Carol Squadra, age 10, of Rowayton, Connecticut, for her question:

Where does time go?

We use a small helping of time to walk around the black and a larger slice to get from Bridgeport to Boston. But time also goes by when we stay home and even while we sleep. This happens because time travels on and on, all by itself. It whirls around like a merry go round that never stops. There is nothing we can do to change it because it belongs to the sky and the heavens, to the earth and the sun and the vast Milky Way.

With no help from us, our dizzy old world spins around like a top, once every 24 hours. As it takes us around with it, the hours pass by one by one. When tomorrow's spin begins, yesterday's time is left behind us. The earth also takes a year to orbit the sun and the whirling days pass by as we go with it. The sun and all its planets also travel around an enormous circle through the Milky Way. This long journey takes 200 million years and when it ends a new one begins. Time goes by as the heavens whirl on their way, leaving the passing moments behind.