Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 July 1907 — The Twinkling of a Star. [ARTICLE]

The Twinkling of a Star.

The twinkling of - a star has never been explained to the satisfaction of all investigators, but it is generally believed to be due to controlling causes within the earth’s atmosphere. That the cause may be looked for within the belt of air that surrounds our planet (to particles of vapor, dust, etc.) may be inferred from the fact that the planets never exhibit the characteristic twinkling so noticeable in the' star. One reason for this is the size (apparent) of the planets, each of which shows a sensible disk, even to the naked eye, while the strongest instrument in the world only shows the stars as being mere points of light. This being the case, any foreign substance in the atmosphere would momentarily hide the light and make the star appear to twinkle.