Why Steady Stars Seem to Flicker
The sky is the real show-off: starlight jerks sideways above a dark roof, then snaps back. You are not watching a star lose its nerve; you are watching air make mischief. The source is usually steady. Its light crosses a restless atmospheric column that bends it by changing amounts before it reaches your eye.This is a local distortion, not a stellar tantrum. Atmospheric turbulence breaks air into ...More
loading...