A fascinating spectacle, or why the stars twinkle?

click fraud protection

night sky is always a special feeling, often all earthly things are not important, and the person begins to feel a small part of the vast universe, part of something bigger than just the planet Earth.

Why do stars twinkle?Probably, many asked themselves this question.Incredibly beautiful sight, especially after a rain, when the stars are iridescent.People do not always know the answer to this seemingly childish question.

simple answer to a simple question

Starry flicker caused by fluctuations in the air immediately.Due to the inhomogeneity of the earth's atmosphere, the air masses move at different speeds, thus, the present flow and flows of different temperature properties, density, and other parameters.Therefore, passing through the atmosphere of the star light can be refracted in many ways.Here and there the similarity of this mysterious flicker.

twinkling stars

twinkling stars in the sky is like a spark of the big city, if you look at it from afar.And if at the same time the air is saturated with moisture, the glow will change its trajectory and refracted, shimmering with the colors of the rainbow.The answer to the question about why stars twinkle, is so simple.When a star begins to approach the horizon, refraction occurs more rapidly due to the thickness of the air, thereby making it more distinct flicker.

Can planet flicker?

stars different from the planets in the vast number of physical characteristics, it is not surprising that the people and the light of the space differently.Even in a wonderful night with lots of twinkling stars, you can clearly distinguish the light from the planets of the solar system.Their light can be described as a smooth, constant.Like the moon or the sun, they do not flicker.This can be seen even without a high-accuracy microscope.

Why is this happening?Given those factors, the stars light, like the light of the planet must be refracted in the atmosphere, it can be concluded that the stars twinkling dot, the planet is doing the same, but due to the fact that these points it has many, the illusion of smoothSveta.It's all about numbers.

These different stars

If you look at the stars with the naked eye, they all appear to be almost the same, only different in brightness.But this is not true, if you look more closely, you can discern the star, even in color.This concerns the biggest and brightest stars.For example, the star Arcturus and Aldebaran orange as Betelgeuse and Antares - red.White called Sirius and Vega, white with blue accents - Spica and Regulus.There is even a giant yellow Capella and Alpha Centauri.

Astronomers associate the color with stars such as temperature.Considered relatively cool red star with a surface temperature of up to 4 thousand degrees, the hottest known as blue and white, reaching incredible temperatures of 10-30 million degrees Celsius!It becomes quite clear why the stars twinkle with such temperature data they are capable of much.

Why do stars twinkle and shimmer at all?The answer to this question depends on how you look at it.If this process is equated with refraction, then it can be called flicker.But as you know, the stars themselves do not glow, is just the impression one gets from the audience that is watching this interesting phenomenon on Earth.If you contemplate this picture from space, no flicker will not.According to the astronauts, the stars shine bright, smooth, and winking at them only to observe that remained on Earth.