Space is everything beyond the edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Our 'local' region of space the Solar System, which contains our Sun and all of the other planets that orbit it. Beyond this is 'deep space' containing all of the billions of galaxies that make up the known Universe.

Space is a fundamental part of our lives. If we had not sent satellites and other objects into space we would not be able to communicate around the world by satellite in the way we now do or know about the weather. So space is important.

People are also interested in space because many of us want to know where we came from, and space provides the best place to look because it is so old - possibly 14 billion years old. And who knows what went before that? We have still to find out. We might also want to know about whether there are any other forms of life in the Universe.

Some of the world's greatest minds have worked on problems about space, from Galileo and Newton to Einstein. The rules they found about space have been used to help us to improve our lives through a better understanding of how things work.

You will find many books on space, including a basic textbook (5E), two space series of books, and a wealth of videos. The best place to find out more is through the science topic 'Space' whose link is below. For a quick, simple guide, use book 5E, 'Earth and beyond'. For more information use 'Solar System' and its companion books (see cover below) and for more depth still, use the Space Science series 'Gas Giants' and its companion books (see covers below).