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Stars appear to twinkle more than planets because they are farther away. The twinkling occurs because of turbulence in our atmosphere. The stars are so far away they are basically a pinpoint. The light appearing from the stars passes through the Earths atmosphere and as this happens, different colors in the light take slightly different paths depending on the degree of refraction. If colors were perfectly refracted the star might appear as a little group of colors, but the air moves around with solar heating and wind. The light dances around. This causes the "twinkling". Planets are closer than stars. This makes them a larger point or "disc" from which the light is traveling, therefore light is coming from a group of points, rather than just one. Really, planets CAN twinkle if the air is so unsteady that is causes multiple refractions of the light to occur. A more detailed explanation needed? Visit
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How can differentiate a star from a planet by looking at it?
If we watch the night sky daily, we will notice that the sky is studded with bluish silver twinkling dots. They are Stars, several light years away. The star look static, hardly moving across the sky. But you can see planets moving across the sky. Planets move on complicated path with respect to the background stars, faster than the speed of the Earth, and sometimes, they even reverse their directions. Every planets moves with different speed on its orbit around the Sun. Thus, the planets position from the Earth changes with time. A stark difference between the stars and the planets is the stars twinkle and planets do not. We all know that the Sun is a star. The reason why it does not twinkle, and appears larger than other stars, is because of its close proximity to Earth.
Do planets obit the sun?
Eight planets orbit our sun. More than a thousand planets far beyond our solar system are known to orbit other stars.
How big are stars to planets?
Planets are a lot bigger than stars except the sun... the sun is a star. So to me the answer is a star is bigger and the stars are also smaller.Let's think about the actual sizes, not just how they appear in the sky.You may be thinking of the apparent sizes as seen from Earth. Stars like our Sun are a lot bigger than planets and there's lots of stars bigger than the Sun.However there are also stars a lot smaller than the Sun. So some stars aresmaller than some planets.For example "white dwarfs" have a lot more mass than the Earth, but they arenot much bigger.Let's be clear though, most stars are bigger than planets.
Is the gravity on a stars surface more or less than the gravity on a planets surface?
An bigger thing on Universe, the more gravity but the Black hole is small but has the most gravity pushing in it and Stars had more gravity than the planets just like an Guy with an big muscle. he had the ability to push and pull and object.
Why do planets move across the night sky but stars don't?
The planets are closer. (They all move - and differently.)
Why do stars appear to twinkle while planets shine constantly?
Both twinkle - even the sun does. However the relative size, as seen from Earth, means that the amount of "twinkle" is far more apparent for a star than for a planet. there is an apparent change in position of stars , so they seem to twinkle
How can planets be differenciated from stars in sky?
Planets move, may have a very very slight color tinge, and they twinkle more than stars. you gotta reeeally look close to see it with the naked eye.
Are there more stars than planets?
Yes. 200 billions stars and 8 planets in our solar system.
Which stars twinkle the most?
The twinkle comes from atmospheric conditions on earth, if lower in the horizon, then the twinkle is increased as the light has to pass through more atmosphere. Air pollution nearer urban areas also effects the twinkle. No particular stars twinkle more than others, it's mainly due to their position in the sky and local atmospheric conditions.
How can an observer from earth distinguish planets from stars?
-- The planets you can see with your naked eye are generally brighter than a typical star. -- They also twinkle less than the stars do. -- Planets appear as small disks even in binoculars or small telescopes, but stars never do. -- From one night to the next, or certainly from one week to the next, the patterns formed by stars don't change, but planets move through those patterns.
Why does the stars twinkled?
Stars twinkle because of the abberations in their light path from dust and gas in space, and most especially from the earth's atmosphere. Some nights they twinkle much more than others. On a very clear night, after a very still day, they twinkle relatively little.
Are there more Stars or Planets?
there are more planets than stars because to every star there could have several planets
How many stars with planets?
There are more than 300 known stars with known planets, and the list gets longer all the time.
How can you differentiate star and planet in night gazing?
Without an optical aid it could be difficult, as a few stars are as bright as planets. There are some things to look for: 1. stars appear as pin points, planets as very small disks. [Even if you can't see a disk, the result is that planets don't "twinkle". ] Not exactly true. Depending on atmospheric conditions stars may not twinkle. Though planets are less likely to be observed twinkling because your eyes average their light, they may be observed twinkling at times, especially if you can't observe them as a disk. 2. planets are usually brighter than stars. 3. planets will be near the ecliptic - the path the Sun travels across the sky.
In what way do planets look different from stars?
Firstly, planets are way way smaller than the stars! That's because you can see stars in the night but never planets. Also stars produce nuclear energy in their core so they give thermal ( heat ) energy. Also stars have more gravity than planets.
What is more noticeable in planets than stars?
I don't think that there is anything noticeable in planets than stars but moon isn't bad ,I mean to say it is also noticeable!!!
How can differentiate a star from a planet by looking at it?
If we watch the night sky daily, we will notice that the sky is studded with bluish silver twinkling dots. They are Stars, several light years away. The star look static, hardly moving across the sky. But you can see planets moving across the sky. Planets move on complicated path with respect to the background stars, faster than the speed of the Earth, and sometimes, they even reverse their directions. Every planets moves with different speed on its orbit around the Sun. Thus, the planets position from the Earth changes with time. A stark difference between the stars and the planets is the stars twinkle and planets do not. We all know that the Sun is a star. The reason why it does not twinkle, and appears larger than other stars, is because of its close proximity to Earth.
