Explain atmospheric refraction. why do stars twinkle?
Answers
Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. ... Astronomical or celestial refraction causes astronomical objects to appear higher above the horizon than they actually are.
The twinkling of a star is due to atmospheric refraction of starlight. The starlight, on entering the earth's atmosphere, undergoes refraction continuously before it reaches the earth. The atmospheric refraction occurs in a medium of gradually changing refractive index.
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The refraction of light caused by the earth's atmosphere is called atmospheric refraction.
The light coming from a star undergoes atmospheric refraction due to varying optical densities of air at various altitudes. The continuously changing atmosphere refracts the light from the star by different amounts from one moment to the next. Thus, the star-light reaching our eyes increases and decreases continuously and the star appears to twinkle.