Re: Scintillation
- From: Skywise <into@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2006 01:59:50 -0000
"Alessandro Bagioli" <diogenes@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in news:WSTMg.101588
$zy5.1598332@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:
Would like to have a rather detailed explanation of scintillation. Why
planets show almost none ? Is gravitational lense connected with
scintillation ? Thanks for any help. Alessandro.
Stars are so distant that they are effectively infinitely small
point sources of light. They twinkle because you are seeing the
refraction of what amounts to a single "ray" of light.
Planets don't appear to twinkle because, even though they are far
away, they are not far enough away to appear as point sources.
They still subtend a finite sized disc, albeit a small one. They
do in fact twinkle, but the amount of twinkle is usually smaller
than the size of the disc, therefore is generally unnoticed.
I have seen planets twinkle. Talk about bad seeing.
Brian
--
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.
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- Scintillation
- From: Alessandro Bagioli
- Scintillation
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