Have you ever wondered what makes stars twinkle in the sky? Well, it's not just your eyes playing tricks on you — the atmosphere has a hand in making these stars sparkle.

It all starts with a ray of starlight moving through space.

The light from a star travels trillions of miles through the vacuum of space on a linear path before reaching the Earth.

But, once it interacts with the atmosphere, this all changes.

The atmosphere's role

The atmosphere is made up of layers of air of differing temperature, density and moisture, and it is constantly churning.

This turbulence in the atmosphere causes the path of the starlight to shift as it passes through.

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These shifts are random and frequent causing the stars to look as if they are twinkling from our perspective on Earth.

So, it's not the star itself that is glittering, but the interaction with Earth's atmosphere that is the key.

If you went to the moon, where there is barely an atmosphere, stars would not appear to twinkle in the night sky.

Twinkling is also weather-dependent

You can see more frequent twinkling when the jet stream is over your area.

The jet stream is a ribbon of fast-moving air in the upper atmosphere that ushers storm systems across the country. It is associated with turbulence and a strong temperature gradient, which are both factors that cause shifts in the path of the starlight.

(MORE: What is the jet stream?)

On the other hand, if your area is under an area of high pressure, known for stable weather conditions, the stars may seem more steady in the sky.

What about changing colors?

If you watch the sky closely, you might see stars that appear to change color, especially when they are close to the horizon.

This has to do with the atmosphere too.

When you look at a star that is low in the sky, its light is passing through a much thicker layer of the atmosphere than when you look at it directly overhead.

Similarly to how, during a sunset, we see the white light get scattered into beautiful reds and oranges — the light from the stars gets scattered out through the atmosphere, making stars appear blue, green or red.

Stars also seem to twinkle more low on the horizon since they are traveling through more of the atmosphere.

Twinkling tips

• Watch the forecast: If the jet stream is over your area, head outside.
• Look low on the horizon: Here you can catch extra twinkling and color-changing stars.
• Keep your eye out for Sirius: This is the brightest star, so it should be easy to find. On a turbulent night, you can spot it flickering and changing colors — like the night sky's own disco ball.

Caitlin Kaiser graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with both an undergraduate and a graduate degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences before starting her career as a digital meteorologist with weather.com.