The magnetic field of the Earth is often portrayed as a large magnet that runs through the center of the Earth, with the magnetic poles located basically at the north and south poles of the Earth, but this is only a rough approximation. Earth’s magnetic field is generated in its core. The core of the Earth has a solid central region surrounded by a fluid outer region. This outer region undergoes convection, and its motion generates the magnetic field through what is known as a dynamo effect.
Home
The image above is a processed color image of Earth from Saturn. As Carl Sagan once wrote, “That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.” The view of Earth as a pale blue dot demonstrates the rarity of our world, and the fragility of our lives. It is easy to feel small and humbled by such a visage. But this image of our …
Water World
Venus and Earth are quite similar in many ways. The diameter of Venus is about 95% of Earth’s, its mass is about 80% of Earth’s, it has a similar geological make up, and surface gravity. Where they differ greatly is in their surface temperature. Venus has a surface temperature of over 800 degrees Fahrenheit, while Earth’s average temperature is around 57 degrees (460 C vs 14 C for you science types). They also differ in the amount of water they have. Venus has almost no water, while Earth is a watery world.
Never a Miscommunication
The Earth and Moon are slowly moving apart. The moon’s distance from the Earth is not constant, because the Moon’s orbit is not perfectly circular. Over the course of a month the moon comes as close as 363,000 km and as far as 405,000 km due to the eccentricity of its orbit. However its average distance is slowly increasing.
Twins
NASA and JPL have announced the discovery of an Earth-sized planet orbiting in the habitable zone of its star. The planet is named Kepler-186f, and is the 5th planet from its star, Kepler 186.
Flare Up
Carbon 14 is radioactive, and decays over time. It is one of the ways we can date the age of living things long after they’ve died. The reason is because carbon 14 is generated in the atmosphere when high energy particles strike nitrogen atoms in the upper atmosphere, and living thing utilize that carbon while they are alive. Once they die the carbon 14 in them isn’t replenished, so as the carbon 14 decays it over time it gives us a measure of how long an organism has been dead.
Broken World
The view of Earth from space often evokes thoughts of an Eden. That pale blue dot that cradles humanity. But our planet’s fragile beauty was born from violent collisions large and small.
And Yet It Moves
We all know the Earth moves, but how can we tell? It certainly doesn’t feel like we’re spinning around the Earth. But there is a simple experiment that can show the motion of the Earth, known as a Foucault pendulum. It’s an experiment you can do at home with a baseball, a hook screw and some string.