Question

Give reason for the following:

The planets do not twinkle.

Answer 1

1. Planets are significantly closer to the Earth than stars and are considered extended sources.
2. As a result, a planet can be thought of as a collection of numerous small light sources.
3. While light from individual point-sized sources flickers, the overall amount of light entering our eye from all point-sized sources averages out to be constant.
4. As a result, all planets appear to be the same brightness, and there is no twinkling.