✨Special Fun Facts:✨ The Earth 🌏

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Speaker 1: You're listening to sleep Tight Science. Did you know that our planet zips around the Sun at about one hundred and seven thousand, eight hundred and twenty six kilometers per hour. What that's super fast. So next time you feel like you are just sitting still, remember you are actually speeding through space at an incredible pace a board planet Earth. Hello, friends, and welcome back to sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers your questions about science. In this special episode, we are going to combine all the information we gather into one of our favorite formats, lists of Facts. We love these bite sized pieces of information because they are fun, can be easy to remember, and lead to more questions. You may find you will impress your family and friends with all kinds of fun science facts. So let's get started. Did you know our beautiful planet Earth is often called the blue Marble when you look at it from space. It's easy to see why. Covered mostly by water, Earth shines like a blue ball against the backdrop of the vast universe. But there's a whole lot more to our planet than just its blue appearance. Let's look at some amazing facts about Earth, our blue Marble. About seventy one percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water, which is why it looks blue from space. This vast amount of water is home to an incredible variety of life. Earth is the only known planet in the universe that supports life. Its perfect distance from the Sun and unique atmosphere make it the ideal home for millions of species. The Earth's surface is made up of several large plates that move very slowly. This movement can cause earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and even new mountains. While the Earth looks like a perfect sphere from space, it's actually an oblate spheroid. This means that due to its rotation, it's slightly flattened at the poles and bulges a bit at the equator. Our atmosphere is made up of seventy eight percent nitrogen and twenty one percent oxygen, the perfect mix for us and many other forms of life to breathe. In addition to the dominant blues of the ocean, Earth displays greens from vegetation, white from clouds and ice capped poles, and browns and yellows from the deserts and plains. These intriguing details barely begin to uncover the wonders of our planet? What else can we discover? We have a question from Porter Murdoch, who is six and from Eerie, Colorado. Porter asks why are mountains pointy at the top. We have to use our imagination for this one. Imagine two big slabs of the Earth's crust, the outer layer of the planet, slowly moving toward each other. When they can't move any further, they start to push up against one another. This push is so strong that it forces the land to fold and rise up, creating mountains now. Because this process happens over millions of years, the tops of the mountains become pointy for a few reasons. First, there's erosion. This is when wind, rain, and snow wear away at the mountain, shaping it. The top of the mountain experiences a lot of this weather action, so it wears down to a point. Also, as the mountains rise, they can crack and pieces can break off, leaving behind sharper peaks. Plus ice and snow can collect in the cracks, freeze and then expand, making the cracks even bigger until parts of the mountain might break away, helping to form those pointy tops. But not all mountains are pointy. Some have rounder tops because they have been worn down even more over a longer time, or they're made of softer stuff that doesn't stack up into points as easily. Thank you for the question, porter. Did you know that our planet is home to some truly gigantic islands with unique ecosystems, climates, and landscapes. From the icy stretches of Antarctica to the tropical forests of Borneo, these massive land masses are surrounded by water and filled with wonders waiting to be explored. Here are the ten largest islands in the world, showcasing not just their vastness but also their unique character. Number one Greenland, the world's largest island, spans two million, one hundred and sixty six and eighty six kilometers squared or eight hundred and thirty six three hundred and thirty thousand miles squared. Number two New Guinea, stretching across seven hundred and eighty five thousand, seven hundred and fifty three kilometers squared. This island is a paradise of rainforests and diverse species. Number three Bornio, with an area of seven hundred and forty eight thousand, one hundred and sixty eight kilometers squared. It's a haven for some of the planet's most endangered wildlife, including orangutangs. Number four Madagascar. Unique flora and fauna cover its five hundred and eighty seven thousand and forty one kilometers squared or two hundred and twenty six thousand, six hundred and fifty eight miles squared, making it a world unlike any other. Number five Baffin Island in Canada's Arctic. It covers five hundred and seven thousand, four hundred and fifty one one kilometers squared, featuring dramatic fjords and Inuit cultures. Number six Sumatra, an Indonesian island of four hundred and seventy three thousand, four hundred and eighty one kilometers squared. It is known for its volcanoes and vibrant ecosystems. Number seven Honshu is Japan's largest island at two hundred and twenty five thousand, eight hundred kilometers squared, and it is the heart of the country's culture and history. Number eight Victoria Island, another Arctic island in Canada. Victoria Island has a rugged and beautiful landscape and spans two hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred and ninety one kilometers squared or eighty three thousand, eight hundred and ninety seven miles squared. The ninth largest island is Great Britain. It is rich in history and landscapes, covering two hundred and nine thousand, three hundred and thirty one kilometers squared from Stonehenge to the Scottish Highlands and number ten. Ellesmere Island part of Canada's Arctic Archipelago. It's a place of extreme beauty and burr cold. If you are wondering why Australia isn't at the top of this list, it's not included because it's a continental land mass, but it is also an enormous island, covering seven million, six hundred and eighteen thousand, four hundred and