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THE SOLAR SYSTEM

SOL

MERCURY

VENUS

EARTH

METEORS

MOON

MARS

ASTEROIDS

JUPITER

SATURN

URANUS

NEPTUNE

PLUTO

COMETS

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Mother Earth

At the beginning of all things, Mother Earth emerged from Chaos... - Robert Graves

To the Greeks she was Gaia (guy-ya), to the Romans Terra Mater - Mother Earth. She was the First Mother. Before her there was nothing. She created herself, and then she created everything else. She was the Mother Of All Things, divine and mortal, and all gods and humans descended from Her. So say the ancient myths.

And so say, pretty much, the actual events. Earth did create itself, as all planets do, out of a swirling cloud of rocky debris, within the protoplanetary disk of a newly formed star, as depicted in the NASA rendering below. (click on image to enlarge)

Then, just as the myths purport, Mother Earth proceeded to create everything else. Organic molecules, either part of the original planetary composition, or freshly deposited by colliding asteroids or comets, were nurtured in true maternal fashion, for an unimaginable length of time, until they evolved into living cells, and ultimately grew into plants, animals, and Humans. Humans who are just starting to take their first tentative steps out of the nest, and into space.

But where will we go? Yes, there are certainly other Earth-like planets out there in space somewhere that might make suitable homes. The sheer number of available stars makes this a mathematical certainty. Unfortunately, it is also a mathematical certainty that we cannot get to any of these other planets. They are simply much too far away. With present technology, it would take 50,000 years just to reach the next closest star system, and most likely we would have to travel many times farther than that to find a planet that would be suitable for human life. So for now, and for a very, very long time to come, Earth is the only home we have.

So we had better look after her, because like all mothers, she is subject to certain frailties, and if we lose her, we have nowhere else to go.

The above photo was captured on December 7, 1972, by the crew of Apollo 17, looking back at Earth, on their way to the Moon.
They would be the last humans to walk on the Moon.

Spaceship Earth

We are all space travelers, flying through space at a speed of 67,000 mph aboard Spaceship Earth. And as our spaceship orbits the Sun, the Sun itself is flying through space at 450,000 mph, and of course, taking us with it. And if you consider the Milky Way galaxy in which we reside is also flying through space at well over a million mph, our Spaceship Earth is in fact covering a huge amount of territory.

It is a large spaceship, 7,900 miles in diameter, but the living quarters comprise only a tiny fraction of its overall size. The ground we stand on is a thin crust that extends only a few miles below our feet. And this crust is not one solid piece, but broken up into several separate pieces known as tectonic plates. These plates are not fixed in place, but floating on a deep ocean of molten rock, known as magma. For underneath its thin, fragile crust, our Earth is liquid. It is a maelstrom of hot molten rock, becoming hotter and hotter the deeper it goes. This first layer of liquid rock is called the mantle, and is 1,800 miles thick. By the time it reaches the Earth's outer core, the molten rock is the same temperature as the surface of the Sun. And then it gets hotter still. At the center of our planet the pressure is so great, that even with the extreme heat, Earth's inner core is compressed into a solid ball of iron almost as big as the Moon. Diagram below provided by NASA.

The giant, spinning iron core as large as the Moon and as hot as the Sun is the engine that powers Spaceship Earth. It creates enormous plumes of molten rock that boil up to the surface, roll off the bottom of the crust, and fall back down towards the core again. This is a continuous cyclic phenomenon that occurs all over the planet. If the superheated molten rock finds a weak spot in the crust, it bursts out, and a volcano forms. Sometimes the energy of the magma disturbs the fragile crust, causing it to tremble and move, especially where the tectonic plates meet, and earthquakes and tsunamis are born.

The engine room of spaceship Earth is a very violent, scary place, and it is a sobering thought that we are separated from these extreme conditions by such a thin, fragile membrane of a crust. Should the forces within our planet ever escape through the crust in any significant way, all life on the planet would be doomed. And it's already happening, on the floor of the ocean, where magma is pouring through huge cracks in the crust. Fortunately, the weight of the ocean, miles deep, keeps the magma at bay.

The spinning engine core of Spaceship Earth also serves another purpose, absolutely critical to the survival of the delicate little life forms trying to survive on top of the crust. It creates an electromagnetic energy field that very effectively deflects the lethal radiation eminating from the Sun. Without this magnetic field, life on Earth would not be possible. In the NASA diagram below, you can see how some of the solar radiation is able to sneak in at the poles, where the magnetic field is the weakest. The solar radiation appears in the sky as shimmering waves of color known in the north as the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, and in the south as the Aurora Australis.

Last, but far from least, Spaceship Earth provides its passengers with a breathable atmosphere. Although it is 78% nitrogen, it also contains just enough oxygen (21%) for Earth's oxygen dependent lifeforms to thrive. It also filters out any harmful solar radiation that makes it past the magnetic shield. If there were no atmosphere, there would be no life. This atmosphere is very thin however, and delicately balanced, so it is crucial to our survival that we don't allow pollutants to upset that balance, and diminish its ability to protect us and sustain us. The photo below was captured by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on Dec. 11, 1990, on its way to explore the planet Jupiter. At a distance of 1.3 million miles, it looked back at Earth. Can you see the atmosphere? That's how thin it is. That's how vulnerable it is.

