Stars twinkle because of the atmosphere. Even on the calmest of days, with no ground wind, there will be motions and turbulence in the 100 kilometers (62 miles) between the ground and space.

From our vantage point, this causes the pulsar to twinkle, or "scintillate." The effect is similar to how turbulence in Earth's atmosphere makes stars twinkle in the night sky.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Some people probably believe that the twinkling effect is produced by the stars ...

It’s one of the first things any of us learn about astronomy – stars twinkle while planets don’t. However, other point-like objects in the radio sky also twinkle, or “scintillate ...