Sometimes when it’s night We want to look up at the sky and take a long look. But meanwhile the lights keep flickering for some reason, right?

In fact the reason for these vibrations It lies in the journey of light through the atmosphere. But how?

Light bends when it passes through any medium.

This process is called refraction The variability of the medium affects the degree of refraction of light. Turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere occurs due to the movement of layers of air with different temperatures and densities.

Turbulence causes light from stars to bend as it passes through the atmosphere. As a result, we create one We experience it as sparkling or flickering.

For example, the amount of refraction of starlight varies depending on your observation angle.

If a star is right above your head; its light cuts the Earth’s atmosphere at an almost perpendicular angle and this minimizes breakage. This causes starlight to shine less brightly.

However, if a star is closer to the horizon, its light must pass through a larger part of the atmosphere. In this situation The effect of atmospheric refraction becomes clearer and the star vibrates more.

So why don’t planets shine like stars?

Light from planets is also refracted in the atmosphere, but this refraction spread over the entire disk of the planet They don’t shine like stars.

Again When they are close to the horizon, Sometimes you also see the planets vibrate.

Our other content that may interest you: