Mathematicians used computers to help plan and launch this space shuttle. Far, far above the blue and white globe of the Earth, a strange machine, shaped much like a windmill, rushes out into the...
The faraway worlds
> Space probes have visited Uranus and Neptune. Someday, we may send a > space vehicle to Pluto, the farthest planet. The seventh, eighth, and ninth planets of the sun's family are very far away....
The giant planet
The giant of the sun's family is the planet Jupiter. It's the biggest planet of the solar system---more than eleven times bigger than the earth. Jupiter is named after the king of the Roman gods. ...
Earth’s “twin”
The second closest planet to the sun is Venus. Seen from the earth, it is the brightest of all the stars and planets in our sky. Sometimes it can even be seen in daylight. Because of its beauty, it...
The sun’s family
The planet earth is part of a family. It is one of nine planets that belong to the sun. We can see some of these planets at night, shining like bright stars. Like the earth and the moon, the other...
Our next-door neighbor
As earth whirls along on its endless journey through space, it has a companion that is always beside it--- the moon. The moon is a small planet. It is only about one-fourth as big as earth. The moon...