Why do Stars have Different Colors

"Twinkle, Twinkle Little star, How I wonder what you are?
Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky." - Ann Taylor and Jane Taylor

When you look at the sky on a clear and starry night, you would find millions of stars blinking at you in colors of blue, red and yellow. Have you ever wondered why stars twinkle and also why they have different colors? Twinkling of the stars are caused by the turbulence in the earth’s atmosphere. Remember, the atmosphere of the earth is made up of several layers and each layer has different temperature and density. Twinkling of the stars is caused by the refraction when the light passes through each layer.

The different colors of the stars are white, red, yellow and blue. The color of a star determines the temperature of the surface of the star. You need to know that a star emits light in various colors of wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. The surface temperature of a star determines the wavelength of the star. If the surface temperature is around 3,000 K degrees, then the color of the star is red and it is orange if the surface temperature is 4,000 K degrees. The color of a star is yellow when the surface temperature is 6,000 K degrees. When the surface temperature is above 8,000 K degrees, the color emitted appears white and if the temperature ranges between 20,000 K to 50,000 K degrees, then it is blue.

The wavelength of blue color stars is short and it is an indication that these stars have higher surface temperature. While, the colors such as red, orange and yellow have longer wavelengths of light indicating that the star's surface temperature is low. The stars such as Antares and Betelgeuse are orange in color, while the star Rigel is blue in color. The astronomers can determine the surface temperature of the stars by looking at the colors. If you are interested in stars and the galaxy read information on star astronomy.