Science Side Stories

Mesosaurus Fossils Split Up! (pg. 1) My Claim (pg. 2) Earth's Story (pg. 3) Explaining Myself (pg. 5) Conclusion (pg. 9) Slideshow (pg. 10)

"Transforming Sedimentary Rock Into Metamorphic Rock"

All three types of rocks were formed from the magma underneath us. Igneous rocks are made from volcanic activity, sedimentary rocks are made from bits of mud, rock, and minerals getting compacted together, and metamorphic rocks are made by the transformation of igneous or sedimentary rocks getting heated and pressured intensely within Earth's outer layer.

"Transforming Igneous Rock Into Metamorphic Rock"

"Transforming Sediment Into Metamorphic Rock"

• Rocks and soil are renewable, and are important parts of our planet. • Rocks form much of the earth. There are three types of rock. • Igneous rocks are formed by magma that comes up from under the earth's surface. • Sedimentary rocks are formed by loose bits of rocks and soil that are piled up and pressed together under lakes and oceans. • Metamorphic rocks are formed by sedimentary or igneous rocks under heat or pressure. • We use rocks in many ways, such as making jewelry and making houses. • When rocks break down, they become part of the soil.

The sediment that formed the Great Plains came from the rock of the Rocky Mountains. The Rocky Mountains' rock is igneous rock, which is made by cooled magma from the mantle. That requires energy from Earth's interior. Keep in mind that the cooling process takes thousands or millions of years to finish. The rock has gone through weathering and erosion after a long amount of time, since every rock out on the surface has had to have itself weathered and eroded a lot throughout its existence. Once the hard, igneous rock completes that process, bits of rock has broken off of the mountains, and that is called sediment. This requires energy from the sun. The sediment travels by wind or water for thousands or millions of years. Once that sediment reaches the Great Plains, it would go through compaction and cementation for another couple of thousands or millions of years. Once the Rocky Mountains' sediment completes that process, the sediment finally turns into sedimentary rock—and that's the Great Plains' type of rock. So, now the Rocky Mountains' sediment has successfully turned into part of the Great Plains. Each process may have required two types of energy sources, but has used the same rock. This whole cycle is how the rock of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains have similar mineral compositions.

5- We Meet Again, College

We Meet Again, College

"You guys ready?" Shelby asked. Everyone was securely strapped in their seats, all games sealed away and phones turned off. Once everyone nodded, Shelby pushed the button. It felt weird. It's that weird feeling you feel when there's a drop on a roller coaster, except that the drop is very long. My hair looked like it was underwater, along with the everyone else's hair. "How does everyone feel?" Felix checked up on us after about thirty seconds. "I feel like I'm on a never ending roller coaster," I replied. "Same," the other college students said. "Well, we're going to be stuck in this feeling for about 5 minutes. How about some Truth or Double Truth?" Jackson suggested. Everyone agreed to play, and we played that until we arrived back at NASA in California. We took off our straps and got out of the spacecraft. We all exchanged phone numbers, and left to go to back to our colleges. I was the last to leave, and I hugged my brother. No, not those cute-sibling hugs. Those... attack-hugs. "Oh my sweet mother-" Mark laughed when I attacked him. "Thanks for sparing my life outside of Earth and saving me from college," I thanked him. He ruffled my hair. "Oh yeah, about that- we all got you guys an excuse for being absent at college, so don't worry

about your education," he chuckled. "Let's go to the arcade this Saturday. The whole group. Should Adella come?" I asked him. He looked at me thoughtfully. "I'll see." With that, I said goodbye to everyone, and went back to my dorm. Well, that was a well-needed vacation.

" Hann accused Yerin. ng The Game Of Life, ame and its pieces to keep them from floating away. I saw you take thas head, smiling. "You both are so immature," Luhan called them out. Just then, a familiar deafening noise went off. "AYYYEE, IT'S EARTH!" Shelby yelled, turning off the alarm clumsily. Felix spun around in his wheeling chair dramatically (but of course, strapped in it), showed a goofy grin to us, and called the other astronauts. I still don't get how they designed this spacecraft... how is that chair still on the floor? "Wait, why are we going to observe Earth now? Why didn't we observe it first, or saved it for last?" Nancy asked. Mary answered. "We have a schedule, and we didn't make it ourselves. Our spacecraft has this button that triggers its rocket boosters to literally blast us to Earth. We'll go from Mercury to Earth in like 5 minutes." Nancy shrugged. "We can keep on playing games, then," she grinned. "Anyways, if you guys look at the window, there's Earth.

