The beauty of the night sky has fascinated humans ever since the time of cavemen. Ancient peoples tried to make sense of the stars, planets and comets they could see. The word astronomy, in fact, means “naming stars” in ancient Greek.

Today we have telescopes in space and on the ground which can look back in time to the beginning of the Universe. We have landed men on the moon and sent robots to Mars. Recently the first ever space tourist visited the International Space Station. Who knows, maybe your grandchildren will go on package holidays to the moon!

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, so people all over the world are celebrating our place in the Universe with lots of events. Find out more in the web links section. You can also learn more about Mars, all the other planets and even make your own rocket.

3…2…1…blast off and have fun!