Of course, my real name is not pulsarplanet, but my profile name does reflect my favorite field of science: astronomy. In this page, I hope to be able to spread knowledge in math, science, art, and history. This way, everyone can understand the world around them, and everyone can understand their past. Here there are internal and external links to educational websites. The fields of science I will put will include astronomy, biology, ecology, chemistry, physics, and geology. For history, I will put European, Asian, Australian, American, and African history. I will also put as many math topics as possible, as well as many topics and pictures that have to do with art. I hope that my contributions to the Wikimedia Project will make the world a better place to live in!

Astronomy

Astronomy is the study of celestial objects, such as planets, stars, galaxies, etc. It is one of the most intriguing fields of science, because there is so much to discover in the universe. There are specific sub-fields of astronomy: solar astronomy, planetary astronomy, stellar astronomy, galactic astronomy, and extragalactic astronomy, all of which require mathematics and physics.

The Solar System is a system of planets, moons, and other objects orbiting their common center of mass with the Sun. Mercury is the innermost planet. One side of the planet always faces the Sun, while the other side is always dark. This means that one side of the planet is roasting, while the other side is freezing. Mercury also has no magnetic field, and its atmosphere is "blown away" by the Solar Wind, which is harsh radiation ejected from the Sun. We are protected, since our Earth has developed a strong magnetic field. Mercury, however, failed to develop a magnetic field, and most of the atmosphere was destroyed. What is left of the atmosphere is too thin to breathe, and the heat (and cold) is intense. But surprisingly, it is not the hottest terrestrial planet in the Solar System. That prize belongs to the next planet: Venus.

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is roughly the same mass of Earth. If a 150-pound person from Earth landed on Venus, that person would weigh 136 pounds. However, he or she wouldn't last long. The heat is far too intense. In fact, the surface temperature on Venus is hot enough to melt lead! And assuming that the person somehow survived the heat, he or she would be crushed by the weight of the atmosphere. The Venusian atmosphere is much thicker than Earth's, and therefore the atmosphere would crush any humans that might have landed. Venus is also a barren wasteland, and there are many volcanoes. Ironically, the planet was named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, but there is nothing beautiful about the surface of this harsh planet. The reason that Venus is so dangerous is because it went through an event known as a run-away greenhouse gas effect. A greenhouse gas effect is caused by gases that trap heat. Earth has such a greenhouse gas effect, but Venus has it to an extreme. The cause of the extra greenhouse gases is unknown, but what we do know is that the atmosphere is filled with carbon dioxide, a deadly gas, and sulfuric acid, which is basically sulfur mixed with water. Any life forms that may have formed on Venus would have died if they stayed on the ground. But surprisingly, Venus might not be lifeless. Some scientists speculate that simple organisms might have migrated from the ancient oceans that might have once covered Venus and stayed in the upper atmosphere, where there are more Earth-like conditions. They would have to resist the sulfurous water, but scientists have found life forms underneath Earth's own deep oceans, and these organisms thrive in sulfurous conditions, so there is a chance that Venus may have other life forms.

The next planet from the Sun is Earth. Earth is the largest terrestrial planet, and is the only terrestrial planet with its own regular moon, called the Moon. The Earth is the only known place in the universe with life forms on it. The Moon is the fifth largest natural satellite in the Solar System. It is geologically dead, but it was once geologically active billions of years ago. About 4.4 billion years ago, the Earth was moonless until a Mars-sized planet called Theia crashed into Earth, forming a massive debris field. The debris accumulated into the Earth and the Moon. During this short period, the Moon was still geologically active. One can see dark patches on the moon with the naked eye. These dark patches were created by an asteroid or comet crashing onto the Moon's surface billions of years ago. The craters then filled up with lava, and hardened to form basalt, a type of igneous rock. Over time, the amount of asteroids diminished, and collisions were rare. The Moon lost much of its internal heat, and no longer began spewing out lava.

The next planet is Mars. Mars is most similar to Earth in composition. It has many organic compounds, and it has similar geological features. But it is a dusty red desert filled with oxidized dust. The reason: Billions of years ago, Mars had everything the same as Earth except for its mass. The mass turned out to be critical, because it was not massive enough to maintain a magentic field to protect itself from the harsh solar radiation. The solar wind stripped the planet of its atmosphere, and what little is left is toxic and thin, and especially turbulent. Mars also has the largest mountains in the Solar System. Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the Solar System, and the largest mountain too.

Biology

Ecology

Chemistry

Physics

Geology

European History

Asian History

African History

Australian History

American History