Red & Blue twinkling stars?...

[johnmageee]

Hi SGL,

think you's are the right people to be asking this question to.

I've noticed over the past few years , as have of my friends, that there always seems to be as least 2 to 4 strange coloured stars in the sky. They twinkle red, blue and sometimes green with a quick pulsating appearance. They're not planes because they're stationary, and i don't think there satelites as they are in roughly the same place each nite and some are so bright that they would have to be massive satelites.

Any ideas?...

[Chris H]

Hi, stars twinkle due to the affect of atmospheric turbulance as the star light passes through it. Stars which are bright and low in the sky such as Sirius appear to change colour quite dramatically and quickly due to the light passing through more atmosphere.

[JamesM]

Antares is another one. As a beginner when I first noticed this effect I was convinced that it was a police helicopter and then a UFO. When you see this effect it is quite striking but unfortunately like most things, it has a dull rational explanation.

Clear skies

james