2006-10-06 08:34:30 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Simple but Powerful Answer
Well buddy, Stars appear to twincle, because of the movements of atmosphere. They actually donot twincle.
But because of various densities of layers of atmosphere, the light will bend this ways and that ways,,, and thatsy, they appear like twinkling...
2006-10-06 20:18:55 · answer #1 · answered by krrish 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars seem to twinkle or change their brightness all the time. In fact, most stars shine with a steady light. The movement of air (sometimes called turbulence) in the Earth's atmosphere causes the starlight to get slightly bent as it travels from the distant star through the atmosphere to us on the ground. Some of the light reaches us directly but some gets bent slightly. This gives the illusion of twinkling. Stars closer to the horizon appear to twinkle more than others. This is because the atmosphere is a lot denser near the horizon than between the Earth and a star higher in the sky.
2006-10-07 06:47:52 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars do not twingle . They are like big fire balls burning at a location several thousnd light years awy . the light you see tody of any sttr is not the light of the statr at the moment of your sight . It is the light that star emitted some thuosmnds of light years ago that is depending on the distance of the star from earth.If th edistance between the earth and the star is such that it takes some thoudsnads of years for the the light to reach the earth , then wnat you see to day is what itwas some thousnds of years ago.When the light reaches the earth , it passes through the earth's atmosphere if gases that are moving and of varying pressure depending upon the height of the air column and the air molecules are in motion and not statrionary.so the light seems to e twinkling . Even an electric light located at a long distance would seem to be ltwinking if viewed at th ground level itself because of the disturbance in the medium through which the light passes .
2006-10-06 15:49:56 · answer #3 · answered by Infinity 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The scientific name for the twinkling of stars is stellar scintillation (or astronomical scintillation). Stars twinkle when we see them from the Earth's surface because we are viewing them through thick layers of turbulent (moving) air in the Earth's atmosphere.
Stars (except for the Sun) appear as tiny dots in the sky; as their light travels through the many layers of the Earth's atmosphere, the light of the star is bent (refracted) many times and in random directions (light is bent when it hits a change in density - like a pocket of cold air or hot air). This random refraction results in the star winking out (it looks as though the star moves a bit, and our eye interprets this as twinkling).
Stars closer to the horizon appear to twinkle more than stars that are overhead - this is because the light of stars near the horizon has to travel through more air than the light of stars overhead and so is subject to more refraction. Also, planets do not usually twinkle, because they are so close to us; they appear big enough that the twinkling is not noticeable (except when the air is extremely turbulent).
Stars would not appear to twinkle if we viewed them from outer space (or from a planet/moon that didn't have an atmosphere).
2006-10-07 02:49:17 · answer #4 · answered by critic_22 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
STARS TWINKLING--
The scientific name for the twinkling of stars is stellar scintillation (or astronomical scintillation). Stars twinkle when we see them from the Earth's surface because we are viewing them through thick layers of turbulent (moving) air in the Earth's atmosphere.
Stars (except for the Sun) appear as tiny dots in the sky; as their light travels through the many layers of the Earth's atmosphere, the light of the star is bent (refracted) many times and in random directions (light is bent when it hits a change in density - like a pocket of cold air or hot air). This random refraction results in the star winking out (it looks as though the star moves a bit, and our eye interprets this as twinkling).
Stars closer to the horizon appear to twinkle more than stars that are overhead - this is because the light of stars near the horizon has to travel through more air than the light of stars overhead and so is subject to more refraction. Also, planets do not usually twinkle, because they are so close to us; they appear big enough that the twinkling is not noticeable (except when the air is extremely turbulent).
Stars would not appear to twinkle if we viewed them from outer space (or from a planet/moon that didn't have an atmosphere).
2006-10-06 22:17:55 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars twinkle because of the air between you and them. If there was no air they would not twinkle. If you were in orbit the stars would just be solid points of light and be far brighter
2006-10-06 15:38:19 · answer #6 · answered by eelun1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The earths atmosphere causes the twinkle.
2006-10-06 15:39:16 · answer #7 · answered by Bill 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars twinkle because there are a lot of planets and other space rocks between them and Earth. Sun is a star and it doesn't twinkle because it is so "close" to us and there are only 2 planets in between. Other than the Sun stars are 10000000000000 light years away from us and there are 1000000000000000000000 rocks and stuff in between. and it has something to do with Earths atmosphere but i don't know what.
2006-10-06 15:50:02 · answer #8 · answered by Deki 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Stars are far enough away that they act as point sources of light. Since the atmosphere distorts light based on heat and air currents, those point sources get deflected away from your eye. We interpret this as twinkling.
2006-10-06 15:54:01 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They don't twinkle they burn cause it is a ball of gas it burns witch from a distance make it look like a twinkle
2006-10-06 15:42:44 · answer #10 · answered by Adam B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