Above the World

 

 

Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only celestial body known to have life. Although there is a large amount of water throughout the solar system, only Earth has liquid water on its surface. About 71% of the Earth's surface is ocean, dwarfing Earth's polar ice, lakes, and rivers. The remaining 29% of the Earth's surface is land, made up of continents and islands. The Earth's surface is made up of several slow-moving tectonic plates that work together to create mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Earth's liquid outer core forms the Earth's magnetosphere, creating a magnetic field that deflects 

The greatest threat to life on Earth may come from space

Next year, NASA will launch its most impactful space mission yet, hoped by all involved. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Darts) is designed to hit the target first. This is an attempt to deflect an asteroid to test what to do when we find a similar space rock on a collision course with our planet.

It's not news you want to hear at a time of so much trouble in the country, but the threat from near-Earth asteroids is just one of many dangers facing technology from Earth and space. I'm sorry. Explosions on the Sun can create "space weather" and destroy satellites and other electrical systems. And the growing amount of space debris is endangering the satellites .