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Name: kathleen n mecham
Status: N/A
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 1993 - 1999
Question:
How come some stars look like they are flashing?

Replies:
The variations in the light intensity are due to disturbances in the atmosphere between your eye and the star. If these disturbances are as big as the star, the star will appear to twinkle. The size of the moon and planets is larger than these disturbances and they do not twinkle. If the size of the fluctuations were smaller in the atmosphere were smaller the stars would not appear to twinkle. If we were to get above the atmosphere , there should be no twinkling.

Samuel P Bowen


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