Out into Space

As the moment for launching the rocket approaches, we can imagine the excitement in the minds of those who are watching. This is the climax of months of preparation. The countdown goes backwards, and when the count reaches zero there is a burst of flame and a roar of motors. The glow of the burning gases beneath the rocket can be seen many miles away.

The rocket moves slowly at first as it tears itself away from the launching pad. Then its speed increases and in a few moments it is no more than a white, fiery speck in the blue heavens. It is on its way towards the stars.

The miles we use to measure distance across the earth become very small when we get into space. The earth is twenty-five thousand miles round the equator. At nearly ten times this distance is our nearest neighbour in space, the moon, two hundred and thirty-eight thousand miles away.

Of all the planets, Venus is the nearest; but even Venus comes no nearer to us than twenty-six million miles. The red planet Mars at its nearest is thirty-five million miles away, while the other planets are at vastly greater distances.

When we think of the stars it becomes very awkward to count in miles. The number is so vast that it has little meaning for us. We use the unit known as a light-year. Clearly our rocket has far to go.