2- Earth's Beauty

It's beautiful, right?" Mark looked at us, expecting an answer for his question. "I mean, Earth's prettier than me, and I'm pretty sure you'll agree," I responded. Mark just face palmed. "Earth's atmosphere is made from mainly nitrogen and oxygen, but some other gases as well- like carbon dioxide. The atmosphere keeps the rocky surface warm. Not too cold, not too hot. Which is perfect for the living things in it. The plants and animals give us food, the trees produce oxygen and prevent hillsides from being washed away. Those are some ways that Earth's biosphere of living things affect the planet. Scientists check and search other planets to see if they're habitable by looking at Earth's conditions as an example," Mark described the planet, crossing his arms. Mary jumped in front of Mark, taking over. "Its hydrosphere is the water that makes up the ocean, lakes, rivers, and ice caps. The flowing water wears down the rocks and changes the shape of the land, and the only planet we know of that has bodies of liquid water on its surface is Earth," she explained in detail. "The rocky part of Earth is the geosphere. From the soil on its surface, to its iron core," she continued. I whipped out my phone, starting a video. I totally forgot to record Mars' part, except for us goofing around at the end. I focused the camera on Mary, then turned it to face Earth. I zoomed in, and faced it back to Mary's face.

Earth’s outer layer is made of hard, solid rock. Earth’s outer layer is divided into sections called plates, and those plates of Earth's outer layer move gradually over time. Geologists look for patterns in landforms and in geologic events in order to better understand Earth.&nbsp;Earth’s plates move on top of a soft, solid layer of rock called the mantle. 

At divergent plate boundaries, rock rises from the mantle and hardens, adding new solid rock to the edges of both plates. At convergent plate boundaries, one plate moves underneath the other plate and sinks into the mantle. Earth’s plates also travel at a rate too slow to be experienced by humans since it takes a long time for Earth’s plates to travel great distances.

There had been these dinosaurs who have lived with each other once-- in a supercontinent named Pangea. They couldn't swim long distances, but their fossils are found in completely different continents-- South America and Africa. Why, though?

The Mesosaurus fossils that were once together in Pangea (a supercontinent) are now found in South America and Africa- two separate continents miles apart from each other. They got separated because the two continents each had one plate, and those plates were on divergent plate boundaries.

"You guys ever wondered where we get the evidence of Earth's past? Well, we look at its geosphere. Earthquakes, volcanoes- like... the volcanic eruptions, flowing rivers, and ocean waves. Those are evidence of how Earth has been shaped into the landscape we see right no- I mean, on Earth," she grinned. Her eyes landed on my phone's camera lens. She threw up two peace signs, making a silly face. She cleared her throat, and proceeded to show off Earth. "As you guys know, Earth's orbital period is 365 days. It's the third planet in the solar system, and it's 3,959&nbsp;miles large. It was formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Earth is-" "I wonder how memes were like over 4.5 billion years ago," Felix wondered, still sitting on his wheeling chair. Still strapped, too. With that wizard design that kept it on the ground... I'll never understand outer space and its... magic? I guess that's how you can call it. "Felix... no," Mark groaned, smacking the back of Felix's head. We- when I say 'we,' I mean the... I guess you can say 'tourists'- started cracking up. Jackson clapped, wiping away fake tears. Shelby let out a childish laugh. "Earth is... 92.96&nbsp;million&nbsp;miles... away from the... sun," she huffed, laughing between the pauses. Then, she controlled her laughter. "Earth is the closest to the sun in January, and the farthest from the sun in July. Seems weird, right? The

closest when it's cold, the farthest when it's hot. Well, at least in California," she informed us. "It's weirder than my sister trying to dance," Yerin giggled. Shelby turned around to face her, feigning a fake hurt expression. "How dare you insult my dancing?" she gasped. I was still recording my video. This is going to make Adella so jealous. I give this tour a 10 out of 10. "You're so lucky to have us as your tour guides," Jackson spoke. "We're amazing, right?" he grinned, elbowing Luhan. "In your dreams," Luhan jokingly dissed him. Jackson over dramatically gasped, and covered his mouth in "surprise." Felix unstrapped himself from his precious wheeling chair, and jumped in front of the phone. "We're very mature, I promise," he insisted sarcastically. Now this is my type of tour. "Look, it's Earth. It's very beautiful, unlike me. You can't argue with me on that," I giggled, zooming in on Earth. I took pictures while doing so. "My mom would be screaming at me not to say that about myself, but I relate, anyways," Nancy laughed, patting my shoulder. Mary was just standing next to the window, witnessing the mess. She shook her head, smiling to herself just as the alarm for leaving went off.

