THE GREAT 10 LARGEST ARMIES IN THE WORLD BASED ON TROOP SIZE

The army serves as a critical component of the military forces of many nations worldwide, comprising almost solely of land forces. Army is a unit capable of independent action and consisting of a headquarters, two or more corps, and auxiliary troops. It is an organized military force equipped for fighting on land.
Although peace is what the world is trying to promote in the modern era, each country still has their own military forces to back up the country. The mission of a military is to support the nation and bring peace to the nationwide citizen.

1.People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF), China

The People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) of China is established in August 1927. PLAGF of China is the world’s biggest army, with an estimated 1.6 million troops. The PLAGF is one of the major military divisions of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) is the land-based military service branch of the People’s Liberation Army and it is the oldest branch of the entire Chinese armed forces. The People’s Liberation Army Ground Force maintains close relationships with several paramilitary organizations within China.
Primarily the People’s Armed Police and the People’s Liberation Army Milita (PLA Milita), Both of these paramilitary organisations act as a reserve force for the PLAGF during a time of national emergency such as war or natural disaster. The Chinese military divides its units into two categories, Category A and Category B. Category A covers “full-training units” with complete armaments and full establishment. They have modern armaments, and undergo full-time, high-intensity military training. Category B units are “non-full-training units” which have out-of-date armaments, are under-manned, have low budgets, receive less training, often participate in productive labor, and have to have their weapons replaced and receive basic training before they can go into battle. The PLA operates under the command of the Central Military Commission. The active ground forces of the army are deployed across seven military regions in the country.

  1. Indian Army

The Indian Army Constists of 1.2 million troops and it is equipped with T-72 and Arjun tanks, BMP series infantry fighting vehicles, anti-tank guided missiles, Apache helicopters, fast reconnaissance vehicles, modern individual weapons, self-propelled artillery and air defence missiles. The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The Indian Army originated from the armies of the East India Company, which eventually became the British Indian Army, and the armies of the princely states, which were merged into the national army after independence. The primary mission of the Indian Army is to ensure national security and national unity, to defend the nation from external aggression and internal threats, and to maintain peace and security within its borders. It conducts humanitarian rescue operations during natural calamities and other disturbances, such as Operation Surya Hope, and can also be requisitioned by the government to cope with internal threats.
Top military sources said the “game-changing” proposal is being examined by top commanders of the Army and that its main aim is to bring people closer to the 13 lakh-strong force by giving them an opportunity to experience military life. Approximately 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the Short Service Commissioned Officers are granted permanent commission, the cost of their retention till attaining 54 years of age is too high. India’s military has been in the process of operationalising cyber and space commands for several years now. The mighty Indian military is one of the top five powers in the world – though growing civilian unrest is shifting the focus within. The Indian Army is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). It employs a regimental system divided into mountain, infantry, and armoured and mechanised divisions.

  1. US Army

The US Army is one of the three military departments (army, navy and air force) working under the Department of Defence. It is mainly composed of active and reserve components. The US Army employs more than one million active-duty, reserve and National Guard members. The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution. The modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed 14 June 1775 to fight the American Revolutionary War. The mission of the U.S. Army is to fight and win our Nation’s wars, by providing prompt, sustained land dominance, across the full range of military operations and the spectrum of conflict. The United States Army is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. The US Army utilizes modern weaponry including tanks, armoured fighting vehicles, self-propelled and towed artillery, as well as missiles and rocket-launching systems.

4.Korean People’s Army Ground Force (KPAGF)

The Korean People’s Army Ground Force (KPAGF) is the major army of North Korea’s Korean People’s Army. Established in August 1947, the KPAGF is estimated to have a current strength of 950,000 troops. Korean People’s Military Land Group is the main branch of the Korean People’s Army, responsible for land-based military operations. South Korea could modernize its forces, which in turn alerted North Korea and resulted in the expansion of the North Korean armed forces. The weaker of the two Koreas has main branch of the Korean People’s Army responsible for land-based military operations. The North Korean ground force holds the arsenal of 4,300 tanks, 2,500 armoured vehicles, 8,600 field artillery systems and 5,500 multiple rocket launchers, according to latest estimates. Most of the artillery and missile systems are positioned close to the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Korea.
In 1960, the KPAGF may have totaled fewer than 400,000 personnel and probably did not rise much above that figure before 1972; the force then massively expanded over the next two decades. In 1992, there were 950,000 personnel. Before this expansion of the North Korean ground forces, the South Korean army outnumbered the KPAGF. From the 1970s on, South Korea started exceeding North Korea in terms of economics. Thus, South Korea could modernize its forces, which in turn alerted North Korea and resulted in the expansion of the North Korean armed forces. Korean People’s Army Ground Forces has six categories of ranks; marshals, general officers, senior officers, junior officers, Non-commissioned Officers, and Soldiers.

5.Pakistan Army

The Pakistan Army was formed in 1947 after independence from the British Empire. It is one of the world’s biggest armed forces. According to the estimation provided by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2020, the Pakistan Army had approximately 560,000 active-duty personnel, supported by the Army Reserve and National Guard. The Pakistan Army’s primary objective and constitutional mission is to ensure the national security and national unity of Pakistan by defending it against external aggression or the threat of war. It can also be requisitioned by the federal government to respond to internal threats by maintaining peace and security within its land borders. The Pakistan Army, which is a major component of the Pakistani military alongside the Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force, is a volunteer force which has seen extensive combat during three major wars with neighbouring India and several border skirmishes on its porous border with Afghanistan.

The Pakistan Army is commanded by the Chief of Army Staff, who is by statute a four-star ranking general and a senior member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan and subsequently affirmed by the President of Pakistan. Pakistan is purchasing over 20 weapon systems from China at low prices. The Pakistan Army engaged in three major wars against India. Most of the weapons used by the armed forces are of Chinese, European or American origin. The inventory mainly comprises small arms, armoured vehicles, artillery, helicopters and air defence systems.

6.Republic of Korea Army (ROK Army)

The South Korean Army was formed in 1948 after Korea divided into two nations. The Republic of Korea Army (ROK Army) is the ground-based force of the South Korean armed forces. With the strength of 464,000 troops, the ROK Army is the largest of three divisions. The army has been going through rapid modernization, resulting in the induction of a range of advanced weapons and military technologies. The inventory of land forces is believed to comprise 2,300 tanks, 2,700 armoured vehicles, as well as more than 5,800 artillery pieces and multiple rocket launching systems. The South Korean army is structured to operate in both the mountainous terrain native to the Korean Peninsula and in North Korea with its 950,000 strong Korean People’s Army Ground Force, two-thirds of which is permanently garrisoned in the frontline near the DMZ.
The ROK Army was formerly organized into 3 armies: the First Army (FROKA), Third Army (TROKA) and Second Operational Command. Each with its own headquarters, corps, and divisions. Many experienced military seniors from the ROK Independence Force, Japanese Force, Manchurian Force and civilians from North and South Korea joined the ROK National Armed Force. The ROK Army makes up the core of Korea’s national defense. Its mission in peace time is to deter war with the help of the Navy and the Air Force; its wartime mission is to bring all ground combat to victory. Organized into the ROK Army Headquarters, three Field Army Commands, the Aviation Operations Command, the Special Warfare Command, and units to support these commands. Each field army, corps command, and division have its own artillery unit that provides effective fire support for the maneuver forces under it. These artillery units possess various sorts of artillery, targeting equipment, fire-control systems, and high-tech weapons that make them capable of timely and sustained fire support.

7.Ground Forces of the Russian Federation

The Ground Forces of the Russian Federation, also known as the Russian Army, is the major component of the Russian Armed Forces. The Russian Army was established in May 1992 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The ground force is controlled by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Ground Forces withdrew a large number of troops aboard the former Soviet garrisons and also simplified the command and control structures. The Ground Forces of the Russian Federation currently deploys 350,000 to 400,000 troops. The Ground Forces must be able to achieve these goals both in nuclear war and non-nuclear war, especially without the use of weapons of mass destruction. Furthermore, they must be capable of protecting the national interests of Russia within the framework of its international obligations.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is the President of Russia. It is the most powerful military in Europe. Armed forces under the Ministry of Defence are divided into: 1. The three “branches of Armed Forces” the Ground Forces, Aerospace Forces, and Navy. 2. The two “separate troop branches” the Strategic Missile Forces and Airborne Forces. 3. The “special forces of Armed Forces”: the Special Operations Forces. 4. The Logistical Support, which has a separate status of its own. The Russian Armed Forces now have a totally new set of objectives that could be broken down into the following four major dimensions: 1.Deterring the military and political threats to the security or interests of the Russian Federation. 2. Supporting economic and political interests of the Russian Federation. 3. Mounting other-than-war enforcement operations. 4. Using military force.

