Goldilocks

 

 

"This porridge is too hot!" she exclaimed.

So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

"This porridge is too cold," she said

So, she tasted the last bowl of porridge.

"Ahhh, this porridge is just right," she said happily and she ate it all up.

 

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Robert Southey

 

 

 

This is not a bedtime story, and I hope it won't put anyone to sleep. Many astronomers and scientists refer to our home, our planet, as the "Goldilocks" planet. In fact, the term "Goldilocks" has spread to our search for other habitable planets. There is a zone in most every solar system we have discovered called the "Goldilocks Zone". That is the area where the distance from the sun is not hot enough to fry and not cold enough to freeze. It is just right.

 

As the years have gone on, I realize just how fortunate we are to live on this blue marble in the middle of this inky, black void. Many scientists have said that 72 degrees is the ideal temperature for human beings. In the spectrum of temperatures that exist in the cosmos, we happen to have that ideal temperature at certain locations right here on Terra Firma. Our planet is in a perfect distance from our sun.

 

Besides for our location from Sol (our sun), here are some other considerations on how perfect our planet is:

The Tilt: As we know, our Earth is titled at 23.5 degrees. This is very fortunate for all of us. Here is what Universe Today in October 2010 had to say on how important this is to our "Goldilocks" home:

It is [our tilt] perfectly positioned so that it gives us the seasons and on top of that the seasons are near perfectly calibrated for life. When compared with other planets, Earth’s tilt allows for season that are not two extreme in temperature but are pretty well balanced. At the same if it had stay in the “perfect” position one side of the Earth would be too hot at time and then too cold.

The Moon: Many of us take our Moon for granted. Much research has been conducted on why we have a Moon and where it came from. And why just one? Other planets have numerous moons. We do not know for sure but many scientists believe a collision occurred about 4.5 billion years ago, when Theia, a planet about the size of Mars, smashed into Earth. This impact, not only created the Moon from material resulting from the collision, but also gave the Earth it's life giving tilt. Without the Moon, the Earth would tilt as much as 90 degrees. However, because of our Moon, we have our seasons, our 23.5 degree tilt, and thereby life.

 

 The Core: As we know, the Earth is like an apple. Whereas an apple has skin, the pith, and then the core, the Earth has a crust, a mantle, and a core (both outer and inner). We all live on the crust, so who cares about the core? Our iron core helps create our magnetic field. This field has many important functions, the most important being our radiation shield. It protects us from the constant bombardment of all kinds of space radiation. In addition, rather than enjoying an active display of Northern Lights, without this shield, we would all be toast from even the most minor of solar eruptions.

There are other factors that make up our "Goldilocks" existence here on Earth, but I think I covered the major ones. Whether you believe our planet is the way it is because of happenstance, or if you believe it was the hand of God, we are lucky, we are blessed to be living here. Life on most other planets would not just be uncomfortable, it would also not be possible.