Chapter 1 -- Mars From Afar (pg. 4) Chapter 2 -- Earth's Beauty (pg. 10) Chapter 3 -- Hi, Venus (pg. 14) Chapter 4 -- Trip to Mercury (pg. 18) Chapter 5 -- We Meet Again, College (pg. 24)

I was just laying on my bed, doing my homework while listening to music. My sister and I managed to get a dorm together for some reason, and we just started our first year at college. I just started to do my last homework assignment when my phone buzzed with a text notification. It was from my brother, who is actually an astronaut working at NASA. &lt;Sharky Marky&gt;: Heyyyy shistar &lt;Little Ariel&gt;: Lol what's up &lt;Sharky Marky&gt;: I know this is kinda late to ask, but can you go join me on a tour of the four rocky planets? Astronauts are supposed to bring someone from their families.... sOOOOO &lt;Little Ariel&gt;: bOY OH MY LORD WHAT OKAY I'M COMING OVER TO YOUR WORKPLACE RIGHT NOW &lt;Sharky Marky&gt;: Lol I knew you would agree, LITTLE ARIEL~ -Sighs- I guess I can just finish my homework assignment in like... 6 months? I mean, I have an excuse, and anything beats sleepless nights, studying while eating loads of instant noodles. I hope I can sleep on the spacecraft, though...

and we all turned into this big mess. Again. Well, at least this is a fun, informative tour. With... unique tour guides. With one of them being my dorky older brother. I ended the video, and focused on my breathing. "Okay okay, let's calm down for a second," Mary chuckled. After a few seconds, we regained our composure, and continued with the tour. "Venus is the second planet in the solar system. Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. This planet is the only planet named after a female. It doesn't have any moons- and it's the second brightest object in the night sky, the moon being the first. Sometimes, Venus is referred to as Earth's sister planet since their size and mass is similar," Felix explained to us. "But, they are at totally different levels of habitability. Like- no living thing can survive there. No water, no living things, unbearable temperature- nope. Suicide, I'm telling you." "Also, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system," Shelby finished off. I took a few pictures of Venus, and I saw Mark make one of those faces that told me that he was about to do something idiotic or crazy. I turned to Mark. "Don't you dare say what I think you were about to say, or else I'll tell Adella," I warned him. Adella once slapped Mark on the cheek- hard- because he said that he was hotter than the temperature in the Bahamas when we went there for summer break. Did not end well.

"Okay," he said, putting his hands up, and his voice cracked a little bit. "What was that?" Felix laughed, turning to me. "Shhhh, sibling code," was all I said before the alarm went off. Shelby ran to the off-button, looking relieved. She tripped a little, due to the zero gravity. She slammed her hand on the button, and she turned to look at us. "What? I don't want to be blown up," she said. "You're so dramatic!" Jackson exclaimed, laughing. That was when Shelby started to dart towards Jackson, and he told us his funeral plans before fleeing away from Shelby. Us 'tourists' just strapped ourselves to our chairs, and started to play The Game Of Life again.

Warning: I'm not Beyoncé or a talented singer

Musical Hi-STORY

If you want to see the lyrics, I commented them on the podcast episode~

Outer Layer/Crust

The Outer Layer is made out of hard, solid rock.

It is also called the crust, so the crust and the outer layer aren't different-- they are just different names. The crust is also the thinnest layer.

Earth's Crust Facts For Kids | Cool Kid Facts

It has plates-- the outer layer's divided sections-- that move. Earthquakes happen when plates move.