8.Egyptian Army

The Egyptian Army is the largest service within the Egyptian Armed Forces, with 350,000 troops deployed in Operation Desert Storm. The Egyptian Army is largely equipped with US-made weapons and holds an inventory of Soviet-era arms and Chinese weapons, as well as indigenous combat systems. Egypt receives $1.6bn in military aid from the US each year, making it the second largest recipient of military aid after Israel. Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the northern reaches of the Nile River in Egypt. They consist of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptian Air Force and Egyptian Air Defense Forces. The President of the Republic serves as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The armament of the Egyptian armed forces varies between eastern and western sources through weapons deliveries by several countries, led by the United States, Russia, France, China, Italy, Ukraine and Britain. Many of the equipment is manufactured locally at Egyptian factories.
The Egyptian armed forces celebrate their anniversary on October 6 each year to commemorate the Crossing of the Suez during the October War of 1973. All branches, forces, armies, regions, bodies, organs and departments of the Armed Forces are under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, who is at the same time the Minister of Defense. Radaa-2020, carried out by units from the Egyptian Central Military Region with the participation of the branches of the Egyptian Armed Forces, is underway. The drills include training in the preparation and organization of battle, moving and conquering and then pushing the main force to attack the front border of the hostile defenses, and completing the attack to achieve the planned tasks using the MILES simulation. The Egyptian and Russian navies are conducting joint exercises in the Black Sea until the end of this year.

9.Turkish Army

The Turkish Army, also known as the Turkish Land Forces, is organised into the Western Army, Eastern Army, 3rd Army and Aegean Army. The land forces of Turkey reportedly employs 350,000 personnel. The Turkish armed forces saw a massive modernisation after joining the Nato in 1952. Altay tank, T-LORAMIDS air-defence missile system, T-70 utility helicopter and T129 attack helicopter are some of the modern combat platforms being inducted into the Turkish military. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The Chief of the General Staff is the Commander of the Armed Forces.
At the time of war, the Chief of the General Staff acts as the Commander-in-Chief on behalf of the President, who represents the Supreme Military Command of the TAF on behalf of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the nuclear sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Excellence in discipline, organization, education, and armament has always been the most common attributes of the Turkish armies. Today, the Turkish Army has gained the capacity of launching operations under all kinds of weather conditions with its cross-border operational capabilities in launching defense against terrorism, level of technology it has gained, superiority of knowledge and education, and with its reliance mainly on national war industry.

10.Islamic Republic of Iran Army (IRIA) Ground Forces

The Islamic Republic of Iranian Army (IRIA) was established in 1925. The Iranian Army Ground Forces are currently estimated to field 350,000 active personnel. The IRIA relied on US weapons until the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Iran manufactured a range of weapons and combat systems since 1979. The current inventory constitutes tanks such as the locally produced Zulfiqar, armoured personnel carriers and motorised and towed artillery pieces. It is the largest armoured force globally and possesses the biggest Army Aviation fleet in the Middle East. A national army of sorts has existed in Iran since the establishment of the Persian Empire. The army is tasked to protect the territorial integrity of the Iranian state from external and internal threats and to project power.
Artesh has its own Joint Staff which coordinates its four separate service branches: Ground Forces, Air Force, Navy and the newly established Air Defense Force. From 1972 to 1976, Iranian troops were sent to Oman to fight with the Royal Army of Oman against the Dhofar Rebellion. In 1976, a contingent was sent to Pakistan to assist the Pakistan Army against the Insurgency in Balochistan. The army serves as a critical component of the military forces of many nations worldwide, comprising almost solely of land forces. As Iran approaches the fortieth anniversary of the Iran-Iraq War, the debate over the role of Artesh has been intensifying. Reviewing facts and events on the ground has highlighted the role of the IRIAF and the Artesh by extension. The Iranian public is growing increasingly interested in the unofficial version of the war, eager to learn what the American-trained pilots and officers of Artesh did.

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THE GREAT 10 LARGEST DESERTS IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE AREA OF DESERTS

A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. Approximately one-fifth of the Earth’s surface is covered by deserts. A region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all. This is an area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil. This area of the ocean in which it is believed no marine life exists. Desert is unsettled area between Mississippi and rocky mountains thought to be unsuitable for human habitation. Experts have several ways of categorizing the different types of deserts, but most will agree on some version of the following four classifications: hot and dry, semiarid, coastal, and cold. Due to intense heat, rain is known to evaporate in hot and dry deserts before it can even reach the ground. Many semiarid deserts get so little rain because tall mountain ranges prevent precipitation from reaching these drier regions. These are the 10 largest deserts in the world by size.

1.Antarctic: 5,500,000 sq. miles

Antarctica is the driest continent. The Antarctic is located in the southern hemisphere and covered by around 7.1 million cubic miles of an ice sheet that is approximately 1.5 miles thick. With a humidity rating of 5% it is the driest region on the planet, and so, Antarctic is classified as a large barren cold desert. The name Antarctica is the romanised version of the Greek compound word ,meaning is “opposite to the Arctic”, “opposite to the north”. Very little snow or rain falls on the continent, but because it is so cold, the small amount of precipitation that does fall does not melt. 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice. The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was at Russia’s Vostok Station in Antarctica: -89.2°C (-128.6°F) on 21st July, 1983. About 70% of Earth’s fresh water is in the Antarctic ice cap. There are no countries in Antarctica; the continent is governed by an international treaty. There are no permanent residents. But up to 1,000 people may be wintering over at various research stations. It is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia. At 0.00008 people per square km, it is by far the least densely populated continent. Antarctica is a good place to find meteorites, or rocks that fall from space to Earth. Scientists find more meteorites in Antarctica than any other place in the world. NASA sends teams to Antarctica to learn more about the planet Mars. Antarctica and Mars have a lot in common. Both places are cold. Both places are dry like a desert.

Antarctica and Arctic deserts are classified as cold deserts. Due to their positions at the northern and southern poles of our planet, they are also known as polar deserts. They are the largest deserts in the world. The former makes up the entire continent, while the latter stretches across numerous countries like Canada, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. They are very dry, but not in the traditional sense. They are cold all year round with frigid winters. Instead of sand, the surrounding surface is covered in layers of ice and snow. The average temperature hovers around freezing, but can plummet to -50 degrees Celsius. During wet seasons, cold deserts can get up to eighteen inches of rain every year, but on average, they receive only six to ten. Scientists take turns going there to study the ice. Tourists visit Antarctica in the summer season. One tool that NASA uses is ICESat. That stands for the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite. Using ICESat, NASA can measure changes in the size of Antarctica’s ice sheets. ICESat also helps NASA to understand how polar ice may change and affect the rest of the planet. Melting ice sheets in Antarctica may change sea levels all over the world. Some experts even claim that certain areas in Antarctica have not seen rain in 14 million years. Few plants can survive such brutal conditions. Many of the animals that call these polar regions home have easily adapted to the cold, such as bears, penguins, and seals. About Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista.

2.Arctic: 5,000,000 sq. miles

Arctic covers the island groups of Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Severny Island and Severnaya Zemlya in the Arctic Ocean, above 75 degrees north latitude. The Arctic is the second largest desert on the planet and is slightly smaller in size than the Antarctic. It is so cold that the snow that does fall doesn’t melt, so deep snow covers the land and ice. As long as there is some source of moisture and some way to lift or cool the air, it can snow even at incredibly cold temperatures. The top part of the Arctic region, known as the Arctic Circle, receives minimal precipitation and is classified as desert land. The southern region of the Arctic, also known as Tundra, has greater precipitation and therefore, supports a thriving ecosystem. A large part of the Arctic is sea ice. The region is covered with glaciers, snow, and bare rock in a harshly cold environment. It has an area of 161,400 square kilometres (62,300 sq mi). The ecoregion stretches 2,000 km west-to-east, and 1,000 km north-to-south, across the Arctic Ocean north of Norway and Russia. Arctic, northernmost region of the Earth, centred on the North Pole and characterized by distinctively polar conditions of climate, plant and animal life, and other physical features. The term is derived from the Greek arktos (“bear”), referring to the northern constellation of the Bear. It has sometimes been used to designate the area within the Arctic Circle—a mathematical line that is drawn at latitude 66°30′ N, marking the southern limit of the zone in which there is at least one annual period of 24 hours during which the sun does not set and one during which it does not rise. This line, however, is without value as a geographic boundary, since it is not keyed to the nature of the terrain.

The Arctic Desert refers to a number of islands north of 75 degrees north latitude. This includes northern Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Islands and Severnaya Zemlya. Mapped ecoregion boundaries correspond to the arctic desert zone in Kurnaev’s forest map of the USSR. However, northern sections of the Taimyr Peninsula, Novosibirsk Islands and Wrangel Island were excluded from this region as their lower latitudes permit a wider range and higher abundance of species. International interest in the Arctic and subarctic regions has steadily increased during the 20th century, particularly since World War II. Three major factors are involved: the advantages of the North Pole route as a shortcut between important centres of population, the growing realization of economic potentialities such as mineral like petroleum and forest resources and grazing areas, and the importance of the regions in the study of global meteorology. The Arctic lands have developed geologically around four nuclei of ancient crystalline rocks. The largest of these, the Canadian Shield, underlies all the Canadian Arctic except for part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands. It is separated by Baffin Bay from a similar shield area that underlies most of Greenland. The Arctic desert is home to a number of highly adapted species, which can cope with the extreme conditions or, as some long-distant migratory bird species come there only for a short summer season.

