Earth

We love our home planet, but how much do we really know about it? How unique is it really? In just the last century we went from hoping to reach the skies to exploring our solar system. We’ve measured our galaxy, and are now able to peer back to some of the oldest structures in the distant corners of the universe! So who are we? 

So far, no other celestial body has been proven to host life, much less liquid water. There are many conjectures and hopes for discovering this foundational elixir of life, and ice has been found on other nearby objects. But as far as we know, only our Home Planet has all the necessary requirements all in the right place to sustain life. So grab a glass of water, take a deep breath, and sit outside in the warm sunshine for a spell. No other place in the Universe will let you do all three of those at once!

These astronomers, as well as the countries they were from, fought harshly over the right to name the planet. Because there was no global consensus on Uranus’ name either, it got thrown into the fight. Galle, who discovered the planet, proposed Janus, but Le Verrier wanted it named after him, with Uranus named Herschel after its discoverer. While France supported this most other countries were not very fond of the choice. Several different people proposed Neptune as a name, both for the planet’s rich blue color as well as continuing with the nomenclature used for the rest of the solar system- Roman mythology. Neptune is the Roman god of the seas, fitting for this cold, icy, stormy planet. In fact, most countries and cultures use the name of the god or mythological ruler of the seas as the title of our most distant sibling.