But here's another way to think about space. The galaxies of outer space are filled with stars. Does ten billion trillion stars mean anything to you? If everybody on earth - all six billion people - counted 1,000 stars per second for twenty-four hours a day, it would take 50 years to count all those stars. You could get tired just thinking about it.

Of course our Sun, which gives light, energy, and life to Earth, is only one of those trillions of stars. Now space seems like a much bigger place, doesn't it!

Just like a road map helps show the way to the beach, or a tour book tells you which sights to see when you visit a new city, Don't Know Much About® Space introduces the sights and places that we know exist in our great big universe. It asks and answers a lot of questions you may have thought of. It also asks some questions to which science has no answers yet! But one thing is for certain: space will be part of our future.


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1. The word "astronomy" comes from the Greek for:
A: to look at the sky
B: to name the stars
C: to travel in space
D: to tell the future

2. How far is the Earth from the Sun?
A: 9,300 miles
B: 93,000 miles
C: 93 million miles
D: 93 billion miles

3. Which scientist first discovered Jupiter's four largest moons?
A: Galileo
B: Einstein
C: Ptolemy
D: Hubble

4. What is the other name for the bright North Star?
A: Polaris
B: the Big Dipper
C: Ganymede
D: Venus

5. What was the name of the first satellite sent into space?
A: Discovery
B: Vostok
C: Apollo
D: Sputnik