Do planets twinkle?

Answer 1

no. you can see them, similar to the way the moon apears, but since it is just reflected light they do not have the 'twinkle' that stars have

Answer 2

They twinkle too, but not as much as stars. The twinkle is the effect of atmospheric distortion of the light that is reflected off the planet's surface and reaches earth. The distance of the planet has a great deal of influence on the twinkle. Most of the planets in our solar system would not twinkle because the light reflected back to us is (relatively) close and at a different angle than the stars. However, depending on air conditions, angle of the planet to the earth, and distance of the planet from the earth, a planet too can twinkle.

Answer 3

Nothing actually "twinkles". It is just because of Earth's atmosphere. If you look at a planet that has reflected light it twinkles a little but stars twinkle more.

Answer 4

Yes, but not as much as stars. The twinkling is just shimmering cause by Earth's atmosphere, like the heat waves that can make things shimmer on a hot day. For something big, like the Moon, the main effect is the make the edges shimmer a little. Stars are such small disks that they seem like infinitely small points, so the shimmering from all the edges overlap and cause the whole thing to change brightness. Planets are small disks, but not as small as stars. Even though you can't really see their disks without a telescope, the slightly larger size as compared to stars does reduce the twinkling effect.

Answer 5

No, planets don't twinkle. The light from the planets is reflected sunlight, just like the moon. The light source is closer and stronger so they don't twinkle.

Answer 6

Planets "twinkle" just as stars do, due to impurities and convection within our atmosphere. However, due to the amount of light generated in relation to stars, and their larger angular measure due to their proximity, this twinkling is significantly less than stars in the majority of cases. This is often used as a rough method of determining if an object in the night sky is a star or one of our closer planets.

Answer 7

No, Only stars twinkle, thats how you can tell when you see a planet

Answer 8

No, planets reflect light, stars twinkle.

Answer 9

Have you ever looked up at the stars and wondered, "Why are they twinkling, and why are they different colors?" The answer is relatively simple, and easy to figure out. The stars themselves are not actually twinkling; the phenomenon is a result of atmospheric interference. The earth's surface radiates heat from the sun, not to mention the heat from the core, and as this heat rises above the earth, the stars seem to twinkle. This effect is similar to what happens during the summer time when you look across the pavement or a parking lot. The hot rising air causes images to waver or appear to be moving. The lower the star is in the sky, the more it will twinkle. But if this is to be the case, then why don't the planets twinkle too? Planets are larger sources of light as compared to stars, plus they are also closer than the stars we see, hence no twinkle. This is an easy method of determining which ones are stars, and which ones are planets. So the next time you're at a star party, see if you can pick out which ones are the planets and which ones are the stars.

Ok, so we've figured out why stars twinkle, but what about their color? A star can be identified by it's color, which is relative to it temperature. They are divided into what are known as spectral class. These classes are O, B, A, F, G, K, and M. Or better remembered as "O Be A Fine Girl, Kiss Me!" Stars that are classified as O type stars are the hottest and normally blue in color. The cooler stars are identified as M class stars and are red in color. Two examples of an O class star are in the constellation of Orion. The stars, Mintaka & Alnitak, the two opposite stars in Orion's belt are O class stars. Betelgeuse is a cool red supergiant, M class, easily seen during the winter nights at the top of the constellation. Beside their color, stars are also classified into different types. These types correspond to the temperature at it's surface against it brightness, allowing for its distance from earth. There are Brown Dwarfs, Red Dwarfs, Main Sequence stars, White Dwarfs, Red Giants, and Supergiants.

Brown Dwarfs are the beginning of actual stars. They are balls of gas that never reach critical mass, or Nuclear fusion. These stars, as they are called, are only 1/10 that of the Sun and will only burn briefly until they exhaust their energy.

Red Dwarfs are a step above Brown Dwarfs. These stars are smaller than our Sun, burning tens of billions of years. However, these stars are very faint, so we can only see the one's closest to earth. An example of a Red Dwarf would be Barnard's star.

Main Sequence stars have stared nuclear fusion and continue to burn for thousands, to billions of years. Our own Sun is a Main Sequence star. Large, massive stars will have a short main sequence stage, while less massive stars will remain in the main sequence much longer, burning for ten times longer.

White Dwarfs are stars that are about the size of the Earth, but whose nuclear fires have gone out. Nuclear fusion no longer takes place. The star, Sirius B, located next to Sirius, is a White Dwarf.

Red Giant stars have the same surface temperature as Red Dwarfs, but much larger and brighter which are reddish or orange in color. Red Giants are in the latter phase of development in a star's life, sometimes reaching 100 times their original size. An example of a Red Giant would be Aldebaran.

Lastly, very large stars will form what are called Supergiants. Two examples of Supergiants are again in Orion. Betelgeuse, in the shoulder of Orion is a Red Super Giant, and Rigel, in the foot of Orion, is considered a Blue Super Giant.

Hopefully this information will help the next time you go out into the night and gaze the wondrous sites called Stars.

Article written by Jason Snyder, ASNLV Charter member with information courtesy of www.seasky.org and The Nature Companions, Practical

Answer 10

some planets do reflect light so it appears that they twinkle, but stars twinkle because they are like huge balls of gas and they flicker like a fire would.