3.Sahara: 3,320,000 sq. miles

The Sahara is a desert on the African continent. Around 25% of the land is covered by sand with the total region comprising a mix of hilly areas and shallow land. The Sahara is the third largest desert and is part of a high-temperature zone, unlike the colder regions of Arctic and Antarctic. The total area varies but mostly stretches approximately 3,000 miles across and around 1,100 miles north to south. The northern areas of the Sahara experiences mostly dry subtropical temperatures while the southern areas remain mostly dry tropical. It is the largest hot desert in the world. The name ‘Sahara’ is derived from the Arabic word for “desert”. The population of the Sahara is just two million. For several hundred thousand years, the Sahara has alternated between desert and savanna grassland in a 20,000 year cycle caused by the precession of the Earth’s axis as it rotates around the Sun, which changes the location of the North African Monsoon. The area is next expected to become green in about 15,000 years . The Sahara is bordered in the west by the Atlantic Ocean, in the north by the Atlas Mountains and Mediterranean Sea, in the east by the Red Sea, and in the south by the Sahel—a semiarid region that forms a transitional zone between the Sahara to the north and savannas to the south. The enormous desert spans 11 countries: Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia. Other topographical features include mountains, plateaus, sand- and gravel-covered plains, salt flats, basins and depressions. Mount Koussi, an extinct volcano in Chad, is the highest point in the Sahara at 11,204 feet (3,415 m), and the Qattara Depression in Egypt is the Saraha’s deepest point, at 436 feet (133 m) below sea level. The highest peak in the Sahara is Emi Koussi (3,415m), a volcano located in Tibesti Mountains, Chad. In east-central Algeria lies the Isaouane-n-Tifernine Sand Sea, with sand dunes as high as 450m – some of the tallest in the world. The largest dunes in Morocco are the Erg Chigaga – with some dunes reaching a massive 300m.
Camels, also known as the “ships of the desert,” are well-adapted for the hot, arid environment, according to the San Diego Zoo. The humps on a camel’s back store fat, which can be used for energy and hydration in between meals. Camels store energy so efficiently that they can go more than a week without water and several months without food. Other residents of the Sahara include a variety of gazelles, addax, cheetahs, caracals, desert foxes and wild dogs, according to the Sahara Conservation Fund. Many reptile species also thrive in the desert environment, including several species of snakes, lizards, and even crocodiles in places where there is enough water. Plant species in the Sahara have adapted to the arid conditions, with roots that reach deep underground to find buried water sources and leaves that are shaped into spines that minimize moisture loss. The most arid parts of the desert are completely void of plant life, but oasis areas, such as the Nile Valley, support a large variety of plants, including olive trees, date palms and various shrubs and grasses. One proposal for mitigating the effects of climate change is to install large-scale wind and solar farms in the Sahara. The farms would provide clean energy and reduce the amount of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, and may also promote increased precipitation in the vicinity. Several activities you can do in the Sahara such as quad biking, stargazing, sand surfing, camping or trekking. Our Sahara Desert Trek is a fantastic adventure, taking us on a 4 day trek to the top of the Chegaga Dunes.
Although water is scarce across the entire region, the Sahara contains two permanent rivers (the Nile and the Niger), at least 20 seasonal lakes and huge aquifers, which are the primary sources of water. Despite the harsh, arid conditions of the desert, several plants and animals call the region home. There are approximately 500 species of plants, 70 known mammalian species, 90 avian species and 100 reptilian species that live in the Sahara, plus several species of spiders, scorpions and other small arthropods, according to World Wildlife Fund. Camels are one of the most iconic animals of the Sahara. The large mammals are native to North America and eventually made their way across the Bering Isthmus between 3 and 5 million years ago, according to a study in the Research Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Management in 2015. Camels were domesticated about 3,000 years ago on the Southeast Arabian Peninsula, to be used for transportation in the desert.The Sahara desert has a variety of land features, but is most famous for the sand dune fields that are often depicted in movies. The dunes can reach almost 600 feet (183 meters) high but they cover only about 15 percent of the entire desert. The average annual temperature is 30°C, whilst the hottest temperature ever recorded was 58°C. The area receives little rainfall, in fact, half of the Sahara Desert receives less than 1 inch of rain every year.

4.Arabian Desert: 900,000 sq. miles

The Arabian Desert appears as a vast expanse of light sand-coloured terrain with an occasional indistinct line of escarpments or mountain ranges, black lava flows, or reddish systems of desert dunes stretching to the horizon. Arabian Desert is the largest desert area on the continent—covering an area of about 900,000 square miles (2,300,000 square km)—and the second largest on Earth, surpassed in size only by the Sahara, in northern Africa. The Arabian desert is part of the Arabian Peninsula that extends across the 220 latitude and 120 to 340 north. Several countries that share the desert land include; Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and the UAE. Large parts of the desert experiences extremely high temperatures, reaching 1300 F during peak summer season. Arabian Desert, great desert region of extreme southwestern Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. Mountainous highlands rise in the northwestern portion of the Hejaz region, in the Asir region, in Yemen, and in Oman. Lesser ranges have been uncovered by erosion in the interior. Eighteen volcanic fields are scattered through the west, mainly in Hejaz, several of them more than 10,000 square miles (25,000 square km) in area.

The Arabian Desert is bordered to the north by the Syrian Desert, to the northeast and east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, to the southeast and south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and to the west by the Red Sea. A large part of the Arabian Desert lies within the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yemen, on the coast of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, borders the desert to the southwest. Oman, bulging out into the Gulf of Oman, lies at the eastern edge of the desert. The sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to the west stretch along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf at the desert’s northeastern limit. The emirate of Kuwait abuts the northern Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. In the northwest the desert extends into Jordan.
Vegetation at first seems nonexistent, but the discerning eye can find sparse patches of growth on the surface, or bits of green where shrubs strive to survive. There is almost always a breeze, which changes seasonally to winds of gale force. The Sun and Moon are bright in clear skies, although dust and humidity may lower visibility. The Arabian Desert consists of two major regions. The first, the ancient Arabian platform, is in the west. It is composed mainly of Precambrian gneiss and was assembled roughly 900 to 541 million years ago. The second region, in the east, comprises sedimentary rock layers deposited over the past 541 million years on continental shelves and within marine basins along the margins of the Arabian platform. Vast amounts of petroleum formed between those sedimentary rock layers, making the Arabian Desert the richest petroleum-producing region in the world. Roughly 33 million years ago, early in the Oligocene Epoch, Arabia began to split away from Africa. That was the onset of a period of rifting that was caused by upwelling from Earth’s mantle beneath the regions now lying on either side of the Red Sea.

5.Gobi Desert: 500,000 sq. miles

Located in Central Asia, the Gobi desert is shared by Mongolia and China. Unlike the Sahara and Arabian deserts, Gobi is mostly made up of hard rock and not sand. The desert is a result of the rain shadow from the tall Himalayan Mountains which prevents precipitation carrying winds from reaching the Gobi. Maximum temperature can touch a high of 1130 F during peak summer season while it can dip to as low as -400 F is some parts. The Gobi Desert is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia. The Gobi is a rain shadow desert, formed by the Tibetan Plateau blocking precipitation from the Indian Ocean reaching the Gobi territory. The Gobi is overall a cold desert, with frost and occasionally snow occurring on its dunes. Besides being quite far north, it is also located on a plateau roughly 910–1,520 m (2,990–4,990 ft) above sea level, which contributes to its low temperatures. An average of approximately 194 mm (7.6 in) of rain falls annually in the Gobi. Additional moisture reaches parts of the Gobi in winter as snow is blown by the wind from the Siberian Steppes.

Large copper deposits are being mined by Rio Tinto Group. The mine was and remains controversial. There was significant opposition in Mongolia’s parliament to the terms under which the mine will proceed, and some are calling for the terms to be renegotiated. The Gobi name come from Mongolian gobi, meaning “waterless place. Gobi is not sandy desert but bare rock. It is possible to drive over this surface by car for long distances in any direction: northward toward the Altai and Hangayn mountain ranges, eastward toward the Da Hinggan Range, or southward toward the Bei Mountains and Huang He valley. The Gobi consists of the Gaxun, Junggar (Dzungarian), and Trans-Altai Gobi in the west, the Eastern, or Mongolian, Gobi in the centre and east, and the Alxa Plateau (Ala Shan Desert) in the south. The Eastern Gobi is similar to the western regions, with elevations varying from 2,300 to 5,000 feet (700 to 1,500 metres), but it receives somewhat more precipitation—up to 8 inches (200 mm) per year—though it lacks significant rivers. The Gobi’s plains consist of chalk and other sedimentary rocks that are chiefly Cenozoic in age (i.e., up to about 66 million years old), though some of the low, isolated hills are older. The terrain contains small masses of shifting sands.

