When you look at a map of the world, what you see on it depends on the kind of map you have.
Does it show cities and countries, or mountains and valleys? Maybe it shows weather patterns. The variety of features on our planet is so great that one map just can’t handle them all.
Earth is part of an eight-planet solar system within the Milky Way galaxy. Earth is the third planet from the Sun and only the fifth largest overall. Its size and location aren’t very impressive, yet Earth has a talent for creating life. In fact, it’s the only place we know of that can!
One form of life—humans—tends to take this for granted. Human activities like habitat destruction, pollution, and overfishing have badly damaged life as we know it. Luckily, Earth is as tough as it is beautiful. But you don’t have to be an expert to see that one planet can only take so much.