Aj's essay on Space

I love this kid. He wrote this essay for fun and asked me to post it online. =)

So here it is... 

Enjoy! It's quite amazing, if I do say so myself. 

Learning About

SPACE 

By: Aj Zurmely

Welcome to space! Our solar system is fascinating! You are about to enter a world of our sun, and our 8 planets. Prepare for out- of-this-world fun (oh, and some learning)!!

First, here we go to the middle of our solar system. The sun gives us heat for the Earth, and even our whole solar system! But if you are going to be an astronaut, you are never going to land, or even get close to the sun! 1.) Its way to hot. 2.) The sun is liquid and a gas. It has NO solids.

Next, ready or not, Mercury here we come! Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system (other than our 2 dwarf planets). It is small because when it formed, it cooled and shrank. Its crust wrinkled. If you are feeling a little hot on Mercury, it’s because of the sun. It’s the closest to the sun! Though the other side of Mercury is very cold. It’s because Mercury has no atmosphere. The suns heat escapes as fast as a wink! Oh, and for extra, 1 day on Mercury equals 59 days on earth! Know why? It’s all because of how slowly this planet spins. And I thought Earth spins slowly!!

Also, back to Earth! Don’t worry, were not done yet!J In fact, were not even close! Earth is the only planet with liquid water. From space, Earth looks like a little blue marble! We have an atmosphere and oxygen to breathe. We have something Mercury AND Venus do not. A moon. A moon is an object that orbits a planet.

After that, next stop, Venus! Venus is NOT a friendly planet. So if you go there, don’t expect a pat on the back from this planet. It traps the suns heat in its atmosphere. You can’t breathe here. The air is made out of poisonous gasses. There is burning acid in the clouds. The surface is just melting rock. These rocks form volcanoes. Venus has more volcanoes then ANY I repeat ANY other planet. See what I mean? You know what I would expect? A pile of lava in my face, boiling rocks smashing into my head, then burning and choking to death people!!

Then Mars here we come! This planet is the 4th closest to the sun. Mars is also about the same size as Earth. It’s dry and dusty. The soil is COVERED in iron. (Let me guess, you are thinking: “Yes! I’m rich!” I doubt you would go up there, but if you did, WOW!!) Mars is bitterly cold. The air is poison. That’s…. That’s…. REALLY BAD!!! GET IN YOUR SPACESHIP NOW!!! OKAY, LETS GO!!! Phew!

Another, Jupiter is the next stop on our tour. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It’s just a ball of gas. This planet spins so fast, only 10 hours on this planet is a day!

Later, Saturn comes next! Saturn is a gas planet. Rings rotate around this planet. The rings are made out of rock, ice, and dust. Some bits are tiny. But some are as big as boulders! These rings are from other moons that broke in space. Saturn has more than 60 moons! Saturn is actually pretty light for its size. It’s so light, that it could even float on water (if you found a pool big enough)!

Before the end, Uranus comes into view. In my opinion, this planet is the most interesting. Uranus is blue. This blue is not water, though. In fact, it’s a gas in its atmosphere. Uranus is a very cold, and a really dark planet. Uranus has rings, just like Saturn. Astronomers call this world an oddball. All the other planets in our solar system spin tilted, but this one doesn’t. This one spins sideways, like a ball. Scientists say that this happened because of something humongous that hit it.

Last, this is the end of your tour. Neptune is the last planet you’ll learn about. Neptune is a cold, icy and windy planet. This planet is unique because it was found by astronomers. You heard me. Not scientists and not super smart, brainy, intelligent, and nerdy people (like me). It was just hanging around somewhere in our solar system, were NO ONE (including me,) could find it. So there.

You’ve toured our solar system. Now it’s time for you to go. Sniff…. this is super sad. Sniff…. We had so much fun, and now you have to go. Sniff…. Sniff…. WAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! DON’T GO!!!! WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!! PLEASE!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! DON’T GO!! IT WAS JUST SO NICE MEETING YOU!!!!! Sniff…. Sniff…. Sorry. Just, don’t go. You still have to? Oh well. It was nice meeting you. Bye! Sniff…. Sniff…. WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!