Why do stars twinkle?

Svetti Arss · 18-01-2011 10:58PM #1

Why?

MrStuffins · 18-01-2011 10:59PM

Because the angels sprinkle them with fairy dust!

Fart · 18-01-2011 11:00PM

They're winking at you.

tommyhaas · 18-01-2011 11:01PM

Its the light from the star refracting in the atmosphere

FreudianSlippers · 18-01-2011 11:02PM

Look up stellar scintillation.

It's to do with the turbulence of the winds in the atmosphere.

Red Hand · 18-01-2011 11:02PM

For the same reason that kittens have whiskers, the wind whispers and Santa has gonorrhea

Svetti Arss · 18-01-2011 11:03PM

tommyhaas wrote: »

Its the light from the star refracting in the atmosphere

If that's the case then why doesn't the Moon twinkle?

af_thefragile · 18-01-2011 11:03PM

They don't twinkle if you view them out in space...

starlit · 18-01-2011 11:04PM

They are like diamonds that shine and sparkle. Its just light reflecting them.

af_thefragile · 18-01-2011 11:04PM

Svetti Arss wrote: »

If that's the case then why doesn't the Moon twinkle?

Its too bloody big to twinkle!

Here's a wiki answer:

Why do stars twinkle but not planets?

Both objects in the sky are bright, circular discs. The light from a star enters the pupil of our eye and comes to a focus as a point at the back of the eye. If that light is followed backwards to the star, it forms a cylindrical bundle the size of the pupil but gradually widening as it nears the star. But so gradual is this widening that even at the edge of the atmosphere, 100 km up, the bundle is still about the same as the pupil say half a cm across. This is so narrow that wind currents of different temperature and refractive index can disturb the light and cause the star to twinkle. A planet is so much nearer that at the edge of the atmosphere the bundle is a disc metres across. The light from the planet that forms our image of it comes from hundreds of different pathways in this bundle and it is unlikely that many will be disrupted at the same time. The amount of disturbance is therefore much less and the planet appears as a steady point.

biko · 18-01-2011 11:05PM

Because we have nominated the word "twinkle" for the apparent change in light intensity caused by atmospheric changes to stars.

Cookie_Monster · 18-01-2011 11:06PM

because you touch yourself at night

Canis Lupus · 18-01-2011 11:06PM

tommyhaas wrote: »

Its the light from the star refracting in the atmosphere

What ^^ said.

Want a semi interesting fact? Stars are so far away, the light you're looking at set out years ago and a star that you see in the sky may already have gone bang but the light of the explosion just hasn't reached us yet.

karlog · 18-01-2011 11:07PM

There are no stars. It's a government conspiracy, what you see at night is one big hologram covering up whats really out there, which is the truth..............out there..........the truth............THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!!!

admiralofthefleet · 18-01-2011 11:07PM

why does my bollox stick to the inside of my leg on a warm day?

xoxyx · 18-01-2011 11:07PM

Hey - stars have to blink too y'know.

af_thefragile · 18-01-2011 11:08PM

Canis Lupus wrote: »

What ^^ said.

Want a semi interesting fact? Stars are so far away, the light you're looking at set out years ago and a star that you see in the sky may already have gone bang but the light of the explosion just hasn't reached us yet.

That's from the watchmen!!

jackiebaron · 18-01-2011 11:08PM

Because they are actually burning and hence give off different and varying degrees of light....like the sun.
Planets and satellites (like the moon) are not burning. They are just chunks of rock that don't twinkle because all they are doing is reflecting light shone upon them by a sun/star.

A candle twinkles but a football illuminated by a flashlight doesn't.

Monty Burnz · 18-01-2011 11:10PM

Canis Lupus wrote: »

What ^^ said.

Want a semi interesting fact? Stars are so far away, the light you're looking at set out years ago and a star that you see in the sky may already have gone bang but the light of the explosion just hasn't reached us yet.

That's not semi-interesting, it's fascinating. The fact that you can actually pop outside today and look through a telescope at what a distant galaxy looked like a billion years ago....:eek:

TeddyTedson · 18-01-2011 11:11PM

jackiebaron wrote: »

Because they are actually burning and hence give off different and varying degrees of light....like the sun.
Planets and satellites (like the moon) are not burning. They are just chunks of rock that don't twinkle because all they are doing is reflecting light shone upon them by a sun/star.

A candle twinkles but a football illuminated by a flashlight doesn't.

But the SUN doesn't twinkle, or does it. Maybe it's just so bright it doesn't appear to.
Is it as simple as this?

Canis Lupus · 18-01-2011 11:11PM

af_thefragile wrote: »

That's from the watchmen!!

Bill Bryson A short History of Everything actually. :P

Monty Burnz · 18-01-2011 11:11PM

jackiebaron wrote: »

Because they are actually burning and hence give off different and varying degrees of light....like the sun.
Planets and satellites (like the moon) are not burning. They are just chunks of rock that don't twinkle because all they are doing is reflecting light shone upon them by a sun/star.

A candle twinkles but a football illuminated by a flashlight doesn't.

Um...how can I put this politely...the correct answer is earlier in the thread

Canis Lupus · 18-01-2011 11:12PM

Monty Burnz wrote: »

That's not semi-interesting, it's fascinating. The fact that you can actually pop outside today and look through a telescope at what a distant galaxy looked like a billion years ago....:eek:

It's mind blowing really just didn't know if people feel the same kinda of awe I feel when I'm lucky enough to be out in the country on a clear moonless night and just look up.

tommyhaas · 18-01-2011 11:12PM

Svetti Arss wrote: »

If that's the case then why doesn't the Moon twinkle?

Its down to the size, same reason planets dont twinkle. If a planet is close enough to the horizon it can twinkle as your line of sight cuts the atmosphere at quiet a small angle, hence more refraction. Its for this reason that stars/planets close to the horizon cant be relied upon for celestial navigation

ascanbe · 18-01-2011 11:14PM

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

why does my bollox stick to the inside of my leg on a warm day?

Because the angels sprinkle them with fairy dust.

Cookie_Monster · 18-01-2011 11:15PM

Canis Lupus wrote: »

It's mind blowing really just didn't know if people feel the same kinda of awe I feel when I'm lucky enough to be out in the country on a clear moonless night and just look up.

It'd be mind blowing if you could see stars as they are now, not x thousand + years ago

Someone go and invent warp drive already

Lando Griffin · 18-01-2011 11:17PM

TeddyTedson wrote: »

But the SUN doesn't twinkle, or does it. Maybe it's just so bright it doesn't appear to.
Is it as simple as this?

I dont know,
I will have a look in the morning.

knird evol · 18-01-2011 11:18PM

This optical illusion is caused by the chemical reaction of oxygen and californium
in the atmosphere of the Star as these molecules combine thus giving off super strings causing the Twinkle.
The degree of twinkle is measured in 'edels' on a scale of 1 to 14

Svetti Arss · 18-01-2011 11:18PM

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Bill Bryson A short History of Everything actually. :P

A short history of nearly everything actually..

Brilliant book highly recommended.

Red Hand · 18-01-2011 11:20PM

knird evol wrote: »

This optical illusion is caused by the chemical reaction of oxygen and californium
in the atmosphere of the Star as these molecules combine thus giving off super strings causing the Twinkle.
The degree of twinkle is measured in 'edels' on a scale of 1 to 14

Dr Edel was the first person to discover this and has done extensive research on Twinkle Theory.

18-01-2011 11:22PM

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Bill Bryson A short History of Everything actually. :P

He stole it off Watchmen!

:pac:

Why do stars twinkle?

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