Exploring Our Solar System

"Five billion years ago, a starship passing through our region of space would not have slowed down for a second look. There was nothing to see. No Earth, no sun, no solar system. Nothing but a huge tenuous cloud of gas. Now, as the result of billions of years of evolution, and centuries of scientific research, we can chart our way through the solar system . . . with Sally Ride as our navigator. Starting from the sun and working outward, Sally Ride and Tam O'Shaughnessy take readers on a tour of the nine planets (Editors Note - Now it's 10 they will need a new edition!!) and explain the formation, current conditions, and possibility of life on each. Filled with crisp, full-colour photographs and lucid prose, this comprehensive volume untangles the complexities of space and allows readers to feel like masters of the universe."

Exploring Our Solar System is a definitive guide to space will particularly interest readers ages 10 and older with its survey of the planets by former astronaut Sally Ride, who begins with the Sun and moves outward. Over a hundred color photos and diagrams lends to classroom assignment and research use.

This is an outstanding book! My mother bought it for my younger sister but I borrowed it to help me research a report for my 10th grade science class. It is extremely clear and well written, and the pictures are cool! My science teacher liked it so much that she bought a copy for our classroom. I highly recommend Sally Ride's book for kids (and teachers) of any age.

Wow! This book offers a fabulous introduction to the solar system and our place in it. It is more than the usual description of the sun and 9 planets -- it describes how the solar system was formed, how the planets came to be so different, and why the Earth is unique. And the pictures are spectacular!