Linda Kutschbach, age 13, of Shreveport, La„ for her question:

Where does space begin?

Close your eyes and imagine our round world hanging in the sky. Around it on every side, the vastness of space stretches far and wide. Across this space, almost on our doorstep, are sister planets of the Solar System. And most of the Solar System is empty space. This space begins at the edge of earths atmosphere, perhaps a thousand miles above our heads.

In the vast heavens, the Solar System is but a few grains of dust. Beyond it stretch wide oceans of star studded space. Billions of stars form a wheeling system called the Galaxy. Outside the Galaxy, across even wider oceans of space, are millions of other galaxies. And the threshold of space is closer to Shreveport than Shreveport is to San Francisco.