SOLAR SYSTEM: ITS INFLUENCE ON PLANET EARTH.
Hello Steemians, below is a post on the influence of the solar system on our planet, EARTH.
source
The solar system is a gravitationally bound system which is comprised of the sun and the objects that orbit it, either directly or indirectly. Out of all the objects that orbit the sun directly, the largest of them all are the eight planets, with the remainder being smaller object, such as the dwarf planet and small solar system bodies.
The solar system formed about 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud and the vast majority of the system’s mass is in the sun with the majority of the remaining mass contained in the Jupiter. The Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are the four smaller inner planets and they are the Terrestrial Planets and they are composed of rocks and metals.
The four other planets are giant planets because they are more massive than the terrestrial planets. The two largest planet, Jupiter and Saturn, and they are gas giants being composed mainly of hydrogen and helium. The Uranus and Neptune are the ice giants being composed of mostly substances with relatively high melting points.
The solar system also contains smaller objects such as the asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and are mostly composed of objects like that of the terrestrial planets, rocks and metals. The solar system is located in the Orion Arm, 26,000 light-years from the center of Milky Way.
INFLUENCE OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM ON THE EARTH.
The solar system is also composed of both the inner and outer layers, the inner being made up of the Sun, Mercury, Venus and Earth, and the outer layer being made up of Mars, Asteroids and miscellaneous space debris. The position and the physical qualities and orbits of each planet affects the Earth in several measureable ways. Some of its influence on the Earth includes:
CLIMATE
Changes in the shape of the Earth over time, coupled with gravitational actions from other planets in the solar system, directly affects the climate on Earth, According to ScienceDaily. The Earth’s axial tilt has been changed by the gravitational pull of Saturn and Jupiter in particular and this has affected the way sunlight falls and therefore Earth’s Climate.
source
ORBIT
The gravity of the Sun keeps the Earth and every other planet in its orbit and if the Sun weren’t in a particular position that is perpendicular to the Earth, the Earth would travel in a straight line rather than in an elliptical orbit. If the Earth was not pulled into orbit by the Sun, it would have eventually hit another planet or object in space and be destroyed.
source
DAY AND NIGHT
The place of the Earth in the solar system as well as its speed which rotates, has created 24-hours Earth days, time zones, night and day as human beings knows it. Because of the arbitrary speed with which the Earth rotates, the human species and other living creatures on earth have developed there daily patterns during daytime and nighttime hours.
source
THANK FOR READING.
Add me up for likes