Why do stars generally appear to twinkle while planets typically do not?
Answer
Planets appear as small disks experiencing less atmospheric turbulence across their surface.
Stars generally twinkle because the light from a single point source is distorted by the movement of Earth's atmosphere. Planets are much closer, appearing as small disks, which reduces the effect of atmospheric turbulence across their visible surface, leading to a steady, non-twinkling light.
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