All About the Earth's Crust, and Why It Is so Important

I can tell you a few things of the land where the&nbsp;Mesosaurusfossils&nbsp;are found. The&nbsp;fossils&nbsp;were found in 2 different&nbsp;continents- South America and Africa, which were about 4,000 kilometers&nbsp;apart, separated by an&nbsp;ocean. The fossils were found in hard, solid rock- which is Earth's&nbsp;outer layer. The&nbsp;outer layer&nbsp;is divided into sections, which are called&nbsp;plates.&nbsp;The&nbsp;plates&nbsp;move, not quickly, but they definitely move. The place where plates meet are called&nbsp;plate boundaries.&nbsp;Geologists, which are people who study rocks- or in this case- study Earth's rocky surface, look for patterns in landforms and geologic events to understand Earth better.

The&nbsp;plates'&nbsp;movement&nbsp;cause&nbsp;earthquakes&nbsp; to happen near the&nbsp;plate boundaries, which is when Earth's surface shakes.

Rocks are made by the magma in the mantle shooting up onto the surface or stopping in the outer layer. The magma is the reason why rocks are made. The magma makes the rock, so either old rock and new rock can be compressed together to make a new layer of rock, the cooled magma can be a new layer of rock, or the heat and pressure from within Earth's outer layer can make a new layer of rock.

Igneous rocks are made by the magma from the mantle rising up onto the surface or stopping just a bit below the outer layer. To make rhyolite, magma shoots up from the mantle and makes a volcano. That volcano is made out of rhyolite. To make granite, volcanoes erupt and send lava down its body. That lava cools down slowly while mixing with other minerals, and soon, it would harden and make granite with various other minerals in it. Granite is found in continental plates. To make gabbro, magma gets trapped beneath the surface and cools into a hard, coarsely crystalline mass.

Card A is my first piece of evidence, and it proves my claim because earthquakes that occur in a pattern along a plate boundary usually happen in divergent plate boundaries. So, while the ground shakes as an earthquake takes place, the ground moves and plates shift around-- changing the land.

Card B is my second piece of evidence because mid-ocean ridge landforms are made along divergent plate boundaries. Since divergent plate boundaries are places where plates meet and separate from each other, from the separation, it forms mid-ocean ridges-- underwater mountain ranges. Based on that evidence, there is a divergent plate boundary between the South American and African plates (as far as we know).

Plate Tectonics for Kids - from www.makemegenius.com

Divergent Boundary—Fast Spreading Ridge Educational

"Wait, so we're going to observe four planets in a span of a week?" a dude asked. I read the little name tag that all of us have. Hann. "Well, Hann, yeah... it's crazy, right? Well, we're not going to necessarily land on the planets, we'll be observing. Us astronauts will tell you all facts about them," an astronaut, named Mary, told him. "We'll be safe. We've done a few test runs on this, it's pretty sturdy and legit. We won't die," another astronaut spoke up, laughing. His name is... Jackson. Hmph. So many strangers... ugh. "Well, might as well hang out a bit before going to observe Mars," Felix, another astronaut, said. That's exactly what we did- we got to know each other's names and played about 2 rounds of Uno. We had this little holder for the cards so they wouldn't float away. Shelby- an astronaut, wow, I'm surprised- moved away from us and looked out of the window. "Look, y'all- it's Mars," she proclaimed. "The farthest rocky planet from the sun, aka the fourth planet in the solar system." Felix gazed at the planet. "It's 2,106 miles large, and it's 141.6&nbsp;million miles away from the sun with the average temperature of -81°F. Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system, and it has two moons- Phobos and Deimos," he stated, turning around to look at us. "Mars was named after the Roman god of war and its

two moons were named after the horses that pulled him on a chariot according to Roman mythology- Phobos and Deimos. It's also often described as the 'Red Planet' since it looks reddish, and Mars orbits for 687 days," he rambled on. "The thin air in its atmosphere is made of gases like carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and due to that, Mars is very cold. You know, since thin atmospheres make the surface cold. However, Mars does have enough air for wind to pick up red dust. The red dust blows through the air and makes the air... look pink. The planet has huge volcanic landforms- like for example, the largest volcano in the solar system- that have been built up from past eruptions that flow out of the volcanic vents. Scientists are looking for evidence for past or current liquid water in the rocks on it. Wow, I sound so smart right now," she chuckled. "I sounded like I was reading off a dictionary," Felix jokingly dissed himself. The 5 astronauts laughed obnoxiously. "Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for your tour guides!" Jackson yelled, putting his hands up. We clapped, and Hann even let out a whistle. "Okay okay, back to the tour," Mark said, "Mars has frozen water at its ice poles instead of liquid water, and scientists are searching for evidence of the existence of liquid water on Mars in its rock formations. It's like we're desperate to leave Earth," Mark laughed. I mean, Earth is

