Linda Aab, Age 7., Of Asheville, N.C.., for Her question:

What makes a star twinkle?

The light from a star comes from billions and billions of miles across the dark oceans of outer space. When it reaches the earth, it pierces through the filmy air which reaches perhaps a thousand miles above our heads. The air is made of tiny molecules, far too small for our eyes to see. But these miniature particles are big enough to play tricks with a beam of light from a distant star.

Out in space, the distant stars shine with a steady light. But the air around the earth bends the beams of starlight, and the faraway stars seem to twinkle with golden points and darting daggars.