system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why do stars appear to constantly change colour?

I know this is more of a less complicated ‘kids question’, but I’m honestly not bothered enough to search for it on Google.

Anyway, when ever I look up at the night sky, any star I stare at seems to be constantly changing colours in a rapid flash.

Does this happen because of the way the light refracts in the atmosphere, or are my eyes just fucked and can’t process bright colours properly?
gpt
It's because of the way light refracts in the atmosphere. Different wavelengths (i.e. colours) of light refract at slightly different angles, just like going through a bunch of little prisms. This is called *chromatic aberration*, and it's particularly strong when the star is low in the sky and you're looking through a large amount of air.

With a telescope looking at something bright like Venus you can actually see kind of a rainbow effect going on.