6.Kalahari Desert: 360,000 sq. miles

This subtropical desert is located in the southern part of the African continent and shared between Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Angola. One of the most interesting Kalahari Desert facts is that it is not a desert in the strictest sense of the word, as it receives too much rainfall – between 5 and 10 inches annually. However any rain filters rapidly through the vast expanses of sand, leaving nothing on the surface, turning the Kalahari into the “thirstland”. A more accurate definition of a desert is a region in which “the evaporation rate is twice as great as the precipitation”. This is true for the southwestern half of the Kalahari. The northeastern portion, however, receives much more rainfall and, climatically, cannot qualify as a desert; and yet, it is totally lacking in surface water. In the southwest it merges with the Namib, the coastal desert of Namibia. Kalahari is derived from the Tswana word Kgala, meaning “the great thirst”, or Kgalagadi, meaning “a waterless place”; The Kalahari has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water. The Kalahari’s longest north–south extent is roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres), and its greatest east–west distance is about 600 miles; its area has been estimated at some 360,000 square miles (930,000 square kilometres). Extended dunes cover most of the north and northwestern parts of the Kalahari. Numerous pans exist within the Kalahari, including the Groot-vloer Pan and Verneukpan where evidence of a wetter climate exists in the form of former contouring for capturing of water. North and east, approximately where the dry forests, savannahs and salt lakes prevail, the climate is sub-humid rather than semi-arid. South and west, where the vegetation is predominantly xeric savanna or even a semi-desert, the climate is “Kalaharian” semi-arid. During peak summer, the temperature can reach 1150 F during the day and fall to 750 F at night. Winter temperatures drop to 100 F. Bedrock is exposed only in the low but vertical-walled hills, called kopjes, that rarely but conspicuously rise above the general surface. Aside from the kopjes, three surfaces characterize virtually all of the Kalahari: sand sheets, longitudinal dunes, and vleis (pans).
Due to its low aridity, the Kalahari supports a variety of flora. The native flora includes acacia trees and many other herbs and grasses. The kiwano fruit, also known as the horned melon, melano, African horned cucumber, jelly melon, or hedged gourd, is endemic to a region in the Kalahari Desert. The Kalahari is home to many migratory birds and animals. Previously havens for wild animals from elephants to giraffes, and for predators such as lions and cheetahs, the riverbeds are now mostly grazing spots, though leopards and cheetahs can still be found. The area is now heavily grazed and cattle fences restrict the movement of wildlife. Among deserts of the Southern Hemisphere, the Kalahari most closely resembles some Australian deserts in its latitude and its mode of formation. The temperatures in the Kalahari Desert are extreme, with summers being very hot while winter temperatures can go below zero degrees Celsius at night. This is a result of the Kalahari’s relatively high altitude and predominantly clear, dry air. Arid-adapted game includes springbok, gemsbok, wildebeest, kudu, steenbok and duiker. The Kalahari is home to desert specialties such as meerkat, bat-eared foxes, cape fox and brown hyena. One of the more unexpected Kalahari Desert facts is that all three African big cats can be found here –cheetah, leopard and the famous black-maned Kalahari lions. The Kalahari is the southernmost desert in Africa. It is the sixth biggest desert by area on Earth and the second biggest in Africa after the Sahara.

7.Great Victoria Desert: 220,000 sq. miles

The largest desert on the Australian continent is located in the southwestern region and extends over 700 miles across. The desert is mostly arid and made up of rocky terrain and undulating dunes. During the summer season, temperatures can exceed 1050 F, and in winters dip to as low as 680 F. The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely-populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia. The Great Victoria consists of many small sandhills, grassland plains, areas with a closely packed surface of pebbles and salt lakes. The area of the Great Victoria Desert is shared roughly equally by the states of South and Western Australia. It is north of the Nullarbor Plain and south of the Musgrave Ranges. The climate of the GVD is arid, with variable and unpredictable rainfall that can fall in either summer or winter. The median annual rainfall (1890–2005) averaged across the GVD is 162 mm. Its pristine, arid wilderness includes red sand dunes, stony plains and dry salt lakes. There is no permanent surface water, with scarce rock holes, claypans and soaks holding water only during wet periods. Within this landscape there are Aboriginal communities at Oak Valley, Watarru and Walalkara. 15 bird species with a conservation rating including the princess parrot, malleefowl and scarlet chested parrot. The Great Victoria Desert can be very dry and sandy. However, plants and animals still live there. The plants are adapted to the dry, arid climate, otherwise they would not be able to survive. Wallabies, bandy snakes, lizards. kangaroos . and many birds live in the Great Victoria Desert. These animals have also adapted to survive in extreme heat and extreme cold. It was penetrated in 1875 by a party led by the explorer Ernest Giles, who named it the Great Victoria Desert. Supports many vegetation types, including eucalypt open woodlands, mulga woodlands, acacia shrublands, casuarina and mallee shrublands and woodlands, and chenopod and samphire shrublands. Of note are the sparse woodlands of stately marble gums.

8.Patagonia Desert: 200,000 sq. miles

Located in South America between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, the Patagonia desert is part of Argentina and Chile. A cold winter desert, temperatures here average 370 F. The Patagonian Desert is the largest of the 40° parallel and is a large cold winter desert, where the temperature rarely exceeds 12 °C and averages just 3 °C. The region experiences about seven months of winter and five months of summer. Frost is not uncommon in the desert but, due to the very dry condition year round, snow is rare. It is bounded, approximately, by the Patagonian Andes to the west, the Colorado River to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Strait of Magellan to the south; the region south of the strait—Tierra del Fuego, which is divided between Argentina and Chile—also is often included in Patagonia. Desert and semidesert cover the Patagonian tableland that extends from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. The general aspect of this tableland is one of vast steppelike plains, rising in terrace fashion from high coastal cliffs to the foot of the Andes; but the true aspect of the plains is by no means as simple as such a general description would imply. The land along the Negro River rises in a series of fairly level terraces from about 300 feet (90 metres) at the coast to about 1,300 feet at the junction of the Limay and Neuquen rivers and 3,000 feet at the base of the Andes. South of the Negro River, the plains are much more irregular. Volcanic eruptions occurred in this area until fairly recent times, and basaltic sheets covered the tableland east of Lakes Buenos Aires and Pueyrredon.

  1. Syrian Desert: 200,000 sq. miles

Syrian Desert located in West Asia, the desert forms part of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan. The Syrian desert is about the same size as Patagonia but is a subtropical desert which is mostly dry. The Syrian Desert also known as the Syrian steppe, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badia, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe. The land is open, rocky or gravelly desert pavement, cut with occasional wadis. The desert is bounded by the Orontes Valley and the volcanic field of Harrat al-Shamah to the west, and by the Euphrates to the east. In the north, the desert gives way to the more fertile areas and to the south it runs into the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula. Several parts of the Syrian Desert have been referred to separately such as the Palmyrene desert around Palmyra, and the Homs desert. The eastern section of the Syrian Desert, that within borders of Iraq, can be referred to as the Western Desert.

The Syrian desert, in turn, is divided into two parts, which differ in their surface structure. The first, a plateau in the southwest, is more elevated than the other part and also much drier. The part to the northeast starts at lower elevation in the south—2,208 feet (673 m)—and ends at 623 feet (190 m) in the north. This part is dry and has dry river channels (wadis) exposed to flooding. These wadis range in length from 93 to 186 miles (150–300 km) and in width from 0.3 to 0.6 miles (0.5 to 1 km). Annual precipitation in the Syrian desert does not exceed 5.85 inches (150 mm). Receiving on the average less than 5 inches (125 mm) of rainfall annually and largely covered by lava flows, it formed a nearly impenetrable barrier between the populated areas of the Levant and Mesopotamia until modern times ; several major motor routes and oil pipelines now bisect it. In the late 1970s, there was much oil exploration.