ninety three kilometers squared or two million, nine hundred and forty one thousand, five hundred and fourteen miles squared. Speaking of Australia, did you know that Australia is home to some of the most unusual animals on the planet. Many of these creatures can't be found anywhere else in the world. Here is our list of eight amazing Australian animals that captured our imagination with their distinctive features and behaviors. Number one Bilby, a small nocturnal marsupial with big ears like a rabbit's and a long pointed nose. It digs burrows and is known for its silky blue gray coat. Number two thorny devil, a lizard covered in spiky scales. It can change colors to blend into its desert surroundings and collect water by channeling it across its skin. Or three cassawery. One of the world's largest birds. The cassawery is flightless, has a striking blue face, and has a helmet like crest on its head. It's known for being quite shy, but can be dangerous if bothered. Number four Echidna, often known as spiny ant eaters. Echidnas are covered with coarse hair and spines. They have a specialized snout and tongue for eating ants and termites. Number five Quaka, famous for its friendly and curious nature, The quaka is a small wallaby with a broad smile, making it one of the most photogenic animals. A wallaby is an Australasian marsupial similar to but smaller than a kangaroo. The number six animal is the Tasmanian devil, known for its ferocious appetite. The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial with a strong build and a loud, disturbing screech. Number seven platypus, one of the only mammals that lays eggs. The platypus has a duck like bill, webbed feet, and a beaver like tail, making it an interesting example of evolutionary adaptation. And number eight sugar gliders. These small nocturnal marsupials have a membrane between their front and back legs that allows them to glide between trees in search of food. This is just a small sample of all the amazing wildlife that calls Australia home. Did you know our world is a giant playground? For this list, we will have to use our imagination a bit. Imagine if you could slide down the tallest slide, hide in the deepest secret fort, or run across a huge field without end. Earth is a bit like the most amazing playground you've ever seen. It has super tall slides, mountains, giant secret forts, valleys and massive fields, plains that go on and on. Let's look at four of the coolest play spots on our imaginary playground. Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Mount Everest towers eight eight hundred and forty eight meters or twenty nine thousand and thirty two feet above sea level in the Himalayas. It's so high that it's in the jet stream where climbers can face winds over two hundred miles per hour. The Grand Canyon. This immense valley carved by the Colorado River, stretches for four hundred and forty six kilometers or two hundred and seventy seven miles in Arizona, USA, With layers of colorful rock that tell stories of Earth's history. The Grand Canyon is a testament to the power of water over time. The Great Plains Spanning several US states from Texas to North Dakota. The Great Plains are vast stretches of flatland that have supported both wild buffalo herds and human agriculture for centuries. Because of its fertile soil, this area is known as the bread basket of the United States. The Nile Valley, this fertile strip of land along the Nile River has been the lifeline of Egyptian civilization for thousands of years. Stretching over four thousand miles or six four hundred and thirty seven kilometers. It is a green oasis that cuts through the Sahara Desert, allowing life to flourish in one of the driest places on Earth. Liam Selva, nine years old from San Antonio, Texas, would like to know why tornadoes don't go on mountains and hills. Imagine trying to run really in a straight line, but then you hit a steep hill. You'd have to slow down, right. It's kind of like that for tornadoes. Tornadoes typically form in flat, open landscapes because these conditions allow the necessary atmospheric interactivity to occur more easily. Mountains and hills disrupt the flow of air, which contributes to tornado formation. When air moves over varied elevations like mountains and hills, it creates complex wind patterns that can break apart the organized structure needed for a tornado to develop or sustain itself. The temperature and moisture contrasts that fuel tornadoes are less pronounced in mountainous regions. Tornadoes require warm, moist air near the ground to rise quickly into cooler air above, creating instability. Mountains can block this flow of air and reduce the chances of such instability forming. While it's not impossible for tornadoes to occur in hilly or mountainous areas, the terrain significantly reduces their likelihood and intensity. The natural topography acts as a barrier, making flat plains and valleys more susceptible to tornado occurrences. Thank you for the question, Liam, Did you know that Earth has been keeping a secret stash of water? It's true. Deep beneath the Earth's surface, there's enough water trapped in rocks to fill the oceans three times over. It's like discovering your closet is secretly connected to a candy store. Instead of candy, it's water, and instead of a closet, it's the Earth's crust. So next time you take a sip of water, just think you might be drinking from Earth's secret stash. In this episode, we learned a little bit about the Earth through some fun facts. We looked at why the Earth is sometimes called the Blue Marble. We looked at the ten largest islands and what makes them unique. We looked at some of the amazing animals that can be found in Australia, and why the Earth could be considered a large playground. We had questions from Porter Murdoch who asked why are mountains pointing at the top and Liam Selva who asked why tornadoes don't go on mountains or hills. If you have any feedback, please send it our way, and if you want to make sure you get all the episodes, please ask your parents to subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever your parents listen to podcasts. If you love learning about science with us, please leave us a review. It may help others find our show. If you'd like to send us your questions, please send them to Hello at sleep tightscience dot com. Sleep tight