FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH 

1) Dinosaurs were wiped out by volcanoes that erupted in India about 65 million years ago.

2) There arevolcanoes on other planets too. The Olympus Mons on Mars is the highest volcano in our solar system, with a height of 26.4km.

3) About 10,000 earthquakes occur every year, of which only a few cause damages.

4) Most of the tsunamis do not cause any damage, as they occur in sparsely populated Pacific areas.

5) Animals often behave strangely or flee before an earthquake. They seem to sense something, which we cannot experience.

6) Some people are planning to haul icebergs to countries that have water scarcity.

7) Glaciers carry away whatever is added to them from any direction.

8) A few people 'plan for gold' in the Alps as a hobby.

9)Earlier people used to throw 'bottle messages' in the ocean currents to find out the direction of flow.

10) Around 12,000 years ago, in the last ice age, the gulf stream dried up.

11) Even at full moon, the Earth is positioned in between the sun and the moon. It is only when there is a lunar eclipse that the Earth is exactly in line with the sun and moon.

12) There is a term known as "light pollution". It refers to the cities that illuminates the night sky and creates difficulties for the astronomers in studying the night sky.

13) The flag of the Australia features a constellation on it. This constellation is called the "Southern cross". We can see it only we are in southern hemisphere.

14) The footprints of the astronauts can remain on the surface of the moon for a long time because they are not blown over by the wind.

15) During a solar eclipse, the shadow of the moon is not smoothly demarcated, but slightly jagged. This happens because of the mountains and craters on the moon. The sun 'flashes' through some of the craters of the moon and forms a ring, resembling a pearl necklace, in the sky.

16) The Greek word 'planet' means 'wanderer'. The name indicates that contrary to the stars, the planets 'wander' across the sky.

17) Once every 15 years the rings of Saturn seem to disappear. This is because Saturn and Earth's position is in such a way that edges of the rings are directly in line with sunlight. The rings shine only when they reflect sunlight.

18) The Shiva crater, a sea floor structure located beneath the Indian Ocean, west of Mumbai, India, was formed by 40 Km wide asteroid around 65 million years ago. It is named Shiva, after the Hindu God of destruction and renewal.

19) The color of stars ranges from red to yellow and to blue. Red is the coolest star and blue is the hottest star. Yellow stars like the sun have average temperature.

20) The twinkling of the stars is caused by the swirling air in the atmosphere and not come from stars itself.