15 Mind-Bending Facts About Earth, Space and Life in the Third Dimension
![15 Mind-Bending Facts About Earth, Space and Life in the Third Dimension](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/9/4/4/888944_320x180.jpg)
Ah, the wonders of our solar system! From the furthest reaches of space to the depths of the Earth’s core, the universe is full of fascinating and mysterious places. From the largest volcano in the solar system to the closest point to the stars, these places are full of wonders that have captivated us for centuries.
Today, we explore 15 of the most incredible places in our solar system. From Point Nemo, the furthest point from any land, to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, the largest storm in the solar system, we will explore the depths of space and the secrets of our planet. We will also discover the tallest mountain in the solar system, the closest point to the stars, and the largest volcano on Mars.
We will also explore the Sun and the distance between the Earth and the Moon. We will learn about the antipodes, the atmosphere of Venus, and the amount of water on Earth. We will also learn about the Earth’s orbit, the length of DNA, and the microgravity of the International Space Station. Finally, we will look at the gold at the center of the Earth and the largest biomass on the planet.
Earth’s a thirsty place.
![Earth's water If you put all the water on Earth into a sphere, it would be 860 miles in diameter. That's the distance from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Topeka, Kansas. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/9/888379.jpg)
USGS.gov
Winter’s here: the Sun’s 3.4% bigger and 3 million miles closer.
![Earth's orbit Earth's orbit is oval-shaped, so during the Northern Hemisphere's winter it's actually closer to the Sun, not farther away - which makes the Sun look 3.4% bigger. It's about 3 million miles closer, to be specific. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/8/0/888380.jpg)
Everest may be tallest, but Chimborazo is closer to the sky.
![CRACKED Mount Chimborazo Earth isn't a perfect sphere; it bulges at the Equator, so Ecuador's Mount Chimborazo is the closest point to the stars. It's 20,564 feet above sea level, but 6,800 feet farther from the Earth's center than Everest.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/6/6/888366.jpg)
It’s a Krill world after all
![CRACKED Antarctic Krill Antarctic krill outweigh humans-the total biomass of humans is 350 million tons, while krill's has been estimated at 379 million tons (but there are still some unknowns, so we're not too sure of that).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/3/888373.jpg)
Bring a coat -- it’s 900 degrees.
![CRACKED Venus' atmosphere You would need a really strong, airtight outer shell to survive the pressure of the atmosphere, since just walking on the surface would put you under the same pressure as being 0.6 miles underwater on Earth.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/8/888378.jpg)
The Sun is really the star of the show.
![The Sun The Sun makes up 99.8-99.9% of the mass in the solar system. The rest is made up of planets, moons, comets, asteroids, dust, and gas. If you were looking at the solar system from far away, it would just look like a regular star and not a system. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/7/888377.jpg)
Storm in a teacup?
![CRACKED Jupiter's Great Red Spot The massive anticyclonic storm is bigger than Earth. But it's recently gotten the smallest it's ever been-only 10,250 miles across. It used to be 25,500 miles long in the late 1800s (so, over two Earths) and 14,500 miles across in 1979.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/6/888376.jpg)
Mars really knows how to make an impression!
![Olympus Mons Olympus Mons, the biggest volcano in the solar system, is much taller than any mountain on Earth, standing 16 miles high and covering an area the size of Arizona, which is 374 miles wide. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/5/888375.jpg)
Captain Nemo’s namesake spot is really far from civilization.
![Point Nemo Point Nemo is so far away from any land that the closest people to it are usually astronauts. The International Space Station orbits the Earth at a maximum height of 258 miles, while the closest land to Point Nemo is over 1,670 miles away. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/1/888371.jpg)
Falling together, floating forever!
![ISS and gravity If you went up to where the International Space Station orbits Earth, and you could stay in place, you'd weigh 90% of your normal weight. The reason things float on the ISS is because the station and crew are falling together around Earth at the same rate. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/4/888374.jpg)
All the planets, plus Pluto, and change.
![Distance from Earth to Moon You could fit all the planets (plus Pluto) between the Earth and the Moon-the average distance between them is about 240,000 miles. You'd even have 1,300 miles left over. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/6/9/888369.jpg)
Universe Today
Earth’s crust: just a thin layer.
![CRACKED Earth's crust Earth's crust is like the skin of an apple - it's only 8 km thick under oceans and 32 km thick under continents. It takes up less than 1% of the Earth's space.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/6/7/888367.jpg)
Opposites attract?
![Antipodes Only around 15% of the land on Earth is opposite to another piece of land on the other side of the world (known as antipodes). CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/6/8/888368.jpg)
61 trips to the sun and back -- that’s one long DNA strand!
![DNA Every single person has 10 billion miles of DNA, enough to stretch to the sun and back 61 times. CRACKED](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/0/888370.jpg)
The ultimate buried treasure.
![CRACKED Gold at the center of the Earth All the gold at the center of the Earth could cover the planet with a 13-inch layer, but it's way too deep down for us to get to, being 1,800 miles below the surface, and at temperatures that are way too hot.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/7/2/888372.jpg)