This four-year-old had a burning question for NASA

And they actually replied!

Christopher HopefitchGetty Images

When you're young, barriers are non-existent and there are no questions you won't ask in your pursuit of ultimate enlightenment.

From what does the Queen eat for breakfast to why does that lady next to us have a stupid dress on, there seems to be nothing out of the realms of a little inquisitive mind.

Often as parents we can't answer them and it's unlikely that we know a confidant of the royal family or why the woman next to us has made such a bizarre wardrobe choice.

When his four-year-old son asked: 'Why is Saturn the only planet with rings', marketing director Gavin Conway had no idea.

However he was determined to get his son the answer and so emailed NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in California explaining his son had a burning question.

Ten minutes later NASA communications expert, Preston P Dyches, replied.

'Great question,' he wrote, 'You can tell him that's exactly the kind of question a scientist would ask. Tell him there are many mysteries out there in space that will still be waiting when he grows up!'

He also set Gavin's son straight on his Saturn question: 'Actually Saturn isn't the only planet with rings. All four of the giant, outer planets have them, but Saturn's are way more massive and bright than the others.'

Which just proves, it's always worth asking (although this doesn't apply to the woman next to you in the strange dress).

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