10.Great Basin Desert: 190,000 sq. miles

The Great Basin Desert is located in the United States and forms part of the Greater North American Desert. It’s mountain peaks (33) reaches 10,000 feet. Since large parts are mountainous, the temperatures vary based on the elevation. It covers an arid expanse of about 190,000 square miles (492,000 square km) and is bordered by the Sierra Nevada range on the west, the Wasatch Mountains on the east, the Columbia Plateau on the north, and the Mojave Desert on the south. Minerals have proved to be the greatest resource of the Great Basin. Much of the nation’s gold, magnesite, barite, and mercury are produced in Nevada, which is also among the leading producers of lithium, silver, diatomite, and gemstones. Utah is the leading producer of beryllium ore and is among the leading producers of gold, silver, copper, iron ore, and molybdenum. The desert is a geographical region that largely overlaps the Great Basin shrub steppe defined by the World Wildlife Fund, and the Central Basin and Range ecoregion defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and United States Geological Survey. The desert is one of the four biologically defined deserts in North America, in addition to the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan Deserts. There are more than 33 peaks within the desert with summits higher than 9,800 feet (3,000 m), but valleys in the region are also high, most with elevations above 3,900 feet (1,200 m). Different locations in the desert have different amounts of precipitation, depending on the strength of these rain shadows. The Great Basin Desert is the only “cold” desert in the country, where most precipitation falls in the form of snow. A desert is defined as a region that receives less than 10 inches (25cm) of precipitation per year.
The mountain ranges of the Great Basin have been likened, in an old survey report, to a group of caterpillars all crawling irregularly northward. The ranges are from 60 to 120 miles (95 to 190 km) long and 3 to 15 miles (5 to 24 km) wide. The valleys are usually somewhat wider than the ranges and are mostly deserts, with floors 1,000 to 6,000 feet (300 to 1,800 metres) above sea level. The annual rainfall of 6 to 12 inches (150 to 300 mm) in the basin supports little more than sparse desert or semidesert vegetation. In many places volcanic rocks that formed about 30 million years ago have been cut and displaced by the block faults. There are historical records of earthquakes and constant contemporary micro-earthquakes, indicating that faulting has continued to the present day. The valley floors have deep soils resulting from thousands of years of mountain erosion. These valleys receive little rainfall; most of precipitation occurs as winter snow. The combination of hot, dry summers and cold winters results in a characteristic vegetation dominated by aromatic, perennial shrubs such as various forms of sagebrush . This vegetation type is dominated by one species and is known as the Great Basin Sagebrush Zone. In the wetter, more northerly parts there is an increasing proportion of grasses, giving rise to a vegetation type termed Sagebrush Steppe. In other, scattered regions of this desert, where the soil particles are very fine, there are permanent lakes or temporary lakes. These areas and the surrounding lands can have a high salt concentration caused by the evaporation of water. Such areas are dominated by various types of saltbush giving a vegetation type known as Salt-Desert Shrub.

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THE GREAT 10 LARGEST FLOWERS IN THE WORLD

Nature often surprises us with true wonders. There are the flowers that can leave anybody speechless. The seed-bearing part of a plant, consisting of reproductive organs that are typically surrounded by a brightly coloured corolla (petals) and a green calyx (sepals) is called flower. There are many fragrant and beautiful flowers on earth, but many of them are similar in size about 1inch to 5 inches in diameter. Rose is one of the most popular and loved of the beautiful flowers. Flowers are part of the most important occasions of life and have a language of their own. Flowers’ meanings and symbolization were a key element many years ago. Plants succeeded in using their flower’s deceptive development–using color and smell to attract insects and animals for pollination.

1.Rafflesia arnoldii

Rafflesia arnoldii is one of the world’s most endangered plant species. It has a diameter of over three feet. It is also known as Rafflesia tuanmudae or Stinking corpse lily or corpse flower and is one of the largest living organisms. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies certain Rafflesian species, such as Rafflesia Magnifica, as “critically endangered.” This process happens once a year, when Rafflesia grows to its maximum diameter with five leathery, red spotted petals around a bowl-like center that swallows flies and insects for further sustenance. This parasitic plant is steady, not visible until it is about to bloom, with no roots, stems, twigs, or leaves. Buds arise over months to the size of the cabbage without a sign of the contaminated host plant. Corpse flower’s bloom too has a rotten corpse smell. The rafflesia feeds on a host plant to live, drinking its water and nutrients. The rafflesia’s life is tragically short. Its mouth remains open for just one week before it rots and dies. so the largest flower on Earth is on borrowed time. While the flies gain nothing from the flowers, the pollen sticks to its back as they rest on the bloom,attracted by its rotten meat scent.
When these flies pass into a female flora, the pollen is released in the flowers so they can fertilize it. Its produced fruit has thousands of seeds and is fleshy and small. Such fruits are consumed by tree shrews, which then continue to disperse the plant’s seeds. Rafflesia arnoldii is one of the three national flowers in Indonesia, the other two being the white jasmine and moon orchid. It was officially recognized as a national “rare flower”. Scientists just found one of the world’s largest flowers blooming in an Indonesian jungle. It was named Rafflesia after British colonialist Sir Stamford Raffles who spotted one in Indonesia in the early 19th Century. Rafflesia is a genus of flower with 28 known species, the second largest of which is Rafflesia kerrii, with blooms measuring 70 to 110 cm across, or over three feet. Only Rafflesia arnoldii of Sumatra exceeds its dimensions slightly, becoming the largest single flower on Earth. Rafflesia is endemic in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

  1. Titan arum

Titans normally open in the evening and the intense odor only lasts for 12 hours. The bloom will stay open (with a much lighter odor) for only 1-2 days. The plant must reach 10-15 years of age before it blooms for the first time and then blooms every 3-5 years thereafter. Titan arum also known as Amorphophallus titanum or death flower, is the flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, that bloom rarely for a short period. This bud started growing in April, and we believe that it will bloom in early June. It is not among best-smelling flowers as this flower releases while it is in bloom a smell, like a rotten corpse. Fluorescence of the titan arum is not as large as the talipot palm but rather branches off, unlike talipot, which makes it a bigger flower. The plant itself reaches approximately 10 to 15 feet in height, and the leaves can be as large as 13 feet(4 m). The tallest recorded bloom of corpse flower, according to Guinness Book of World Records, was 10 feet 2.225 inches tall that also makes titan arum as the tallest flower in the world.
In the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the corpse flower is classified as “vulnerable” in the Red List of Threatened Plants. But, if the conditions that affect its life and reproduction do not change, the plant may become endangered. Habitat loss and devastation are the primary threats. Titan Arums are only found in the jungles of Sumatra and produce the world’s largest floral structures. Greenhouse Manager Tammy Blume and volunteer and titan enthusiast Mariah Huffman attempted pollination by hand with pollen that was collected three weeks earlier from Rotney. This pollination was successful, and Odie produced beautiful orange and red berries, which you can see below. These seeds were collected and some were used to start new plants for our collection, while others were shared with other institutions all over the country.

  1. Talipot palm

Talipot palm is one of the world’s largest palms, having origins from South India. It has a height of up to 25 m and a diameter of stems of up to 1.3 m. It is a palm fan with a diameter of up to 5 m, a petiole up to 4 m, and around 130 leaflets. The Talipot Palm has one or more million small flowers, the largest inflorescence in any plant, 6-8 m long, on a branched trunk stitched on top of a trunk. The Talipot palms are monocarpic, which means their flowers only once at the age of 30 to 80. The plant dies after fruiting. A single tree yields more than250 kg of seeds. Talipot Palm has many uses it is as useful as coconut in its native region, and Talipot fruits, which are surprisingly tasty, are known as ice apple. Their leaves are also used extensively for wall protection, for plaiting the mats and as umbrellas during rainy season. Like other palms, the central part of the stem of Corypha umbraculifera, is a rich source of starch. Palms are felled to extract this central ‘pith’ which is dried, powdered, stored and used for preparation of bread. It is a species of palm native to eastern and southern India and Sri Lanka. It is also grown in Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Thailand and the Andaman Islands. Kerala coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also home to this species. Once the seeds fall, the tree also dies.

  1. Neptune grass (Posidonia oceanica)

The Posidonia Oceanica, which is also named “Neptune grass,” has been sequenced by a group of scientists to be around 200,000 old seaweed covering ocean floors from Spain to Cyprus. The plant has roots, twigs, leaves, flowers, and it creates fruits known as sea olives. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. It should not be confused with algae. It flowers in the autumn. The leaves are tape-shaped, measuring between 1 cm in width and between 30 and 120 cm in length. This aquatic plant lives in the Mediterranean Sea and in certain areas south of Australia, with similar characteristics to dry land. Among the many strengths of Neptune Grass is that it oxidizes the oceans and is also a food source formany animal species.Its appearance also shows that the water is of good quality and is well stored. Biologists often term Posidonia Oceanica as “Mediterranean’s Lungs.” Balls of fibrous material from its foliage, known as egagropili, wash up to nearby shorelines. This species is found only in the Mediterranean Sea where it is in decline, occupying an area of about 3% of the basin.
Seagrasses are a paraphyletic group of angiosperm plants, which are exclusively found in estuarine and marine environments. They belong to four families, Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Cymodoceaceae, and Hydrocharitaceae. Among these, the endemic species Posidonia oceanica is predominant in the Mediterranean Sea. Posidonia meadows provide breeding and nursery grounds for various fish and other marine organisms. They influence commercial fishing and shape the coastal structure by accumulating nutrients. The meadows of the seagrass posidonia oceanica are essential for the protection of the marine environment on the Spanish Mediterranean coasts. Posidonia oceanica is a Mediterranean endemic phanerogam or flowering plant which has special characteristics which must be known at the outset in order to prevent serious environmental damage through the construction of harbour works. These characteristics include a millenary life span, a need for light and clear water, very slow growth and reproduction rate, a need for sandy beds, a shedding of leaves in Autumn and the fact that they form meadows over a very long period which stabilise the shoreline by preventing the impact of the sea.

