Hovering in Space
Ty commented that the Earth was really big and asked where the Earth lived.
“In the Solar System.”
“Where’s the Solar System?”
“It goes around the sun. ‘Solar’ means Sun.”
“And what is at the bottom, way down down down down?”
“Are you asking what holds the Earth up?”
“Yea.”
“There’s no ground under the Earth. At least, no one has ever seen the bottom. The Earth just spins space, like in the air. All that spinning helps to keep it floating.”
“Oh. That’s weird!”
I laughed. “Yes, it’s a little weird, but it works.”
It’s weird that it never occurred to him that the Earth spun in space. We’ve finger painted the solar system several times. We’ve seen pictures of Earth and the planets in books, floating in space against a black background. He has seen Saturn through the telescope… I suppose it is a bit overwhelming to realize that Earth is a pale blue dot that floats and spins in black nothingness.
