The twinkling of stars is caused by atmospheric refraction of starlight. When starlight enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it undergoes continuous refraction due to the gradually changing refractive index of the atmospheric medium.
What causes the twinkling of stars, and how is it related to atmospheric refraction?
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The twinkling of stars, or stellar scintillation, is caused by atmospheric refraction. As starlight passes through Earth’s atmosphere, it encounters varying layers of air with different temperatures, pressures, and densities. These atmospheric irregularities cause the starlight to refract, or bend, in different directions. The continuous fluctuations in refraction angles create the twinkling effect as observed from Earth. This phenomenon is more pronounced near the horizon where a longer path through the atmosphere amplifies the atmospheric effects. Thus, the twinkling of stars is a result of the dynamic interplay between the light’s journey through the atmosphere and the atmospheric conditions it encounters.