Why does venus twinkle

These layers have different temperatures. In addition, the air's density varies from level to level. When starlight enters our atmosphere, it runs into pockets of cool and warm air. The pockets act as big lenses, causing the light to change direction — or " refract " — as it passes through them. Yet the lenses are not fixed in place; they move around and change shape. As they shift, so does starlight refraction. That's why the stars appear to twinkle.

Scintillation affects planets, too. Mercury, Venus, Mars and other planets in our solar system do twinkle when viewed from Earth on a clear night. So does our moon. However, the planets twinkle to a barely noticeable degree. Distance is the main reason stars twinkle more conspicuously than the planets in our solar system. Because the former are so far away, each star looks like a single pinpoint of light.

It's a different story for Earth's moon and our neighboring planets. Being a lot closer, they're less affected by the atmosphere. Planets and moons appear as tiny disks up in the sky.

The light they emanate comes not from a single point but from many individual points all clustered together. These rarely scintillate in unison, which is why planets and moons don't twinkle as dramatically as the stars. Twinkling only can happen when an atmosphere is present. It's for this reason that photos taken by the Hubble Telescope look so clear; there aren't any atmospheric air pockets to refract the starlight.

Active Oldest Votes. Several factors that contribute to it: lots of air turbulence; or, as astronomers call it, "bad seeing" closeness to horizon; if the planets are high in the sky, the air column is shorter so there's less chance they will twinkle; but when they are low, their light goes through more air and so it is perturbed to a larger degree The observation you've made, Venus twinkling, is not very unusual. Improve this answer. Florin Andrei Florin Andrei I can think of three reasons that may make a planet twinkle nevertheless: If it stands very close to the horizon, so that the total column of air that the light passees the "airmass" is very high.

If an airplane passed by, emitting hot air. It wasn't redder than usual, though. Items 2 or 3 are for sure not true in this case. Pretty high for astronomical standards, but the angular size of Venus should still be larger than the seeing disk.

The only other reason I can think of is small patches of clouds. This could make its brightness vary, which could perhaps be perceived as flickering. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Visit chat. Linked Related 8. Hot Network Questions. Question feed. Astronomy Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook.

Why do stars twinkle? How do astronomers overcome twinkling? Do planets twinkle? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Ready to do some stargazing? Be sure to explore the following activities with a friend or family member: As soon as night falls, grab a blanket and head outdoors with a friend or family member. Find a comfortable spot and relax under the stars. Turn off any lights that might obscure your view of the night sky.

Give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness. Try counting the stars. How many can you see? Need some help finding certain planets in the nighttime sky? Check out Observing Tonight's Sky online. Click on the location to change it to your particular area.

Then use the information provided to try to spot the different planets in our solar system. Can you spot the Big Dipper? How about Taurus? Use this online Constellation Guide to help you spot different constellations in the night sky. How many different constellations can you identify?

Did you get it? Test your knowledge. What are you wondering? Wonder Words planet alien wild gaze blame tiny capture galaxy refracted identify flicker illusion imagination spectacular intelligent constellation phenomenon astronomical Take the Wonder Word Challenge.

Join the Discussion. Sophie May 17, This article was so interesting! I've always wondered why stars twinkle!

Raynah Dec 3, I just love learning about the stars twinkle!! Dec 10, Thanks for stopping by, Raynah! May 20, We're glad you liked it, Sophie! Lissy Reilly Dec 5, Annie Jan 9, I thought it was very cool. I love looking at stars. It taught me a lot and if you are looking for something to read I recommend it.

Jan 9, Thanks for the recommendation, Annie!! We're thrilled that you liked this Wonder!! I haven't read the article yet but by the looks of what you guys said I'm think I'm going to like it. Thank you friends an Wonderopolis for persuading me into reading this article.

Mar 9, We are so glad we persuaded you! Mar 3, Chicken Jan 13, I have another question. If the sun is a star, then does the sun sparkle too? Jan 17, Chicken Jan 17, Jan 18, Ryan Jan 13, Jan 13,