Why Being an Air-Head is a Good Thing

Probably in elementary school, you learned about the planets in our solar system. You knew Earth was our home and for some magical reason, it’s safe for humans and other carbon-based creatures (and some non-carbon creatures 👽) to live here. 

But Why Can We *Comfortably* Live on Earth?

It has to do with the air. 

We’re pretty lucky to have an atmosphere filled with oxygen (21%), nitrogen (78%), and 1% of other stuff. 

The air acts as an insulation chamber, keeping Earth from getting too hot or too cold. Also, ozone, another type of gas, protects us from getting too much sunlight. 

But what happens when a deadly asteroid or meteor wants to take out Earth? Not to worry, per se, since most times the air will vigorously rub against the giant space rock, ensuring it’ll burn up before smashing into us. So, air separates us from the cosmos. Not some rigid shield, but a flimsy gaseous bubble, like a plastic bag, that keeps us safe.

Also, we are perfectly positioned in our solar system to generate life on Earth. Any closer or farther away from our sun, and we’d either be toast or freezing cold. 

Of course, there are many other reasons why we thrive on this planet, like water, heat, trees, and so on, but scientists believe it’s the air that’s really keeping