Cecilia C. Henry, age 12, of St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada, for her question:

ARE THE STARS REALLY IN THE DAYTIME SKY?

Yes indeed, the daytime sky really is populated with stars. We do not see them because they are outshone by the razzle dazzle sun. On a dark night, a candle in a window can be seen from afar. But when the sun rises, the little candle seems to disappear. In much the same way, the daytime stars are washed out by the brilliant sunlight, which spreads all over the sky

When you watch the night stars for several hours, you'll notice that the stars are parading from east to west. This heavenly parade continues after sunrise, and during a 24 hour day a great circle of stars moves across our sky. Gradually this pattern changes with the seasons, and the stars we see on a winter night are up there during the summer days. The constellations of summer nights are up there, out of sight, on winter days.