General things about the earth for astronomy

1. There’s no place like home.

2. Crust
Core Mantle
Lithosphere
Lithosphere: Upper mantle and crust
Core: Solid inner, liquid outer, hot, made of iron and nickel
Mantle: lower is partially melted, upper is rigid
Crust: Rigid with lots of silicates

3. Plate Tetonics: explains continental drift. These
plates drift about 3 cm per year.
Explains how mountain ranges form as one plate
is shoved under another.

4. Plaque on Lageos I
and Lageos II
satellites from Italy.
Early earth
(270 millions years ago)
Present day
8 million years
in the future.

5. Tides: Moon is mostly responsible.
High tides and low tides depend on
the distance away the moon is.

6. C B A
Water at point A is pulled toward the moon.
Earth at point C is pulled away from the water.
So water collects at A and C (high tides)
Water is depleted at B (low tides)

7. The envelope of gas surrounding the Earth is divided into four distinct layers
by thermal characteristics (temperature changes), chemical composition,
movement, and density. The troposphere starts at the Earth's surface and
extends to about 15 kilometers (9 miles) high. The stratosphere starts just
above the troposphere and extends to 50 kilometers (31 miles) high. The
mesosphere starts just above the stratosphere and extends to 85 kilometers
(53 miles) high. The thermosphere starts just above the mesosphere and
extends to 600 kilometers (375 miles) high.

8. Troposphere: Closest to surface. About
9 miles high; made mostly of Nitrogen,
Oxygen, and Carbon Dioxide
Stratosphere: Above Troposphere, about
31 miles high; made of the Ozone layer
Mesosphere: Just above stratosphere,
about 53 miles high; Made of OH, Oxygen,
and Nitrate.
Thermosphere: Just above mesosphere,
about 373 miles high. Made pretty much
of Oxygen atoms.

9. A note about OZONE (O3)
Ozone is an atomospheric filter. It
protects us from harmful UV rays.
Holes in the ozone are caused by
sunlight interacting with pollutant
gases.
Antarctica hole has somewhat
stabilized. But the Arctic is still a
worry.

10. Arctic Circle
Antarctica

11. Greenhouse effect: Not to be confused
with the holes in the Ozone.
The greenhouse effect is caused by
CO2 trapping sunlight and causing a
warming effect.
But, global warming causes
more storms which causes
more water in the
atmosphere which leads to
more reactions
that destroy the Ozone.

12. Van Allen Belts:
Not a new
fashion designer
In 1958 the first American satellite was
launched and it detected a region filled with
charged particles having high energies. Two of
these surround the earth like doughnuts.
They are called Van Allen Belts after the
scientist directing the project.
They are kept there because of the earth’s
magnetic field.

13. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04
/15/iceland-northern-lights-w_
n_5146263.html
http://vimeo.com/90707024
Any planet with a magnetic field will have
regions of charged particles.