Re: A rant from Bill Maher's recent show:

Quiet, Chris Mihos <hos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> -- I'm
transmitting rage.

James Schrumpf wrote:

OK, here's a question for our Astronomer Royal: why don't planets
twinkle?

I've been told from childhood that you can tell the planets because
they don't twinkle, and that stars do because the atmosphere makes
their light waver.

But the planets' light comes through that same atmosphere, so why
_don't_ they twinkle as well?


Stars are unresolved point sources, whereas planets are resolved. see
Phil Plait's description:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bitesize/twinkle.html

and, as phil points out, planets *can* twinkle if the atmosphere is
turbulent enough.


I always wondered if that was indeed the case. Thanks.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Schrumpf http://www.hilltopper.net

We Must Protect this Couch!
.

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    (rec.sport.football.college)