kind of messed up. Especially the people in it. A lady named Yerin seemed to agree with me. "I mean, you are right. Especially the people in it," she shrugged. The astronauts nodded in agreement. "Anyways, scientists haven't found out if Mars has a biosphere of living things, and they're searching for evidence that Mars might have been habitable for living things in the past. Maybe Mars was warmer back then, we don't know for sure," Jackson announced. "Mars is like the closest planet we'll get that's kind of like Earth- the climate is more bearable compared to other planets, it might have some liquid water deep in there, it has rocks. If we work hard enough, we might be able to live there, along with other living things." We nodded. "Also, did you guys know that Tuesday is the day of Mars?" Jackson asked us, and we gasped in surprise. "So basically, tomorrow on Earth, it's going to be Mars Day?" a lady named Nancy asked. "Yup. Today's Moon Day, right?" Jackson answered, looking at Mary. "If today's still Monday," Mary chuckled. "Do you guys even know what exact day we're coming back to Earth?" a dude named Luhan asked. Shelby looked at Felix, Felix looked at Jackson, Jackson looked at Mark, and Mark looked at Mary. She rolled her eyes, sighing. "We made alarms for

leaving planets and going to planets," she explained. So that explains the noise that almost deafened me earlier... Great. We have such mature tour guides. We're totally not going to die during this tour. I quickly took a picture of Mars on my phone. I started to record a video, including everyone in the room. Felix showed a heart to the camera, and Mary showed a peace sign. Jackson took my phone and faced the camera on his face. "WELCOME TO OUR ROCKY PLANET TOUR!" he roared. "I'm Jackson, the leader, and these are-" "DUDE- THERE IS NO LEADER-" Shelby shouted, but got cut off. The alarm went off.

Sedimentary rocks are made out of a mix of various other rocks and minerals, and are formed by having the rocks and minerals compressed together. To make sandstone, sediment or sand gets pressed together by water and hardens over time in a body of water. To make shale, silt and clay-size mineral particles settle at the bottom of a deep body of water, getting compacted together. Conglomerate rocks are made of the remains of other rocks, mud, or minerals, and are formed by the rocks getting cemented together.

Metamorphic rocks were originally igneous or sedimentary rocks, but they transformed as a result of heat and pressure within the Earth’s outer layer. To make slate,&nbsp;shale gets under pressure and moderate heat. To make marble, limestone gets exposed to high temperatures and pressures. To make quartzite, quartz-rich sandstone or chert (a hard, dark, opaque rock) gets exposed to high temperatures and pressures.

Book &lt;1&gt; -- How Do Rocks Form? (pg. 4) |My Letter to Dr. Lewis| -- (pg. 19) Book &lt;2&gt; -- Split of the Mesosaurus (pg. 20) Book &lt;3&gt; -- Layers of Earth (pg. 34) Book &lt;4&gt; -- The Four Rocky Planets (pg. 50) |Musical Hi-STORY| -- (pg. 76)

(Excuse my terrible English during the recordings)

So, we can conclude that the Mesosaurus fossils that used to be together are now on two different continents because the two continents' plates are on a divergent plate boundary and gradually separated from each other over time. South America and Africa, the continents that the fossils are now found in, used to be together in one huge supercontinent (Pangea).

Continental Drift

Plate Tectonics

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1-- Outer Layer/Crust CHAPTER 2-- Mantle CHAPTER 3-- Outer Core CHAPTER 4-- Inner Core Chapter 5-- All of the Layers DIRECTIONS: You must record your voice on each page describing the layers or reading the page of information.&nbsp;Without your voice, your highest grade will be 85%, a B. Publish your book then copy the published link and paste and TURN IN on Google classroom.

"Transforming Sediment Into Sedimentary Rock"

"Transforming Metamorphic Rock Into Sedimentary Rock"

"Transforming Metamorphic Rock Into Igneous Rock"

"Transforming Magma Into Sedimentary Rock"

"Transforming Sedimentary Rock Into Igneous Rock"

Outer Core

The outer core is the layer that is below the mantle and above the inner core. It's also the top part of Earth's core.

It is made of molten iron and nickel. It is the only liquid layer out all of the 4 main layers.

