why does stars twinkle at night?
2007-01-30 16:25:43 · 10 answers · asked by Sujata 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
What most of the others said, with the addition of the twinkling is due to refraction of light in our atmosphere. They do not twinkle if seen from the Space Station.
2007-01-30 17:38:59 · answer #1 · answered by Holden 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They shine all the time, but can only be seen at night, since the sun (our star) overwhelms the little light coming from so far away. The twinkling is created in the earths atmosphere, due to air currents that deflect and refract the star light.
2007-01-31 00:40:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Various Astrophysical processes (fusion reaction for instance) keep on taking place within the stars as a consequence of which, the stars radiate energy, a certain percentage of this radiation is in the "visible" range of the EM spectrum, therefore the stars appear as big glowing spheres, since they are too far away and their light has to pass through the space and Earth's atmosphere therefore what reaches to our eyes is just a little twinkling :)
2007-01-31 04:13:06 · answer #3 · answered by aaqib 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
actually, stars shine all the tiem. see stars are always shinning the only reason we cannot see them is because the sun reflects light from the water and it causes the earths atmosphere ot block otu the stars and space. think of it this way...try this little experiment.. hold out a black blanket and poke some holes in no bigger then 3/4 big and shine some light through it at night, or in a darkend room. Now have someone turn on another light, this in-turn will make hte holes harder to see. and cause the "Stars:" to disappear.
2007-01-31 13:02:11 · answer #4 · answered by William Sly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nighttime is just the period of time when we can not see our own star's light (the sun). During this time of darkness on the earth we are able to see the light of stars shining from galaxies away. When the sun is shining the lights of these stars disappear. This is why we can only see them at night.
Also, stars twinkle because when we see them from the Earth's surface we are viewing them through thick layers of turbulent (moving) air in the Earth's atmosphere.
2007-01-31 00:41:15 · answer #5 · answered by jmriegsecker 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They shine day and night.
Ambient light in the day time over whelms them and they cannot be seen.
Stars are considered to be light points with no disc so the slightest movement in the atmosphere blanks them out for a fraction of a second.
2007-01-31 07:55:14 · answer #6 · answered by Billy Butthead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars always shine, we just see them at night only because the sun's light outshines them in the day. The sun, and all stars (the sun is a star) shine because of nuclear fusion, which means that hydrogen is converted into helium in their cores. The process releases tons of energy which we see as light.
2007-01-31 00:51:03 · answer #7 · answered by Roman Soldier 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its big balls of burning gas
makes it look like its twinkling
2007-01-31 00:33:40 · answer #8 · answered by JennaL 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because they're burning like our own sun only much further away.
2007-01-31 00:33:36 · answer #9 · answered by kwtk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are burning balls of gas.
2007-01-31 00:33:46 · answer #10 · answered by Kelly 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