<p>This is a child's question I failed to answer. When observing some stars with naked eye, some stars (e.g. Regulus) appeared to blink significantly more than others, but I did not have the patience to identify them. Those stars twinkling more were on different positions on the sky, not next to each other. The sky was clear and cloudless, with quite a bit of ambient light of the neighbouring houses.</p>
<p>I tend to say that brighter stars seems to blink more, and the atmopheric effects are simply easier to perceive. But is that really correct?</p>
<h3>Related</h3>
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<li><p><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/222/why-do-stars-appear-to-twinkle">Why do stars appear to twinkle?</a></p>
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<li><p><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/14082/why-doesnt-the-moon-twinkle">Why doesn&#39;t the moon twinkle?</a></p>
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<li><p><a href="https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/28271/why-do-stars-twinkle-but-planets-dont">Why do stars twinkle but planets don&#39;t</a></p>
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<li><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_brightest_stars" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_brightest_stars</a></p>
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CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-07T00:24:23.933Z
Dod you account for elevation? Those closer to the horizon may twinkle more enthusiastically as their light passes through the "[twinkle zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing)" at an oblique angle and has more chance to get twinkled.
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-07T01:49:15.743Z
Thanks for the hint. Regulus was actually closer to the zenith than to the horizon during observation.
B--rian
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-07T13:05:58.740Z
You should make this an answer, @uhoh :) (e.g. mentioning the significance of the [air mass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_mass_(astronomy)))
pela
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-07T13:13:17.687Z
@pela I'm just guessing, though it would be harder to argue that that wasn't the case. And I'd have to use my science words...
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-07T17:08:17.670Z
There may be wisps of cloud that are hard to see at night but that cause extra twinkling in some parts of the sky?
Kristoffer Sjöö
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-11T23:23:53.817Z
Brighter stars also seem to twinkle more than fainter stars. They probably twinkle as much; it’s just that the faintness of some makes the twinkling more subtle.
Pierre Paquette
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-16T01:32:07.137Z
Given similar altitude and brightness I suspect that there is still a noticeable difference between some stars. When I compare Alpha and beta Centauri I suspect that Alpha twinkles a little less than Beta.  Alpha is a binary star with similar brightness components. This could be a caused by alpha having a larger angular size. Twinkling is caused by light rays being randomly deviated (refraction) by intervening random fluctuations in the density of the air. Planets don't twinkle because of an averaging of all the deviations from all the points across the planet. Something similar for binaries??
TazAstroSpacial
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-07-25T13:56:38.323Z
The Wikipedia page on scintillation answers a lot of questions that have come up in the comments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkling
Greg Miller
<star><amateur-observing><atmospheric-effects>
Why do some stars twinkle more than others?
B--rian
# Why do some stars twinkle more than others?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-03-06)

This is a child's question I failed to answer. When observing some stars with naked eye, some stars (e.g. Regulus) appeared to blink significantly more than others, but I did not have the patience to identify them. Those stars twinkling more were on different positions on the sky, not next to each other. The sky was clear and cloudless, with quite a bit of ambient light of the neighbouring houses.

I tend to say that brighter stars seems to blink more, and the atmopheric effects are simply easier to perceive. But is that really correct?

### Related

* [Why do stars appear to twinkle?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/222/why-do-stars-appear-to-twinkle)
* [Why doesn't the moon twinkle?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/14082/why-doesnt-the-moon-twinkle)
* [Why do stars twinkle but planets don't](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/28271/why-do-stars-twinkle-but-planets-dont)
* <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_brightest_stars>

**Tags:** star, amateur-observing, atmospheric-effects
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Dod you account for elevation? Those closer to the horizon may twinkle more enthusiastically as their light passes through the "[twinkle zone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_seeing)" at an oblique angle and has more chance to get twinkled.  
> **username_0**: Thanks for the hint. Regulus was actually closer to the zenith than to the horizon during observation.  
> **username_2**: You should make this an answer, @uhoh :) (e.g. mentioning the significance of the [air mass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_mass_(astronomy)))  
> **username_1**: @pela I'm just guessing, though it would be harder to argue that that wasn't the case. And I'd have to use my science words...  
> **username_3**: There may be wisps of cloud that are hard to see at night but that cause extra twinkling in some parts of the sky?  
> **username_4**: Brighter stars also seem to twinkle more than fainter stars. They probably twinkle as much; it’s just that the faintness of some makes the twinkling more subtle.  
> **username_5**: Given similar altitude and brightness I suspect that there is still a noticeable difference between some stars. When I compare Alpha and beta Centauri I suspect that Alpha twinkles a little less than Beta.  Alpha is a binary star with similar brightness components. This could be a caused by alpha having a larger angular size. Twinkling is caused by light rays being randomly deviated (refraction) by intervening random fluctuations in the density of the air. Planets don't twinkle because of an averaging of all the deviations from all the points across the planet. Something similar for binaries??  
> **username_6**: The Wikipedia page on scintillation answers a lot of questions that have come up in the comments: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkling  

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