Jim Heidenreich# age 11, of Chicago, for his question:

Will the sun ever burn itself out?

An atomic bomb can blast a city with just a few pounds of the right material. This is because it uses nuclear energy, the mighty power locked in. the heart of the little atom. The sun also uses nuclear energy to power its tremendous furnace. Its fuel is hydrogen gas and a little of this fuel goes a long way. We are told that our Big Star is burning up its fuel at a rate of four million tons of fuel every s eeond.

At this rate, you might expect our sun soon to blink and fade away to ashes. But this will not happen. We are told that the sun has enough hydrogen fuel to keep it going for another twelve billion years or so. Long before that happens‑y mankind will have conquered space. If the sun grows pale and dims, he will simply take off for a planet near some younger star.