I'm in my first year of high school, have not taken any astronomy courses, and yet, I am completely fascinated with the solar system (not astronomy in general). Why? Well, perhaps it's the factor of the unknown. However, I always thought what caught my attention was the idea of alternate worlds, even though there is no other intelligent life, that are just as big or bigger than our own. Each has their own characteristics:
EXAMPLES
- The hostile environment of Venus, with extremely high pressures
- The huge shield volcanoes of Mars
- The swirling spots on Jupiter and Neptune's surface-Why did Neptune's disappear?
- The volcanoes on Neptune's moon that spit out ice.
- The amount of volcanic activity on Io, a Galilean moon.
- The concept that the sun will indefinitely grow large enough to one day swallow mercury
- The surprisingly tilted axis of Uranus
- The idea that if you placed Saturn in a giant tub of water, it would float.
REFLECT ON THIS
These are all just specific little tidbits of information that have really intrigued me. They are all part of a gigantic picture: the Solar System. This gigantic picture is part of an even larger picture (our galaxy) which is just a splotch of paint on the mural known as the universe. One can only gaze at the stars and wonder if each star is home to as interesting and diverse lands that inhibit our solar system.
