North America and the Milky Way. Computer artwork of North America, seen from space, with the bright band of the Milky Way across top. Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and it is thought to be the only planet in the solar system that supports life. It has an atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen, clouds (white) of water vapour, and land that is surrounded by oceans of water (blue). The Milky Way is a bright band of stars in the sky. It is the view of our galaxy from the inside.
