{"id":87857,"date":"2025-06-01T06:55:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T06:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=87857"},"modified":"2025-06-01T06:55:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T06:55:36","slug":"the-twinkling-of-a-star-is-due-to-the-atmospheric","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-twinkling-of-a-star-is-due-to-the-atmospheric\/","title":{"rendered":"The twinkling of a star is due to the atmospheric"},"content":{"rendered":"

The twinkling of a star is due to the atmospheric<\/p>\n

[amp_mcq option1=”diffraction of starlight” option2=”reflection of starlight” option3=”refraction of starlight” option4=”dispersion of starlight” correct=”option3″]<\/p>\n

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This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n
UPSC NDA-1 – 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Download PDF<\/a>Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe twinkling of stars is caused by the atmospheric refraction of starlight. As starlight passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, which has layers of varying density and temperature, it undergoes continuous refraction. The turbulent movement of air causes fluctuations in the refractive index of the atmosphere along the path of light. This leads to variations in the apparent position and intensity (brightness) of the star as perceived by an observer, resulting in the twinkling effect.
\n<\/section>\n
\nAtmospheric refraction causes starlight to bend as it passes through layers of air with different optical densities, leading to fluctuations in apparent brightness and position.
\n<\/section>\n
\nPlanets are closer to Earth than stars and appear as extended sources rather than point sources. The light from planets undergoes similar refraction but the effect is averaged out over their larger apparent disk, which is why planets typically do not twinkle.
\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The twinkling of a star is due to the atmospheric [amp_mcq option1=”diffraction of starlight” option2=”reflection of starlight” option3=”refraction of starlight” option4=”dispersion of starlight” correct=”option3″] This question was previously asked in UPSC NDA-1 – 2022 Download PDFAttempt Online The twinkling of stars is caused by the atmospheric refraction of starlight. As starlight passes through the Earth’s … <\/p>\n

Detailed SolutionThe twinkling of a star is due to the atmospheric<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1093],"tags":[1108,1153,1128],"class_list":["post-87857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-nda-1","tag-1108","tag-optics","tag-physics","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\nThe twinkling of a star is due to the atmospheric<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The twinkling of stars is caused by the atmospheric refraction of starlight. As starlight passes through the Earth's atmosphere, which has layers of varying density and temperature, it undergoes continuous refraction. The turbulent movement of air causes fluctuations in the refractive index of the atmosphere along the path of light. This leads to variations in the apparent position and intensity (brightness) of the star as perceived by an observer, resulting in the twinkling effect. Atmospheric refraction causes starlight to bend as it passes through layers of air with different optical densities, leading to fluctuations in apparent brightness and position.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-twinkling-of-a-star-is-due-to-the-atmospheric\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The twinkling of a star is due to the atmospheric\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The twinkling of stars is caused by the atmospheric refraction of starlight. As starlight passes through the Earth's atmosphere, which has layers of varying density and temperature, it undergoes continuous refraction. The turbulent movement of air causes fluctuations in the refractive index of the atmosphere along the path of light. This leads to variations in the apparent position and intensity (brightness) of the star as perceived by an observer, resulting in the twinkling effect. Atmospheric refraction causes starlight to bend as it passes through layers of air with different optical densities, leading to fluctuations in apparent brightness and position.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/the-twinkling-of-a-star-is-due-to-the-atmospheric\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MCQ and Quiz for Exams\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-01T06:55:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rawan239\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The twinkling of a star is due to the atmospheric","description":"The twinkling of stars is caused by the atmospheric refraction of starlight. 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