I Wonder Why – Why Moon And Planets Don’t Twinkle?

Why do the Moon and planets not twinkle like the stars?

● The first thing to understand is that even stars do not twinkle they just 

appear to do so!

● Stars  twinkle  when  we  see  them  from  the  Earth’s  surface  because  we  are 

viewing  them  through  thick  layers  of  turbulent  (moving)  air  in  the  Earth’s 

atmosphere. 

● As the light of the stars moves through the earth’s atmosphere, the light bends 

around. For a split second, it may bend slightly to one place, and quickly go back 

to how it was. This gives the star a twinkling appearance.

● The reason planets, the moon, and the sun don’t do this is because of their size. 

Even  if  the  light  bends  slightly,  all  these  objects  are  large  enough  that  it  isn’t 

noticeable. Thus, they don’t twinkle.

● If  you  look  through  a  telescope,  however,  the  effects  of  the  turbulence  can  be 

seen as quivering around the edge of the disc of the moon and Planets.