Celestial bodies continued. Solar system in detail. Earth and its atmosphere explained in detail. Miracles in Earth’s atmosphere.
Recitation of the Holy Scripture.
Do they not contemplate within themselves? God has not created the heavens and the earth and what is between them except in truth and for a specified term.
He who has made the earth a firm abode and placed within it rivers and made for it firm mountains and placed between the two seas a barrier. Is there any deity with God? Nay, most of them do not know.
Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls Him and removes the evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there any deity with God? Little is what you remember.
End of Recitation of the Holy Scripture.
O people, I know these few programs are somewhat technical for an average person, but all this is very important. As this program is for all of you so it is necessary to discuss these philosophical, scientific and scholarly debates so that people of interest and intellect in the field of theology get knowledge of science and scientific community get knowledge of Holy Scriptures and that men of understanding will take heed.
Now I will conclude the celestial bodies by entering into the solar system and by giving you a brief overview of various bodies here but before that need to discuss one important object there in the universe far away from us which is called Quasar. Quasar stand for a quasi-stellar radio source, in English quasi means seemingly/apparently. They are incredibly luminous energetic distant active galactic nucleus that surrounds its central supermassive black hole. Quasars exist only in galaxies with supermassive black holes, that contain billions of times the mass of the sun. Quasars are remarkably bright or luminous. They are 100 times more radiant than our entire Milky Way galaxy which contains billions of stars. To put it in simpler terms, the total light emitted by 100 galaxies the size of our Milky Way is less luminous than the light that is released by a quasar. It happens as the matter starts falling into the black hole from the disc of matter around it, the friction between stuff gradually heats up the matter, leading to energy emission. It emits more energy each second than our sun does in 200 years. Quasars are now understood to be a part of objects known as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Is this all designed, created, happening and running by its own. Nay, it is all by the Will and command of your Lord.
Coming to the Solar System it consists of sun, 8 planets consisting of four Terrestrial Planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), four Gas Giants(Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, their moons, Asteroids in Asteroid Belt between Mars & Jupiter, Comets and three officially recognized dwarf planets: Pluto, Haumea and Makemake that exist in an icy zone beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt, which is also the point of origin for many comets and other leftover stuff. The solar system is located in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. Mass distribution is Sun 99.8% of total mass of solar system, Comets, Satellites and Minor planets are 0.05%, Jupiter 0.10% and all other planets 0.04%. To give you a size Idea on a smaller scale, Consider sun as an average human size than if you walk to 0.4 Km you will find Mercury like the size of a pea. Then at 0.7 Km Venus like the size of a grape than at 1 Km Earth is also about the size of a grape. Then at 1.5 Km Mars like the size of a bean. Then at 5.2 Km Jupiter Like the size of a large grapefruit. Walk more, and at 9.5 Km you will find Saturn like the size of a Small Grapefruit, Uranus and Neptune at 19.5 and 30.1 Km like a lemon, and Pluto at almost 39.5 Km. The nearest star to solar system Alpha Centauri which is actually 4.37 light-years from the Sun would still be like beyond moon even on this scale of measuring earth at only 1km from the sun. This size idea of planets is also valid in AU Astronomical Units a distance of measurement equal to 149.6 million Km the mean distance from the center of the earth to the center of the sun. As we know that earth is at 1 AU thus only replace kilometers by the Astronomical unit.
I have already told you about the sun in detail in part 17 and 18 therefore now starting from Earth the 3rd planet from the sun. Earth is 4.5Billion years Old, but most of its surface is 100million years old. It consists of 4 layers. The first and upper most layer is Crust which in oceans is 5-10 Km thick and mainly composed of basalt rocks and in continents 30-50 Km thick, composed of granites. The mantle is a layer between the crust and the outer core. Mantle is a rocky silicate layer with an average thickness of 2,886 Km. The composition of Mantle is molten/solid rock (Magma) which is a plastic-like solid. It makes up about 84% of Earth’s volume and is thus the largest part of the earth. It behaves as a viscous fluid and is the place of occurrence of Convection Currents. Convection is the movement of molecules within a fluid and is a mode of heat and mass transfer. Earthquakes occur because of movement of tectonic plates which is due to the movement of Mantle as it comes up because of the temperature of core thru convection currents. Convection current comes up then spread horizontally beneath the crust. When comes a weaker point e.g volcano or any other fault line, the Magma comes up as lava. Magma is called lava when it comes out. So Convection current cause movement of tectonic plates and bumping of two tectonic plates cause an earthquake.
The third layer outer Core is almost 2300Km thick, lies 2,890 km beneath Earth’s surface. Temperature ranges from 3000 to 7000 Celsius. Made up of molten iron and Nickel that spins around inner core and causes earth magnetism. The fourth layer inner Core is 1220Km in radius, lies 5000 Km beneath Earth’s surface composed of an iron-nickel alloy, Temp ranges from 5000 to 7000 Celsius and is surprisingly solid because of high pressure of 3.5 million Atm.
You can clearly see that how miraculous is all this that Earth’s inner core is a solid despite being at more temperature than outer core. This is only because of the physical properties of iron and Nickel. At increased pressure, because of being the innermost layer bearing all the load of this planet it refuses to melt even at high temperatures. For scientists, it’s only a phenomenon of physics, but the reality is that all these laws are working by the Will of you Lord to sustain life here for human beings. So basically our earth’s second layer which is molten and fluid like is spinning over the inner core which is solid and then the crust where we live, it actually floating on the mantle as it is also like a thick viscous fluid. Only consider the inner and outer core, and we see that they, in fact, are like a big dynamo in the center of the earth responsible for earth’s magnetic field thus protecting us from the threatening charged particles from solar wind around the earth known as the Van Allen belts. Is this all designed, created, happening and running by its own. Nay, it is all by the Will and command of your Lord. So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?
