Hey there! Today, we’re going to learn about what Earth looks like from space. Squeaks and I were working on some art projects, drawing things we might see in space. I drew a picture of the space shuttle, and Squeaks decided to draw Earth as it looks from space. Let’s find out what he should include in his drawing!
When you’re really far away from Earth, like almost out of our solar system, Earth looks like a tiny blue dot. But that’s not very exciting to draw! So, let’s imagine we’re looking at Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), which is about 420 kilometers above the surface. That’s still pretty far, so we can’t see small things like houses or the Fort where we are.
From the ISS, we can see big things like continents, which are large pieces of land. We live on the continent called North America. You can also see mountains, which look a bit wrinkly from space. All the blue around the continents is water, mostly oceans, which are huge and easy to spot from space. So, Squeaks should definitely use a blue crayon for the oceans!
In pictures of Earth from space, you might notice big white areas at the top and bottom. These are the North and South Poles, covered with ice all year long. It’s so cold there that water turns into solid ice, and there’s so much ice that we can see it from space. Squeaks can add that to his drawing too!
Once Squeaks finished his drawing, it looked like a map of Earth! Maps are drawings that show where things are. Squeaks’ map shows big things like continents and oceans. If we wanted to show smaller things, like the pond and stream near the Fort, we’d make a map of a smaller area, like our neighborhood.
You can make your own map too! Just grab some paper and something to draw with. Decide what area you want to map, imagine what it looks like from above, and draw what you see. You’ll have your very own map!
One of our viewers, Isaac, asked why Earth is tilted. A long time ago, a baby planet called Theia crashed into Earth, knocking it over a bit. This tilt is why Earth isn’t straight up and down. Theia also helped form our moon by sending rock and dirt into space, which came together over time.
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