The Seasons

The reason we experience seasons is because Earth is tilted sideways, 23.5 degrees. If Earth were straight up and down, like the planet Mercury, we would have no seasons. Weather would become minimal, and predictable. Every day would be the same. But because different parts of Earth are pointed towards the Sun at different times of the year, we experience dynamic unpredictable weather, and four distinct seasons.

In modern times, when we live in self contained shelters with artificial heat and light, the seasons have lost much of their significance, but in ancient times, the seasons literally controlled our lives, and the four days each year that marked the turning points of the seasons were observed with great ceremony and reverence all over the world..

Autumnal Equinox

For early Humans living in the Northern Hemisphere, the Autumnal Equinox was a very important day. For the previous three months, they had been watching the long days of summer gradually diminish, until at the moment of the Equinox, the days and nights were of equal length (equinox is Latin for equal nights). This was a crucial turning point in their lives. From this day on their world would slowly darken and grow colder as the days continued to shorten. It was a time to harvest and hunt, to prepare for the hard months ahead.

In Chichin Itza, Mexico, the ancient Mayans built an enormous temple pyramid to commemorate the occasion. It was constructed with tiered corners precisely aligned so that on the day of the Equinox the light of the setting sun projected a series of triangles running down the steps on the face of the pyramid and culminating in a ten foot tall snake head at the bottom. The snake was the great god Kukulkan, the plumed serpent. To this day, thousands of pilgrims from all over the world travel to the site to witness this extraordinary event.

Winter Solstice

For the next three months, our ancient ancestors huddled together, shivering, as temperatures plunged, and the darkness deepened, and fear gripped their hearts. Knowing nothing of orbital mechanics, they imagined larger than life gods were taking the Sun away, and they did everything they could to please these gods, and convince them to bring the Sun back. And sure enough, on the day of the Winter Solstice, the Sun stopped moving away (solstice is Latin for the standing still of the sun), and began to come back north again. It was truly a magical moment, and naturally, cause for unprecedented celebration. Time for more rituals and sacrifices. Time for unbridled revelry. Revelry that evolved through the ages and ultimately climaxed with the Romans - the original party animals - and their observance of the festival of Saturnalia - the ultimate party.

Saturnalia was centered about the Roman god of time, Saturn. The festival began with the loosening of symbolic woolen bonds around the feet of the statue of Saturn in the great temple of Saturn. Then the week long party began. To honour Saturn, who was also the god of agriculture, trees were decorated, and homes were festooned with greenery, especially holly boughs.

Presents were exchanged. It was a time when all were considered equal, slaves and masters, children and adults. Roles were often reversed, with parents and masters doing the bidding of children and slaves. Clothing was optional during Saturnalia, and small peaked caps normally only worn by freed slaves, were worn by everyone. Groups of carollers, clad only in the small caps, were a common sight, and the air was filled with people shouting the festive greeting Io, Saturnalia! (pronounced Yo, Saturnalia!)

The atmosphere surrounding Saturnalia is described in an excerpt from a letter written by a famous Roman:

Early Christians were horrified by the debauchery of it all, but eventually decided if you can't beat them, join them, and made Saturnalia into a celebration of the birth of Christ. Although the name of the honored diety may have changed, most of the ancient rituals such as gift giving and the decoration of trees survive to this day. The festive greeting, Io Saturnalia, was changed to the familiar Merry Christmas.

Gradually over the next three months, the chill began to leave the air, and the days slowly began to lengthen again, until on the day of the Vernal (spring) Equinox the days and nights were equal once again. In the jungles of Mexico Kukulkan once again slithers down the steps of the temple, and all the peoples of the northern hemisphere celebrated the first day of Spring. To astrologers, it was the first point in Aries, and the start of the astrological calendar.

For the next three months Earth bristled with new life. Temperatures warmed and earth turned green as both wild and cultivated crops burst from the soil. It was a time of hope and rebirth that culminated with the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year as the sun once again appeared to stand still in the sky and prepare to start moving away south again. It was a time of abundance. It was also a time of magic, when spirits came out of hiding. Huge bonfires were lit to keep evil spirits at bay, while certain plants became endowed with miraculous healing properties - on that night only - and were quickly harvested.

It was a propitious time for lovers, and a time for unions, and marriage. It was a time of gaiety, and celebration. As the Sun stood still, the world stood still with it, and Humans marked the moment with ceremony and purpose. The ancient Stonehenge has been a traditional setting for these celebrations for thousands of years. The famous 16 foot high heelstone in the entrance of the henge marking the precise spot the sun rises on the morning of the Summer solstice. The evening of the solstice is known as Midsummer's Eve.

Midsummer's Eve at Stonehenge - Anhand von Zeichn - 1901

Earthrise on the Moon, December, 1968, the first view of Earth from another planet.
Captured by the crew of Apollo 8 as they orbited the Moon - the first humans to do so.

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