  1. Puya raimondii

Puya raimondii is the largest bromeliad species, with a height up to 15 m and is also known as the queen of the Andes. We can find this type of plant species in Bolivian and Peruvian forests from the high Andes. The flower can reach a height of up to 30 feet (9.14 m), which contains 8-12 million seeds per plant. The Queen of the Andes in the wild have only three populations. There are thousands of species comprising the bromeliad group, but Puya raimondii has less geneticdiversity. Puya raimondii is currently on a verge of extinction because of the inability to adapt to climate changeand deforestation. The species name of raimondii commemorates the 19th-century Italian scientist Antonio Raimondi, who immigrated to Peru and made extensive botanical expeditions there. The whole plant may reach as much as 15 m (50 ft) tall.
This plant can produce between 8,000 and 20,000 flowers in a 3-month period. Its reproductive cycle lasts approximately 80 years. of the Andes (Puya raimondii) is a terrestrial bromeliad. Many bromeliads are epiphytes, growing on the surface of other plants and getting their food from the air and accumulated plant matter trapped in branch crevices. Terrestrial bromeliads have their roots in soil. There are only three populations of Queen of the Andes in the wild. Most of them have many thousands of plants, but their genetic diversity is very low. They may be unable to adapt to changes in climate. Human impacts to the populations include repeated fires to generate or maintain pasture for livestock forage.

  1. Common Sunflower
yellow sunflower macro photographyt
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Sunflowers are extremely well-known worldwide. Sunflowers are mainly from North and South America, and some species are cultivated in farms for the spectacular sizes of their blossom and for their edible seeds. nowadays you can find them in numerous countries around the world. Sunflowers Their bright yellow color is their defining characteristic and makes them very striking. Sunflower seeds are used to make sunflower oil or can directly be eaten roasted. At least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day is needed for the sunflowers, the better if you try to maximize their potential for size. The excessive blooming of gigantic sunflowers is difficult to top. On towering stems, the Russian variety opens flowers up to 14 inches in diameter, 9 to 12 feet high. The disk flowers are brown, yellow, or purple, while the petallike ray flowers are yellow. The fruit is a single-seeded achene.
Oilseed varieties typically have small black achenes, while those grown for direct seed consumption, known as confection varieties, have larger black-and-white achenes that readily separate from the seed within. Farmers generally sow seeds in spring while they harvest the crop at the end of summer. If considered usability, Sunflower is the biggest flower in the world. The leaves are used as fodder, the flowers yield a yellow dye, and the seeds contain oil and are used for food. The oil is also used in soap and paints and as a lubricant. The sweet yellow oil obtained by compression of the seeds is considered equal to olive or almond oil for table use. These flowers with their gorgeous big and bright blooms have a unique and winning combination of offering some rather amazing benefits to us as well as being pretty to look at. It is a useful alternative and replacement for unhealthy margarine spreads and high fat butter for cakes and home bakes.

  1. Tree peony

Common peony is an exquisite flower but, its bigger counterpart, the tree peony, is a very different plant. Tree peonies are woody shrubs, with no support, as some grow at 10 feet high. They have many forms, colors, and fragrances, and their flowers are much bigger and typically bloom about two weeks earlier than herby peonies. During their bloom season, which lasts for about two weeks in April and May, plants can have more than 50 blooms at one time. For gardeners we must embrace China for they provided many of our most cherished garden flowers, including the stunningly beautiful tree peony. Chinese use them as decorative ornaments and for medicinal purposes. As the season advances, the flower buds begin to swell, reaching the size of a small apple before issuing forth in late April with a flower the size of a salad plate.
Double forms are most common with the blossoms in delicate pastel shades of red, pink, white and yellow. Tree peonies can be grown in all parts of Arkansas but are less common in gardens than their herbaceous cousins. Their rarity in cultivation is because they’re difficult to propagate. Tree peonies do best in a fertile, well drained garden soil. They will grow in full sun or light shade and are easy to grow if well sited. With so many varieties of peonies available these days, selecting the right peony for your garden can be confusing. Add terms like tree peony, itoh peony and herbaceous peony, and it can seem overwhelming. The mid to late spring blossoms of tree peonies are unrivaled in size, color and fragrance.

  1. Hibiscus
red blue and green bird on tree branch
Photo by Jean van der Meulen on Pexels.com

Hibiscus or Hibiscus sabdariffa is one of the world’s largest flower. The name ‘Hibiscus’ comes from hibiskos, the old Greek name for the common marsh mallow. Hibiscus develops large, trumpet-shaped flower without scent. Flower consists of five or more petals. There are over 200 species of hibiscus that can be found in the warm and tropical regions all over the world. These beautiful bright flowers surely beautify a home or garden but are also used as medicine. We can find these plants in various colors like white, yellow, orange, purple, pink, red or blue. Size wise, Hibiscus can be as wide as 8 inches in diameter. The hibiscus family is a mix of diverse plants–from annuals to perennials and shrubs–famed for their large, audacious bloom, often as big as a plate. It contains both male (stamen) and female (pistil) reproductive organs. Bees, butterflies and hummingbirds are main pollinators of hibiscus flowers.
Brightly colored flowers of hibiscus are rich source of natural dyes that are used in the food industry. Dried hibiscus is edible, and it is often a delicacy in Mexico. It can also be candied and used as a garnish, usually for desserts. Women in use dyes extracted from hibiscus flowers to dye their eyebrows and hair. The most popular beverage made of hibiscus is tea (made of dry flowers). Besides pleasant taste, tea made of hibiscus represents rich source of vitamin C. According to some medical studies, tea made of hibiscus lowers blood pressure and decreases cholesterol level. Hibiscus cannabinus is a species of hibiscus that is used in the paper industry. China and Thailand are the greatest producers of hibiscus in the world. Hibiscus is known as “shoe flower” in China because people use hibiscus to polish their shoes. The hibiscus is used as an offering to goddess Kali and Lord Ganesha in Hindu worship. Hibiscus is considered a very feminine flower.

9.Magnolia

The first flowering plant on Earth is believed by researchers to be magnolias. One of the world’s biggest flowering plants, as believed by many researchers. There are around 210 species of magnolia that differ in size, shape, color of the flower and type of habitat. Magnolia trees originate from Southeast Asia and North America, but they have been naturalized to almost all continents in the world because of their beauty. Fossils prove that they have been on Earth for around 100 million years, according to scientific research. Because magnolia is so old, the flowers have no real petals and sepals; they have petal-like tepals instead. Magnolia flowers come according to variety in various shapes, sizes, and colors. The magnolia family comprises high and fluffy trees with pink, white, red, purple, yellow blossoms. Magnolia blooms from April to June. First flowers develop seven years after planting.
Most magnolia varieties have wide bulbs measuring 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
The magnolia is eye-catching due to its soft colors and its large, lovely petals. It’s one of the most famous flowers in the world due to its beauty. It’s commonly used in decoration, bouquets, gifts, etc. Size of magnolia tree depends on the species. Smaller species are only 15 feet tall. Larger species can grow 80 feet in height. Magnolia produces cone-like brownish fruit that can reach 2 to 10 inches in length. Kidney-shaped seed can be red, orange or pink in color. Seed of magnolia is favorite food of many birds. Bark and flowers of magnolia are used in traditional Asian medicine. Leaves of magnolia are used for wrapping of food in Asia. Magnolia is resistant to most pests and diseases. Some species are prone to fungal infections. Larvae of certain insects eat different parts of magnolia tree. Wood of magnolia is used for the production of pallets and furniture. Flower contains both male and female reproductive organs. Flowers release sugary scent which attracts pollinators.

10.Lotus

aquatic aquatic plant beautiful bloom
Photo by SevenStorm JUHASZIMRUS on Pexels.com

The lotus flower is also known as the “Nile flower. The Nelumbo family’s white lotus flowers and pink lotus are seen as sacredness. The lotus flower is one of the world’s most recognizable and sacred flowers. The stunning flower is a universal symbol of some of history’s most influential cultures and is the national flower of India. Lotus’s color influences its important significance. The most interesting detail about this lovely flower is the lifespan of its seeds, which can sprout after many centuries. Lotus flowers can conclude a spiritual meaning of ascent, enlightenment, or renaissance in more bright colors red, purple, and blue, white. It mostly grows in murky and shallow waters and need warm sunlight to grow, but are cold climate intolerant. This flower would not flourish in winter, consequently, as it is aquatic. With its roots in the deeper sludge, this flower only thrives in under muddy still water.
Its bloom, which is above the water surface, commonly has a diameter up to 20 centimeters when fully matured. It’s an extraordinary flower that is famous worldwide, mainly because it’s an aquatic flower. It’s India’s national flower and is symbolic in Buddhism and Hinduism for wealth, prosperity, purity and fertility. The flower species is native to Asia, and most predominantly in India and China. Flower opens in the morning and closes at night. Lotus was a symbol of sun, rebirth and creation in the ancient Egypt. Dried stamens of the lotus are used for the preparation of aromatic tea. Flower, young leaves, seeds and root are edible and often used in Asian cuisine. Older and bigger leaves are used for wrapping of food. Lotus is rich in fibers and vitamins of the B group. It is also rich source of iron and other important minerals. Lotus uses rhizomes to attach itself to the ground. This flower is known by its beautiful odor.

