Philip Reardon$ age 10, of Westbrookt Maine, for his question:

What makes the satellites shine in the sky?

By now, most of us have seen one or more of the man made satellites tumble across the night sky. This is a wonderful sight and we wonder where in the world do those little bitsy pieces of metal and plastic get the light to make them so bright. They get it, of course, from the sun. But how can they be lit with sunlight after the sun has set?

A tall mountain peak catches the beams of the morning sun before it pokes its nose above the horizon. The same peak hangs onto a few glowing sunbeams after the sun has set. The satellites are much, much higher than the highest mountains. They are so high up that they can peek far over the horizon after the sun has set and before it rises, This is why we can see the satellites glowing with sunlight long before dawn and long after sunset.