Discover the history of space travel, the latest information on space-faring countries, and exciting possibilities for future missions. Explore the solar system and the universe in incredible detail, encountering high-speed comets, extreme temperatures, and storms that rage for centuries. Then find out what it's like to be an astronaut, from space walks to keeping animals on board! Packed with facts, timelines, and world-class photography, this encyclopedia really brings outer space to life.

Includes index.

Introduction --Observing The universe: What is space? -- Our place in space -- Circle of stars -- Early ideas -- Telescopes -- Giant telescopes -- Seeing light -- Infrared astronomy -- Messages from the stars -- Invisible rays -- Hubble Space Telescope -- Witches and giants -- Observatories in space -- Unusual observatories -- Violent Universe: What is the universe? -- Birth of the universe -- 100 billion galaxies -- Galaxy formation -- Sombrero in space -- Milky Way -- Magellanic clouds -- Local group -- Heart of the Milky Way -- When galaxies collide -- Active galaxies -- Dark matter -- Liftoff!: How rockets work -- 3,2,1 -- Space shuttle -- Launch centers -- Launching Ariane 5 -- Artificial satellites -- Satellites in orbit -- Satellite shot -- Space probes -- Space debris -- Space nations -- Super spacecraft -- Humans In Space: Space pioneers -- Becoming an astronaut -- Space walking -- Living in space -- Animals in space -- Extending the house -- First space stations -- International Space Station -- Science in space -- Space tourism -- Future flyers -- Reaching for the stars -- Solar System: Birth of the solar system -- Sun's family -- Mercury -- Venus -- Views of Venus -- Mars -- Mars missions -- Martian sand art -- Asteroids -- Jupiter -- Jupiter's moons -- Voyager 1 & 2 -- Saturn -- Saturn's moons -- Saturn by sunlight -- Uranus -- Neptune -- Pluto and beyond -- Comets -- Comet missions -- Meteors -- Meteorites -- Life on other worlds -- Earth: Unique Earth -- Perfect planet -- Earth's seasons -- On the surface -- Up in the air -- Life on Earth -- Moon: Earth's companion -- Eclipses -- Lunar surface -- Destination moon -- Man on the moon -- Splashdown! -- Return to the moon -- Sun: Sun -- Inside the sun -- Sun's atmosphere -- Solar storms -- Amazing aurora -- Solar cycle -- Observing the sun -- Stars And Stargazing: What are stars? -- Birth of a star -- Flash of brilliance -- Death of a star -- Interstellar space -- Multiple stars -- Globular clusters -- Other solar systems -- Extreme stars -- Black holes -- Be a skygazer -- Night sky -- Northern sky -- Southern sky -- Space in time -- Glossary -- Index -- Acknowledgments.