Earth's Outer Core - Layers of the Earth / Geology - Geology for Kids

Over time, the outer core gets smaller and the inner core gets bigger because every year, part of the outer core freezes.

DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

Trip To Mercury

were no sleepless nights, no packages of instant noodles, no boring lectures, just an informative tour of the four rocky planets that was also... fun," I laughed. I took out my phone again. As soon as I started recording, Hann started speaking. "This was better than sitting in class for hours," Hann groaned. "Even the food was better." "Yeah, it was like... a huge sleepover, that teaches you about Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury. Except, you only knew like a person at the start," I giggled. "Why are we acting so sad? I don't like it!" Jackson yelled. "Boy shut your-" Shelby started, but looked at us. Mary crossed her arms, Felix stifled a laugh, Mark stuffed his hands in his pockets, and Jackson looked at Shelby expectantly. "Never mind," Shelby laughed. "KEEP THIS VIDEO KID FRIENDLY, SHELBY!" I jokingly shouted. "YEAH, SHELBY!" Mark joined me. "SHELBY, LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" Felix gasped. "Whatever!" Shelby mocked Yerin. Yerin put her hand on

her chest. "Oh no you didn't," she whispered. "Fight me!" Shelby playfully challenged. I turned around and faced the window, zooming in and out of Mercury. "And this was the Tour of the Four Rocky Planets, brought to you by the leader, Jackson," Jackson kidded again as I was taking pictures of Mercury while recording. "Oh my God, there is no freaking leader!" Mark shouted. Jackson snatched my phone. "Please follow me on social media. I'm lonely and in desperate need of friends-" Jackson frantically said before Mark snatched my phone and tackled Jackson. Out of all the moments where the alarm went off, this was probably the perfect time the alarm went off. But, I needed to make sure of one thing, though. "MAARRKK! GIVE ME MY PHONE!"

Geologists found Card C as another piece of evidence because volcanic activity usually takes place along divergent plate boundaries since volcanoes are made from two plates moving away from each other. Magma fills in the missing space, and there you have it-- a volcano! This is important because two plates that split up from each other are on divergent plate boundaries.

The last piece of evidence that supports my claim is Card D because the fact that the South American Plate and African Plate are spreading apart from each other proves that there is a divergent plate boundary between them. This evidence is a stronger piece because the GPS measurements tell us that it is true that the two plates moved away from each other gradually over time.

What causes a volcanic eruption? | Natural Disasters

Plate tectonic - South America and Africa

4- Trip To Mercury

"Hmm, am I a princess?" I asked Hann and Luhan. "Yeah," Luhan responded. "Uhhh.. am I an animal?" Luhan- who had Simba as his character- questioned Yerin and I. "Yeah," we said in unison. "Am I... a villain?" Yerin put her hands on her cheeks. She had Stitch. "Nah," Hann answered. "Do I have magical powers?" Hann asked, who had Elsa. "Yup," I replied. We were too focused on our game that we all got startled by the alarm. "That scared the shiitake mushrooms out of me," Nancy gasped. "MERCURY, IT IS!" Shelby yelled over the alarm, turning it off. "-sighs- It's our last planet of our tour. Are you guys ready?" she questioned us, a wide smile spread on her face. "Yeah!" we shouted in response. "Okay, Mercury. The first planet in our solar system. Somehow, it isn't burning. Or in flames. Like, the sun is literally right next to it," she pointed out. She pointed her finger at Mercury, then at the sun. Wow, this spacecraft is legit, all right. "Mercury doesn't have a lot of atmosphere. Small amounts of oxygen and other gases come off its surface, but they just float away into space. I wonder what Mercury did to them. Is Mercury nice? We'll never know,"

Jackson joked in a dramatic voice. "Mercury is so close to the sun, so its surface becomes really, really hot on the side of the planet that faces the sun. With little atmosphere to keep Mercury warm, the other side of the planet- where it doesn't face the sun- is extremely cold," Jackson enlightened us. "Mercury is scattered with craters, and it looks a lot like Earth's moon," Jackson resumed telling us about Mercury. I studied the features of Mercury. I kind of does look like the moon. I took a quick picture and gave my attention to Jackson. "Mercury had lava flows billions of years ago, but it doesn't have any active volcanoes anymore. Scientists have found evidence that there are maybe some frozen water hidden deep in Mercury's poles. But, there's no liquid water," Jackson explained. "Literally only Earth has liquid water out of our solar system as far as we know," I spoke up. "I know right? Us humans got lucky," Jackson responded. "There's also not any proof that anything lives or has ever lived in Mercury. Mercury has a biosphere, is all we know. We don't know for sure, but it's our best guess. Mercury is the smallest planet and fastest planet in the solar system. Like for example, one year in Mercury is just 88 days, and it's 1,516&nbsp;miles large. It was named after the Roman messenger god, which was the fastest

