• Question: Why do stars twinkle?

    Asked by Lilz to Philip, Theo on 13 Nov 2014. This question was also asked by sophz.
    • Photo: Philip Ratcliffe

      Philip Ratcliffe answered on 13 Nov 2014:

      Because they’re only tiny little points of light that we’re looking at through the Earth’s atmosphere. All the bits of dust, clouds and so on up there get in the way of the light coming from the stars and effectively switch them on and off. This doesn’t happen for the Sun or Moon (or indeed for the planets) because they’re bigger and so even if a bit of light gets blocked, other light gets through and keeps it seeming constant.

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