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THE LARGEST PLANETS OF SOLAR SYSTEM ACCORDING TO SIZE

Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity — the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, dwarf planets such as Pluto, dozens of moons and millions of asteroids, comets and meteoroids. The most recent definition of a planet was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 2006. It says a planet must do three things: The Sun, and everything that orbits it, is located in the Milky Way galaxy. Must orbit a star (in our cosmic neighborhood, the Sun). It must be big enough to have enough gravity to force it into a spherical shape. It must be big enough that its gravity cleared away any other objects of a similar size near its orbit around the Sun. This is a partial list of Solar System objects by size, arranged in descending order of mean volumetric radius, and divided into several size classes. These lists can also be sorted according to an object’s mass and, for the largest objects, volume, density and surface gravity, insofar as these values are available.

1.Jupiter

In our solar system Jupiter is at nearly 11 times the size of Earth and 317 times its mass with a radius of 43,440.7 miles (69,911 kilometers). Despite its size, Jupiter has the shortest day of any other planet; it only takes about 10 hours for a complete rotation. In 1610, astronomer Galileo Galilei used a new invention called the telescope to look at Jupiter and discovered the first moons known to exist beyond Earth. The discovery ended incorrect, ancient belief that everything, including the Sun and other planets, orbited the Earth. From an average distance of 484 million miles (778 million kilometers), Jupiter is 5.2 astronomical units away from the Sun. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system – more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined. Jupiter’s familiar stripes and swirls are actually cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium. Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot is a giant storm bigger than Earth that has raged for hundreds of years. Jupiter is the fifth planet from our Sun. Jupiter is surrounded by dozens of moons. Jupiter also has several rings, but unlike the famous rings of Saturn, Jupiter’s rings are very faint and made of dust, not ice. Jupiter spins nearly upright and does not have seasons as extreme as other planets do. Jupiter has a central core of solid material or if it may be a thick, super-hot and dense soup. It could be up to 90,032 degrees Fahrenheit (50,000 degrees Celsius).
Jupiter has the same ingredients as a star, but it did not grow massive enough to ignite. Jupiter doesn’t have a true surface. The planet is mostly swirling gases and liquids. It may also have a rocky core of heavier elements. While a spacecraft would have nowhere to land on Jupiter. Jupiter’s appearance is a tapestry of colorful cloud bands and spots. With four large moons and many smaller moons, Jupiter forms a kind of miniature solar system. Jupiter has 53 confirmed moons and 26 provisional moons awaiting confirmation of discovery. Jupiter’s four largest moons—Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Jupiter’s environment is probably not conducive to life as we know it. The temperatures, pressures and materials that characterize this planet are most likely too extreme and volatile for organisms to adapt to. It is on average the third-brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon and Venus. it was named after the king of the gods in Roman mythology. In a similar manner, the ancient Greeks named the planet after Zeus, the king of the Greek pantheon. Jupiter’s immense volume could hold more than 1,300 Earths. That means that if Jupiter were the size of a basketball, Earth would be the size of a grape.

2.Saturn

Saturn is the sixth planet from our Sun (a star) and orbits at a distance of about 886 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers) from the Sun. The rings we see are made of groups of tiny ringlets that surround Saturn. They’re made of chunks of ice and rock. Twice every 29 and a half years the great planet Saturn appears ringless. Saturn is heavily present in pop culture. Like Jupiter, Saturn is mostly a ball of hydrogen and helium. Saturn is unique among the planets with a radius of 36,183.7 miles (58,232 kilometers)and 9 times wider than Earth. If Earth were the size of a nickel, Saturn would be about as big as a volleyball. It is Surrounded by more than 60 known moons. The Saturn system is a rich source of scientific discovery and still holds many mysteries. From an average distance of 886 million miles (1.4 billion kilometers), Saturn is 9.5 astronomical units away from the Sun. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the distance from the Sun to Earth. From this distance, it takes sunlight 80 minutes to travel from the Sun to Saturn.
Saturn has the second-shortest day in the solar system. It’s hard to imagine, but Saturn is the only planet in our solar system whose average density is less than water. The planet is mostly swirling gases and liquids deeper down. While a spacecraft would have nowhere to land on Saturn, it wouldn’t be able to fly through unscathed either. The extreme pressures and temperatures deep inside the planet crush, melt and vaporize spacecraft trying to fly into the planet. The planet is many different shades of yellow, brown and grey. Saturn’s magnetic field is smaller than Jupiter’s but still 578 times as powerful as Earth’s. Saturn’s rings are thought to be pieces of comets, asteroids or shattered moons that broke up before they reached the planet, torn apart by Saturn’s powerful gravity. Saturn’s ring system extends up to 175,000 miles (282,000 kilometers) from the planet, yet the vertical height is typically about 30 feet (10 meters) in the main rings. Saturn’s environment is not conducive to life as we know it. The temperatures, pressures and materials that characterize this planet are most likely too extreme and volatile for organisms to adapt to.

3.Uranus

Uranus was discovered in 1781 by astronomer William Herschel. The planet was named for Uranus, the Greek god of the sky. The seventh planet from the Sun with the third largest diameter in our solar system, Uranus is very cold and windy. The ice giant is surrounded by 13 faint rings and 27 small moons as it rotates at a nearly 90-degree angle. This unique tilt makes Uranus appear to spin on its side, orbiting the Sun like a rolling ball. One day Uranus takes about 17 hours to rotate and Uranus makes a complete orbit around the Sun in about 84 Earth years. Uranus is the only planet whose equator is nearly at a right angle to its orbit. With a radius of 15,759.2 miles (25,362 kilometers), Uranus is 4 times wider than Earth. If Earth was the size of a nickel, Uranus would be about as big as a softball. From an average distance of 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers), Uranus is 19.8 astronomical units away from the Sun. It takes sunlight 2 hours and 40 minutes to travel from the Sun to Uranus.

Uranus is also one of just two planets that rotate in the opposite direction than most of the planets (Venus is the other one), from east to west. Uranus is slightly larger in diameter than its neighbor Neptune. Most (80 percent or more) of the planet’s mass is made up of a hot dense fluid of “icy” materials—water, methane and ammonia—above a small rocky core. Near the core, it heats up to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit (4,982 degrees Celsius). Uranus gets its blue-green color from methane gas in the atmosphere. Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and is reflected back out by Uranus’ cloud tops. Uranus doesn’t have a true surface. The planet is mostly swirling fluids. While a spacecraft would have nowhere to land on Uranus, it wouldn’t be able to fly through its atmosphere unscathed either. Uranus’ atmosphere is mostly hydrogen and helium, with a small amount of methane and traces of water and ammonia. The methane gives Uranus its signature blue color. Uranus has an unusual, irregularly shaped magnetosphere. Uranus’ environment is not conducive to life as we know it. Uranus has been visited only once by a spacecraft: Voyager 2.

4.Neptune

Dark, cold and whipped by supersonic winds, ice giant Neptune is the eighth and most distant planet in our solar system. Neptune has 14 known moons. Neptune’s largest moon Triton was discovered on October 10, 1846, by William Lassell. More than 30 times as far from the Sun as Earth, Neptune is the only planet in our solar system not visible to the naked eye. Neptune is our solar system’s windiest world. Neptune is the farthest planet from our Sun. Neptune is very similar to Uranus. It’s made of a thick soup of water, ammonia, and methane over an Earth-sized solid center. Its atmosphere is made of hydrogen, helium, and methane. The methane gives Neptune the same blue color as Uranus. Neptune has six rings, but they’re very hard to see. The warm light we see here on our home planet is roughly 900 times as bright as sunlight on Neptune. The ice giant Neptune was discovered in 1846. With a radius of 15,299.4 miles (24,622 kilometers), Neptune is about four times wider than Earth.
If Earth were the size of a nickel, Neptune would be about as big as a baseball. From an average distance of 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion kilometers), Neptune is 30 astronomical units away from the Sun. From this distance, it takes sunlight 4 hours to travel from the Sun to Neptune. Neptune takes about 16 hours to rotate or spin once. And Neptune makes a complete orbit around the Sun in about 165 Earth years (60,190 Earth days). Pluto is closer to the Sun than Neptune. Scientists think there might be an ocean of super hot water under Neptune’s cold clouds. It does not boil away because incredibly high pressure keeps it locked inside. Neptune does not have a solid surface. Its atmosphere extends to great depths, gradually merging into water and other melted ices over a heavier, solid core with about the same mass as Earth. Neptune is a more vivid, brighter blue. Neptune’s winds can be three times stronger than Jupiter’s and nine times stronger than Earth’s. Neptune’s environment is not conducive to life as we know it. The temperatures, pressures and materials that characterize this planet are most likely too extreme and volatile for organisms to adapt to.