"I'm a meeessss around you! There's no way out of thiiiiis!" Nancy, Yerin, and I sang along to a song loudly. Thank our good lucky stars that we can play music in outer space. Luhan, Hann, and Felix watched us, rolling their eyes before grinning at us. "You know, if you guys actually tried to sing, then maybe you three will be slightly less deafening," Hann pointed out. "How about you try singing?" Yerin questioned, smiling devilishly. Hann laughed. "I'm studying music right now, and I've been taking singing lessons- along with rap lessons- for a long time," Hann playfully bragged. Yerin stuck out her tongue. "Whatever~" she sang. The alarm went off, and we all covered our ears. Shelby stumbled her way to the button that turns off the alarm and pressed it. "Hi, Venus," she mumbled. "Hah, it's your least favorite planet," Felix teased Shelby. "I'm older than you, so show some respect," she playfully replied. "So, everyone, this is Venus. The harsh, hot, dry planet that most likely no living thing would survive on... yay," Shelby shivered. "The planet that has its rocky surface full of volcanoes that may still be active right now... I mean, the surface is even filled with hardened lava, too," Shelby reasoned, looking away from the window. "I thought you were an astronaut," Jackson laughed. Shelby faced him. "Shut your bubble gum dum dum-" Shelby started, but got interrupted by Mary. "That's enough, children," she sighed. "I'll take over." Shelby nodded and backed away from the window.

"Venus' atmosphere is the thickest among the four rocky planets, and swirling clouds block Venus' surface from view. The air on Venus is thick with gases- mainly carbon dioxide. The gases keep temperatures on Venus' surface very hot all the time. Speaking of gases and its atmosphere, Venus has no water, but it may have had water in the past. Venus' atmosphere provides proof that there was water on Venus billions of years ago. When Venus became hotter, all the liquid water on Venus turned to gas," Mary informed us. She glanced at Venus. I took out my phone once again, and pressed "record." "It's also dotted with craters from space rocks hitting Venus. If I went there then I would've been fries in like one second," Jackson commented. "Better yet, there is no evidence that Venus ever had a biosphere of living things. It's like suicide if you go down there. You don't even know if a volcano there is going to erupt," Mark added. "That is like... Hell." "Poor Venus. The planet is being insulted or insulted left and right, show some respect," Hann cried. Fake cried, of course. "Fine. Everyone say 'HI, VENUS!'" I hollered. "HI VENUS!" we all roared, and I started furiously zooming in and out of Venus on my phone with my professional camera skills. We all started laughing madly,

The inner core is the last layer. It's hotter than the sun's surface, but it doesn't melt because the iron remains in crystal form-- so, it's a solid layer instead of a liquid one.

The inner core is located at the center of Earth. In the entire layer, it isn't the same temperature.

Earth's Inner Core - Geology for Kids

It's a solid ball, and is the hottest layer out of all the 4 main layers.

5 Facts About the Earth's Inner Core

Roman god. Mercury was known&nbsp;by ancient people thousands of years ago," Mary chirped in. "Wait, so these planets are all named after Roman gods and a goddess?" Hann asked. "I feel stupid for not knowing this." He face palmed. "It's fine, I honestly forgot almost all of the math I learned in high school. You're not alone," Shelby grinned. "Honestly, I don't remember a lot of what I learned in social studies," Felix confessed. "-laughs- Anyways, going back to the tour, is it true that Mercury is no-moon buddies with Venus?" Nancy asked, nudging Yerin's side. Yerin flicked Nancy's forehead. Nancy held down Yerin's hands. "Yerin was wondering, not me!" she exclaimed. Mark chuckled at them. "Yeah, Yerin, it's true. They are the only two planets that don't have any moons," Mark answered. "They have no rings, as well." Yerin rolled her eyes and pried her hands from Nancy's. "Whatever." "Also, I know I don't talk much when you guys tell us about the planets, but I forgot to ask a question about Venus," Luhan spoke up. Woah. He's speaking at this time. "Okay," Mary shrugged. "Shoot."

