2007-02-13 01:03:07 · 13 answers · asked by (",) JJ (,") 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Since the light from these stars takes years and years to reach us, there are many things on that path that may happen to the light to cause it to blink/flicker/sometimes even stop for a small moment.
2007-02-13 01:12:45 · answer #1 · answered by It's Me 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Stars appear to flicker from the earth surface because of air currents in the atmospher which distorts the light coming through. Sun and moon are much brighter as also the planets near by and so don't twinkle (that is the word for the flickering of stars).
2007-02-13 01:40:46 · answer #2 · answered by Swamy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars flicker (twinkle) because of atmospheric turbulence. This causes slight variations in density (think ripples) that act like weak, moving lenses.
The reason stars twinkle and planets don't is that stars are point sources while planets appear as tiny disks. The scale of the atmospheric turbulence is usually smaller than the disk of the planet, so it appears to stay put.
You can clearly see the difference through a telescope. A star in unsteady air will appear to jump around, while a planet will just ripple a little around the edges.
2007-02-13 04:53:19 · answer #3 · answered by injanier 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stars flicker because the light from stars are distorted by the turbulence in the atmosphere.
2007-02-13 03:58:51 · answer #4 · answered by denwel33 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The light has to come through Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere bends the light a little bit, and the stars look like they are flickering.
2007-02-13 01:49:46 · answer #5 · answered by bldudas 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The flickering you see at night isn't rom the stars flickering, it is the light from them passing through our different levels of atmosphere.
This causes them to appear to be flickering.
2007-02-13 01:08:33 · answer #6 · answered by celticwarrior7758 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Many people said, "atmosphere" I do not think this is right. Most planets have a higher magnitude then the stars (meaning they are less bright) and they do not flicker. The atmosphere would affect them the same way. Mercury has a mag of about 2.5 at best and it is a strong light, Vega has a mag of about -1.45 and it does flicker. Let us see if we can find a better answer.
B
2007-02-13 03:12:10 · answer #7 · answered by Bacchus 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
some afternoon on a warm,windless day, take a seem at a vehicle that has been sitting interior the solar for awhile. Get down slightly and seem straight away around the hood. you ought to make certain slightly a shimmer as a results of fact the nice and cozy metallic heats the debris interior the air and reasons them to circulate off to get replaced by means of cooler debris. This additionally works once you have a solid unobstructed view of a street over a protracted distance on a warm day. Now, think of each and every of the heating and cooling of the air over the entire planet and the way it strikes approximately. it relatively is all those transferring chunks of air of differing densities that reason the celebs to twinkle. possibly some water vapor and toxins to boot, yet frequently purely transferring air.
2016-12-17 15:30:02 · answer #8 · answered by berkey 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The stars appear to flicker because of convection currents in the air. On a hot summer day you can see the convection currents above sun-baked black pavement.
2007-02-13 01:15:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
They don't flicker, the earths atmosphere distorts objects.
2007-02-13 05:53:20 · answer #10 · answered by T-Bob Squarepants 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