If you want to have a great stargazing experience, free from atmospheric turbulence (which makes stars seem to twinkle), then you might consider going to the place scientists say is the best spot for watching these celestial bodies. It might be a bit far from your home, however, and it’s cold there as well, as it’s located near the South Pole.
The hotspot (or cold spot, in this case) is called Dome A, and is located on a plateau near central Antarctica, roughly 2.5 miles, (4 kilometers) above sea-level. In a new study published July 29 in the journal Nature, researchers found that the conditions at Dome A are positively perfect for staring at the cosmos with minimal interference from Earth's atmosphere.
In particular, the stars above Dome A actually twinkle less than they do elsewhere around the world, the researchers found. That's because of a phenomenon called atmospheric turbulence. Basically, as wind blows across uneven terrain, like mountains or valleys, it creates turbulent eddies in the atmosphere that can warp the appearance of light reaching Earth from distant stars.
Learn more about this place and why scientists claim that this is the perfect place to stargaze, over at Live Science.
(Image Credit: Noel_Bauza/ Pixabay)