Why Do Some Stars Appear to Change Color?

Some stars look like they’re changing colors because their light travels through space and the Earth’s atmosphere. Imagine you're looking at a light bulb through a glass of water, sometimes it looks yellow, sometimes blue, depending on how much water is in the way. Stars work kind of like that. When their light comes to us, sometimes it seems to change color because the air around us bends the light differently at different times.

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Examples

  1. A red star might look yellow on a cloudy night because the clouds scatter the blue light more.
  2. The same star may appear white when it's high up in the sky and not as much light is scattered.
  3. Sometimes, stars seem to twinkle between colors like they're playing hide-and-seek with their light.

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Categories: Space · stars· astronomy· color change