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The brightest star in the night sky shows off this spring: How to see a scintillating Sirius
72% Informative
A young girl wrote to me that she wanted to know why stars flicker at night .
Astronomer: The twinkling effect is caused by unstable state of the air through which a star's light must pass to reach our eyes.
Astronaut: A sky spangled with twinkled stars might seem to the average person like a spectacular backdrop for astronomers, it is an indicator of a very unstable atmosphere; awful if you were trying to get steady views peering through telescope.
The "scintillating effect" of such a bright star hovering so close to the horizon can be quite striking.
When and where to look, you should find a location that will afford you a clear and unobstructed view of the west-southwest horizon.
After May 6 , it will rapidly slide down into sunset fires and likely will end its evening visibility on May 11 .
VR Score
83
Informative language
87
Neutral language
31
Article tone
informal
Language
English
Language complexity
38
Offensive language
not offensive
Hate speech
not hateful
Attention-grabbing headline
not detected
Known propaganda techniques
not detected
Time-value
long-living
External references
6
Source diversity
5
Affiliate links
2