Earth highest mountains and deepest oceans seem a lot to us, but as compared to the size of earth they are nothing. So it is not like some animations of globes that are made in such a way where you can feel rough high surfaces near mountain ranges and deep oceans. But in fact, it is super plain more than a glass ball. Let me explain you how. The highest mountain Everest is 8.8 Km high from sea level, and the deepest point on earth is Marianas Trench in the western Pacific Ocean which is almost 8 to 10.9 Km deep. Consider the size of planet earth which is 40000km in circumference and convert the size of earth to a centimeter scale i.e 40000cm. Now the highest mountain would become as 8cm and lowest point in oceans as 10cm. Then further reduce the size of earth to 40cm and the height of mountains would become just .008cm or .08mm. So if you have real earth as a globe of 1.5 foot size, you are unable to feel the depths of oceans or heights of mountains as they are less in size than the ridges of your finger prints. Even if you pass your fingers thru Atlantic or Pacific ocean your fingers will not get wet as the water will be too less even to wet your fingers.
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, commonly known as air, that surrounds the planet Earth. It is retained by Earth’s gravity and is almost 480-10000 km thick. Earth’s atmosphere is divided into five primary layers: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere and the Exosphere. The atmosphere thins out in each higher layer until the gases diffuse in space. There is no distinct boundary between the atmosphere and space, but an imaginary line100 Km from the surface of earth called the Karman line. It is usually where scientists say atmosphere meets outer space. Earth’s Atmosphere consists of 78%Nitrogen, 21%Oxygen, 1% Argon, CO2 and remaining everything and having a mass of 5*10 power 18 Kg.
The troposphere is the layer closest to Earth’s surface. It is 7-20Km thick. This is where clouds form, where commercial airplane fly, temperature decreases as altitude increases. This layer is where nearly all weather conditions take place. It contains approximately 75% of the atmosphere’s mass and 99% of the total mass of water vapor.
Stratosphere the second layer of Earth’s atmosphere. It starts above the troposphere and ends about 50 km above ground. About 20% of the atmosphere’s mass is contained in the stratosphere. This layer is free of clouds or has only cloud tops. Temperature increases gradually and Ozone O³ layer is at the top of this layer. The rise of temperature with elevation is a result of the absorption of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer. This is in contrast to the troposphere, near the Earth’s surface, where temperature decreases with altitude. The air here is very dry and it is about a thousand times thinner here than it is at sea level. Because of that, this is where jet aircraft and weather balloons fly.
The mesosphere starts at 50 km and stretches to 85 km high. The top of the mesosphere, called the mesopause, is the coldest part of Earth’s atmosphere, with temperatures averaging about minus 90 Celsius. This layer is tough to study. Jet planes and balloons don’t go high enough, and satellites and space shuttles orbit too high. This is the layer where meteors burn up.
The Iono/Thermosphere extends from about 90 km to between 500 and 1,000 km. Temperatures can get up to 1,500 C at this height, but actually feel cold as we know that the temperature is actually how fast the particles move and because this layer is very thin and have less matter and few particles thats why not feel hot. The thermosphere is recognized as part of Earth’s atmosphere, but air density here is so low that most of this layer is what is typically considered as outer space. In fact, this is where the space shuttles flew and where the International Space Station orbits Earth. Radio waves bounce back from Ionosphere, and this is helpful for Skywave propagation. Due to Ionosphere, all world is getting distant Radio TV signals.
The exosphere is the highest layer at 1000 Km. It is much thin and is where the atmosphere merges into outer space. It is comprised of very widely dispersed particles of hydrogen and helium. There is no collision of particles in this layer and no fluid-like properties.
O humankind earth’s atmosphere this mere thin air protects life on Earth by providing oxygen for the breathing of animals and Carbon dioxide for Plants. Not only this but by creating pressure it makes possible for liquid water to exist on the Earth’s surface otherwise it could escape and lost in outer space. It absorbs the ultraviolet solar radiation, warm the surface through heat retention and reduces temperature extremes between day and night. If there would be no atmosphere the oceans would simply boil as a result of the extreme heat of sun and at night temperatures would drop to freezing cold. The moon has no atmosphere and is therefore at 123 C in sunlight and freezes at -152 C in shadow. Atmosphere protects you from thousands of Meteoroids falling from space. Despite its thin composition, this atmosphere acts as an iron shield. If it has not built with this feature, there would have been no life on earth, and our world would have been destroyed by the bombardment of celestial bodies. But it burns these objects before they reach to us. These Meteoroids strike the molecules in the atmosphere with a high speed, and the heat generated converts them into dust particles before they strike with the earth. Is this all designed, created, happening and running by its own. Nay, it is all by the Will and command of your Lord. So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?
Recitation of the Holy Scripture.
And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge. And of His signs is that the heaven and earth remain by His command. Then when He calls you with a single call you will immediately come forth from the earth. And to Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and earth. All are to Him profoundly obedient. And it is He who begins creation; then He repeats it, and that is even easier for Him. To Him belongs the highest attribute in the heavens and earth. And He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.