions, within it lies the solar system:
○ the sun, a star & the 9 planets (including their moons, asteroids & comets) that orbit
around the sun due to the sun's gravitational pull
- To put the vastness of the universe into perspective, there are billions of stars in each
galaxy (200 billion in the Milky Way!)
- The sun is just one star in the Milky Way Galaxy & the nearest star to the sun is Proxima
Centauri
○ It lies at a distance of about 4.3 light-years or about 25,300,000,000,000 miles
○ A car traveling at the speed of 60 mph would take more than 48 million years to
reach the closest star!
- Most scientists believe the universe was formed during an event called the Big Bang
○ A giant explosion that happened between 10- 20 billion years ago
- During the Big Bang all of the space, time, matter and energy in the universe was
created, this giant explosion sent matter in all directions causing the universe to
expand. As the cloud collapsed, it started to spin, dust & gasses collected to form the
planets & they continued this spinning motion
- This is the same physical phenomenon you see when skaters pull in their arms and spin
faster. As material gathered in more closely to form a planet, like Earth, the material
spun faster & the Earth continues spinning bc there are no forces acting to stop it
Earth’s Size & Shape
- All planets are somewhat round because of gravity, when our solar system was forming,
gravity gathered billions of pieces of gas & dust into clumps that grew larger & larger to
become the planets
- The force of the collision of the pieces caused newly forming planets to become hot &
molten. The force of gravity, pulled this molten material inwards towards the planet's
center into the shape of a sphere
- Later, when the planets cooled, they stayed spherical, planets are not perfectly spherical
because they also spin & the outward spinning force (aka centrifugal force) causes the
planets to bulge outward at their centers
- The earth bulges at the equator & is flattened at the poles. Its shape is not a perfect
sphere, but an “oblate spheroid.” When slicing through the center of the earth, the
diameter of the earth from the north pole to the south pole measures 7900
miles. However, when slicing through the center of the earth, through the equator, the
earth’s diameter measures 7927 miles.
HIGHEST AND LOWEST POINTS
- The highest point on earth is Mt. Everest, in the Himalayas in Nepal. It measures 29,028
feet above sea level
- The lowest point on earth is the Mariana Trench, on the ocean floor off the
Philippines. It measures 35,810 feet below sea level.
Monday, June 15, 2026 11:37 AM
The Earth in Space
- The universe is made up of mostly empty space, but includes billions of galaxies &
billions of stars within each galaxy
- The Milky Way Galaxy is one of billions, within it lies the solar system:
○ the sun, a star & the 9 planets (including their moons, asteroids & comets) that orbit
around the sun due to the sun's gravitational pull
- To put the vastness of the universe into perspective, there are billions of stars in each
galaxy (200 billion in the Milky Way!)
- The sun is just one star in the Milky Way Galaxy & the nearest star to the sun is Proxima
Centauri
○ It lies at a distance of about 4.3 light-years or about 25,300,000,000,000 miles
○ A car traveling at the speed of 60 mph would take more than 48 million years to
reach the closest star!
- Most scientists believe the universe was formed during an event called the Big Bang
○ A giant explosion that happened between 10- 20 billion years ago
- During the Big Bang all of the space, time, matter and energy in the universe was
created, this giant explosion sent matter in all directions causing the universe to
expand. As the cloud collapsed, it started to spin, dust & gasses collected to form the
planets & they continued this spinning motion
- This is the same physical phenomenon you see when skaters pull in their arms and spin
faster. As material gathered in more closely to form a planet, like Earth, the material
spun faster & the Earth continues spinning bc there are no forces acting to stop it
Earth’s Size & Shape
- All planets are somewhat round because of gravity, when our solar system was forming,
gravity gathered billions of pieces of gas & dust into clumps that grew larger & larger to
become the planets
- The force of the collision of the pieces caused newly forming planets to become hot &
molten. The force of gravity, pulled this molten material inwards towards the planet's
center into the shape of a sphere
- Later, when the planets cooled, they stayed spherical, planets are not perfectly spherical
because they also spin & the outward spinning force (aka centrifugal force) causes the
planets to bulge outward at their centers
- The earth bulges at the equator & is flattened at the poles. Its shape is not a perfect
sphere, but an “oblate spheroid.” When slicing through the center of the earth, the
diameter of the earth from the north pole to the south pole measures 7900
miles. However, when slicing through the center of the earth, through the equator, the
earth’s diameter measures 7927 miles.
HIGHEST AND LOWEST POINTS
- The highest point on earth is Mt. Everest, in the Himalayas in Nepal. It measures 29,028
feet above sea level
- The lowest point on earth is the Mariana Trench, on the ocean floor off the
Philippines. It measures 35,810 feet below sea level.