5.Earth

The name Earth is a Germanic word with a radius of 3,959 miles (6,371 kilometers), which simply means “the ground. “Our home planet is the third planet from the Sun, and the only place we know of so far that’s inhabited by living things. While Earth is only the fifth largest planet in the solar system. it is the only world in our solar system with liquid water on the surface. Just slightly larger than nearby Venus, Earth is the biggest of the four planets closest to the Sun, all of which are made of rock and metal. Earth is the only planet that has a single moon. Our Moon is the brightest and most familiar object in the night sky. The Moon is an average of 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away from Earth. From an average distance of 93 million miles (150 million kilometers), Earth is exactly one astronomical unit away from the Sun. It takes about eight minutes for light from the Sun to reach our planet.
As Earth orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 23.9 hours. It takes 365.25 days to complete one trip around the Sun. That extra quarter of a day presents a challenge to our calendar system, which counts one year as 365 days. To keep our yearly calendars consistent with our orbit around the Sun, every four years we add one day. That day is called a leap day, and the year it’s added to is called a leap year. Earth is composed of four main layers, starting with an inner core at the planet’s center, enveloped by the outer core, mantle and crust. It has a solid and active surface with mountains, valleys, canyons, plains and so much more. Earth is special because it is an ocean planet. Water covers 70 percent of Earth’s surface. Earth’s atmosphere is made mostly of nitrogen and has plenty of oxygen for us to breathe. The atmosphere also protects us from incoming meteoroids, most of which break up before they can hit the surface. Earth’s global ocean, which covers nearly 70 percent of the planet’s surface, has an average depth of about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) and contains 97 percent of Earth’s water. Earth has an atmosphere that consists of 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases such as argon, carbon dioxide and neon.

6.venus

Similar in size and structure to Earth, Venus has been called Earth’s twin. These are not identical twins, however – there are radical differences between the two worlds. Venus is the second planet from the Sun, and is Earth’s closest neighbor in the solar system. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, and sometimes looks like a bright star in the morning or evening sky. Average diameter of Venus is about 7,500 miles. Surface temperature is 864 degress Fahrenheit. Venus has a thick, toxic atmosphere filled with carbon dioxide. It’s perpetually shrouded in thick, yellowish clouds of mostly sulfuric acid that trap heat, causing a runaway greenhouse effect. It’s the hottest planet in our solar system.
The surface of Venus is not where you’d like to be, with temperatures that can melt lead, an atmosphere so thick it would crush you, and clouds of sulfuric acid that smell like rotten eggs. you couldn’t breathe the air, you would be crushed by the enormous weight of the atmosphere, and you would burn up in surface temperatures high enough to melt lead. The atmosphere traps the small amount of energy from the sun that does reach the surface along with the heat the planet itself releases. It is always found near the Sun. It rises and sets each day, so it has the nicknames Morning and Evening Star! Scientists found that Venus rotates backwards. This means that on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the east.

7.Mars

Mars has a thin atmosphere made up mostly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and argon gases. It is frequently called the “Red Planet” because iron minerals in the Martian dirt oxidize, or rust, causing the surface to look red. Today, a science fleet of robotic spacecraft study Mars from all angles. With a radius of 2,106 miles (3,390 kilometers), Mars is about half the size of Earth. If Earth were the size of a nickel, Mars would be about as big as a raspberry. From an average distance of 142 million miles (228 million kilometers), Mars is 1.5 astronomical units away from the Sun. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the distance from the Sun to Earth. From this distance, it takes sunlight 13 minutes to travel from the Sun to Mars. As Mars orbits the Sun, it completes one rotation every 24.6 hours, which is very similar to one day on Earth (23.9 hours). Like Earth, Mars has distinct seasons, but they last longer than seasons here on Earth since Mars takes longer to orbit the Sun. On Mars the seasons vary in length because of Mars’ elliptical, egg-shaped orbit around the Sun. Mars has a dense core at its center between 930 and 1,300 miles (1,500 to 2,100 kilometers) in radius. It’s made of iron, nickel and sulfur. Surrounding the core is a rocky mantle between 770 and 1,170 miles (1,240 to 1,880 kilometers) thick, and above that, a crust made of iron, magnesium, aluminum, calcium and potassium. This crust is between 6 and 30 miles (10 to 50 kilometers) deep.

Mars formed when gravity pulled swirling gas and dust in to become the fourth planet from the Sun. The Red Planet is actually many colors. At the surface we see colors such as brown, gold and tan. Mars is home to the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. It’s three times taller than Earth’s Mt. Everest. Mars appears to have had a watery past, with ancient river valley networks, deltas and lakebeds, as well as rocks and minerals on the surface that could only have formed in liquid water. There is water on Mars today, but the Martian atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist for long on the surface. The temperature on Mars can be as high as 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) or as low as about -225 degrees Fahrenheit (-153 degrees Celsius). Mars has no global magnetic field today. Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos. Phobos, the innermost and larger moon, is slowly moving towards Mars and will crash into the planet or break apart in about 50 million years. Scientists don’t expect to find living things currently thriving on Mars.

8.Mercury

The smallest planet in our solar system and nearest to the Sun, Mercury is only slightly larger than Earth’s Moon. It doesn’t have any moons. Mercury is the fastest planet, zipping around the Sun every 88 Earth days. With a radius of 1,516 miles (2,440 kilometers), Mercury is a little more than 1/3 the width of Earth. If Earth were the size of a nickel, Mercury would be about as big as a blueberry. From an average distance of 36 million miles (58 million kilometers), Mercury is 0.4 astronomical units away from the Sun. It takes sunlight 3.2 minutes to travel from the Sun to Mercury. Mercury’s highly eccentric, egg-shaped orbit takes the planet as close as 29 million miles (47 million kilometers) and as far as 43 million miles (70 million kilometers) from the Sun. Mercury spins slowly on its axis and completes one rotation every 59 Earth days. Mercury is the second densest planet, after Earth. It has a large metallic core with a radius of about 1,289 miles (2,074 kilometers), about 85 percent of the planet’s radius.

Mercury has a central core, a rocky mantle and a solid crust. It’s actually not the hottest. Along with Venus, Earth, and Mars, Mercury is one of the rocky planets. Mercury spins slowly compared to Earth. Mercury takes 59 Earth days to make one full rotation. It goes around the Sun in just 88 Earth days. Most of Mercury’s surface would appear greyish-brown to the human eye. Temperatures on the surface of Mercury are extreme, both hot and cold. During the day, temperatures on Mercury’s surface can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit (430 degrees Celsius). Because the planet has no atmosphere to retain that heat, nighttime temperatures on the surface can drop to minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 180 degrees Celsius).  Mercury’s environment is not conducive to life as we know it. The temperatures and solar radiation that characterize this planet are most likely too extreme for organisms to adapt to.

9.Pluto

Pluto is a complex and mysterious world with mountains, valleys, plains, craters, and maybe glaciers. Discovered in 1930, Pluto was long considered our solar system’s ninth planet. Icy Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. Pluto is orbited by five known moons, the largest of which is Charon. Charon is about half the size of Pluto itself. Pluto and Charon are often referred to as a “double planet.” With a radius of 715 miles (1,151 kilometers), Pluto is about 1/6 the width of Earth. If Earth was the size of a nickel, Pluto would be about as big as a popcorn kernel. From an average distance of 3.7 billion miles (5.9 billion kilometers), Pluto is 39 astronomical units away from the sun. It takes sunlight 5.5 hours to travel from the sun to Pluto. Pluto’s orbit around the sun is unusual compared to the planets. Pluto was actually closer to the sun than Neptune. One day on Pluto takes about 153 hours. Pluto is about two-thirds the diameter of Earth’s moon and probably has a rocky core surrounded by a mantle of water ice. Interesting ices like methane and nitrogen frost coat its surface.

Due to its lower density, Pluto’s mass is about one-sixth that of Earth’s moon. Pluto’s surface is characterized by mountains, valleys, plains, and craters. The temperature on Pluto can be as cold as -375 to -400 degrees Fahrenheit (-226 to -240 degrees Celsius). Pluto’s mountains can be as tall as 6,500 to 9,800 feet (2 to 3 kilometers) and are big blocks of water ice, sometimes with a coating of frozen gases like methane. Craters as large as 162 miles (260 kilometers) in diameter dot some of the landscape on Pluto, with some showing signs of erosion and filling. The main constituent is molecular nitrogen, though molecules of methane and carbon monoxide have also been detected. Pluto’s low gravity (about six percent of Earth’s) causes the atmosphere to be much more extended in altitude than our planet’s atmosphere. Pluto has a magnetic field. There are no known rings around Pluto. Pluto has five known moons: Charon, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos and Styx. The surface of Pluto is extremely cold, so it seems unlikely that life could exist there. At such cold temperatures, water, which is vital for life as we know it, is essentially rock-like. Pluto’s interior is warmer, however, and some think there could even be an ocean deep inside.

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