Phil Church, Age 13,, Of La Porter Tex., For his question:

Why is the sky black in outer space?

We gaze out at the vast reaches of space every time we look up at the sky. Black is the normal color of the sky; and outside the filmy atmosphere of the earth the velvety background is studded with brilliant stars. But we have to get above the earth's air to get this normal view of the heavens.

The light of the sun reaches us through hundreds of miles of air, (our atmosphere) and the dancing air molecules play tricks on the sunbeams. They separate the blue rays of the rainbow spectrum of white light and scatter them. The blue layer of sky stands between us and the velvety blackness of outer space.