Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

In fact, they don't flicker.

On a clear night, looking up at the sky in the dark, the stars seem to be twinkling. The concept is so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people that it is part of one of the most popular children's songs of all time. But what is the scientific principle behind this glittering scene? What makes the stars twinkle?

The stars don't actually twinkle. The twinkle we see has nothing to do with the stars themselves. On the contrary, it's the result of our view of them from the earth's point of view. Because the stars are too far away from us, we think of them as tiny spots of light in the night sky. Starlight travels a long way to our eyes on a clear night, and on the way to our eyes, these light from distant stars encounter the Earth's atmosphere, which is the key driving force behind the flicker effect. they pass through layers of rickety air before reaching our eyes, causing flicker to occur.

As a result, it is the Earth's rickety atmosphere that makes stars seem to twinkle. In space, above the atmosphere, stars do not twinkle at all. This is one of the reasons why space telescopes such as Hubble are put into orbit: they can get clearer images of space without being distorted by atmospheric turbulence.

Why some stars twinkle more than others many factors affect the degree to which a star twinkles. One variable is the position of the star in our field of view. If starlight passes through more air before reaching our eyes, stars will twinkle more, so stars near the horizon seem to twinkle more, because their light must pass through more atmospheres to reach us. The weather also plays a role. Wet nights can lead to thicker air and make the stars seem to twinkle more.

These questions help guide astronomers to decide where to place the world's largest and best telescopes, and observatories are usually placed on dry highlands to reduce the amount of air between stars and telescopes as much as possible. Ideal locations include the dry Atacama Desert in Chile and the volcanic peaks in Hawaii and the Canary Islands of Spain.

When we look up at the night sky, we may also notice that some stars seem to switch between different colors when they twinkle. Sirius is the brightest star in the earth's night sky, which is a typical example. This is because starlight is refracted by the atmosphere, causing it to change color, and this effect is more pronounced in brighter stars.

We will also notice some "stars" that do not twinkle at all because they are actually planets. Unlike stars, planets are closer to us, which makes them look so large in the night sky that the atmosphere does not block their light.

This article is from the official Wechat account: NASA Space enthusiasts (ID:NASAtoMars), author: NASAITACHI

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