Comments on: When Stars Blink Out http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/ Ramblings of an armchair astronomer and inveterate geek Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:08:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Chris http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/comment-page-1/#comment-2408 Chris Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:38:25 +0000 http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/#comment-2408 I've let this comment through. This does not indicate my support or acceptance of the idea., just my belief that anybody reading this far is probably able to judge for themselves. Chris W I’ve let this comment through. This does not indicate my support or acceptance of the idea., just my belief that anybody reading this far is probably able to judge for themselves.

Chris W

]]> By: Ilya Stavinsky http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/comment-page-1/#comment-2407 Ilya Stavinsky Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:02:22 +0000 http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/#comment-2407 1. Christine, what you saw it was not a dim star. It was a signal light of AFO (Aliens Flying Object). There are 100000s AFO in the sky 2. There is another reason for star to twinkle: It is light distortion caused by the AFO which very slow moves under the star and the light from observer bent the body of the AFO and go to the star. That is how the observer see the blinking star through the body of AFO and the latter becomes invisible. From the article: "Aliens live in our Earth's atmosphere" http://sites.google.com/site/socialcapital1/Home 1. Christine, what you saw it was not a dim star. It was a signal light of AFO (Aliens Flying Object). There are 100000s AFO in the sky
2. There is another reason for star to twinkle:
It is light distortion caused by the AFO which very slow moves under the star and the light from observer bent the body of the AFO and go to the star. That is how the observer see the blinking star through the body of AFO and the latter becomes invisible.
From the article:
“Aliens live in our Earth’s atmosphere”
http://sites.google.com/site/socialcapital1/Home

]]> By: Chris http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/comment-page-1/#comment-989 Chris Sat, 17 May 2008 22:00:44 +0000 http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/#comment-989 Hi Christine, Thanks for the question. Unfortunately, probably not. It is possible that you chanced upon an occultation (like in the article) but these are typically a single disappearance event lasting a few seconds. They're also fairly rare events on naked-eye visible stars. Most of the variations you see in a star's brightness are the result of turbulence in our atmosphere. The path of light from the star to your eye is bent by the air, which as it moves, moves some of the star's light in and out of your vision. This is the twinkling star of nursery rhyme fame, and also why astronomer's want to put telescopes (like Hubble) above the air. Another effect comes about when one stares directly at a point-like light light. Every so often, as your eye naturally twitches about, the star's light will fall onto the end of your optic nerve... a blind spot in your vision. The star "disappears" but quickly reappears. If you had seen a star that, over minutes, got massively bright (say as bright as the Moon) before fading gradually then you might have seen a supernova. That would be a truly magnificent event that should be reported to your local observatory with a location in the sky. I hope this helps, Chris W Hi Christine,

Thanks for the question. Unfortunately, probably not.

It is possible that you chanced upon an occultation (like in the article) but these are typically a single disappearance event lasting a few seconds. They’re also fairly rare events on naked-eye visible stars.

Most of the variations you see in a star’s brightness are the result of turbulence in our atmosphere. The path of light from the star to your eye is bent by the air, which as it moves, moves some of the star’s light in and out of your vision. This is the twinkling star of nursery rhyme fame, and also why astronomer’s want to put telescopes (like Hubble) above the air.

Another effect comes about when one stares directly at a point-like light light. Every so often, as your eye naturally twitches about, the star’s light will fall onto the end of your optic nerve… a blind spot in your vision. The star “disappears” but quickly reappears.

If you had seen a star that, over minutes, got massively bright (say as bright as the Moon) before fading gradually then you might have seen a supernova. That would be a truly magnificent event that should be reported to your local observatory with a location in the sky.

I hope this helps,
Chris W

]]> By: christine http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/comment-page-1/#comment-988 christine Sat, 17 May 2008 04:18:04 +0000 http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/#comment-988 hi just a question last night me and a friend were looking at a star and it was dimming to nothing and then would reappear it was doing this erratically more then once is it a dying star? it may be still in the sky tonight we didn't see it fall i wish i could give more information on which star my friend said it may be the morning star because it was brighter and lower then the others hi just a question last night me and a friend were looking at a star and it was dimming to nothing and then would reappear it was doing this erratically more then once is it a dying star? it may be still in the sky tonight we didn’t see it fall i wish i could give more information on which star my friend said it may be the morning star because it was brighter and lower then the others

]]> By: Eris Puts On Weight http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/comment-page-1/#comment-12 Eris Puts On Weight Sat, 16 Jun 2007 07:33:44 +0000 http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/#comment-12 [...] body and some assumptions. Later Hubble Space Telescope observations of Eris as it occulted a star (More on occultations) allowed the size estimate to be refined to 2400±100 km [3]… very similar to Pluto. [...] [...] body and some assumptions. Later Hubble Space Telescope observations of Eris as it occulted a star (More on occultations) allowed the size estimate to be refined to 2400±100 km [3]… very similar to Pluto. [...]

]]> By: Wes http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/comment-page-1/#comment-6 Wes Wed, 16 May 2007 13:12:35 +0000 http://psychogeeks.com/when-stars-blink-out-76/#comment-6 Yet again you've made something which is quite complex understandable for even us neanderthals! Great Work. Yet again you’ve made something which is quite complex understandable for even us neanderthals! Great Work.

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