"Is it true that Venus spin backwards?" he asked, rubbing his hands together. Mary nodded. "Yup, Venus rotates clockwise, unlike the other planets- except for Uranus. They both have retrograde rotation. Venus rotates clockwise in retrograde rotation once every 243 Earth days," Mary replied. Luhan nodded, and we moved on to our tour. "Since Mercury has a thin atmosphere, no liquid water, and no biosphere, it'll be hard to try to live there. Mars, Venus, and Mercury are going to be very had to live in compared to Earth. Earth has a biosphere of living things, plenty of liquid water, a bearable geosphere, and a bearable atmosphere. The other three planets, however, don't meet up with Earth's conditions to be habitable. Mars might be our closest planet to Earth, but we're still trying to find evidence if we can survive on any other planets. We've been trying for decades, and we're slowly- like, very slowly- getting there," Felix reasoned. "Mars is our closest bet," Hann nodded, processing it. "I hope we'll find a way. Earth and the humans in it need a break," he mumbled. "Yeah, this tour was fun," Nancy brightly beamed. Yerin grinned as well. "It was nice getting to know you guys," she said. "This is way better than college," Luhan sighed. "There

1- Mars From Afar

"ADELLA!" I screamed from my room. "WHAT IS IT, ARIEL?" Adella, my sister, screamed back from the living room. I can literally hear the caffeine rushing into her body from the Starbucks she got a few minutes ago. I rolled my eyes, though I knew that she couldn't see me. She's probably huddled on the couch, watching another one of those dramas. I walked to the living room, shoving my phone in her face. "Look who gets to have a break from studiesssss," I teased her, doing a weird dance. Her eyes widened, scrunching up her face. "See, you're the favorite sibling!" she complained. "Whatever, just go. Record videos and take pictures for me, if phones even work in space," she sighed, snuggling into her blankets. I gave out one last tease and left the college behind, then getting into my car to drive to my brother's workplace- which was about 50 miles away from the college. When I arrived, I was immediately rushed into a room to learn the basics of space and the spacecraft I'm going to travel in space on. Then, after about an hour of squishing information in my pea sized brain, my brother and I- along with others- got strapped to our seats and prepared to take off. From the corner of my eye, I saw my brother imitating the person counting down dramatically. "Booster ignition and liftoff," the announcer declared, and we took off.

Others- including myself- were fascinated at the fact that we were actually leaving Earth. I looked at my brother, Mark, and yelled over the noise that the rockets made. "So how long are we staying here?" I asked. I actually didn't get to know how long we were staying at space. I mean, I literally just got a text and BBOOM, I'm here. Well, after learning some basic information. He smirked. "I'll tell you later," he yelled back, laughing. Okay? Should I be worried?? After a few minutes, the spacecraft finally slowed down and the whole thing was calm. "So, you were saying?" I raised an eye brow. "Haahhh, so like, there's this thing about this specific spacecraft. It's not a bad thing, but it's definitely a thing- you know?" he started off. "Just get to the point," I chuckled. He rolled his eyes. "This spacecraft is our newest one, and it's very... advanced. Typical tours of the four rocky planets last more than 1 month for sure. This spacecraft, however, will allow us to stay at space for only a week," he revealed. Gasps rose from the other people among us, and I think my mind stopped working for a moment. Ariel.exe has stopped working, indeed.

All of the Layers

Layers of the Earth—How were they found? What are they?

Earth's Layers - Geology for Kids

How Do Rocks Form, Though? (pg. 1) Igneous Rock (pg. 2) Sedimentary Rock (pg. 3) Metamorphic Rock (pg. 4) Rock Transformations (pg. 5) Conclusion (pg. 8)

The Mantle is the layer that is below the outer layer but above the outer core.

This layer also is 85% of Earth (you know, it's so big/thick).

Earth's Mantle - Layers of the Earth / Geology - Geology for Kids

Not all of the mantle is the same, since it's so thick. All of it is hot, though. Most of it is solid rock, but some parts are hotter and closer to liquid than solid.

6 Fascinating Facts About the Earth's Mantle

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