Quote:
Originally Posted by skysurfer
One word: Impossible. Period.
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That is incorrect because I myself perceive pale greens and shades of
pale magenta within M42 and veins of pink within the Homunculus
itself of Eta Carina.
I've observed it apertures as little as 8". In the case of M42, a wide
field eyepiece that frames the whole object I find makes the colors
more noticeable. This is likely no coincidence.
For a long time I simply assumed that the perception of color in these
objects was self evident to most with younger eyes, but anecdotally
I have come to appreciate not everyone perceives it.
Color, of course, is not a phenomena inherent in physics, but instead a
function of the eye and the brain.
The hypertensive rods can also play a part in color perception.
We know from many different types of experiments that the way humans
process and perceive different colors is very different to how
man-made technologies such as cameras work.
If human color perception was based on a simple RGB model like that in
a digital camera, then there are a series of wonderful experiments that
provide counterintuitive results and break that model.
For example, consider the work of Edwin Land, of Polaroid fame, and John
McCann and Jeanne Benton in the 60's and 70's. Three of the great
pioneers of modern colour theory.
In one experiment they found if you illuminated a scene with
a narrow band source at 550nm and at a level just enough to trigger
the rods but not the cones, and you also illuminated the same scene
with a narrow band source at 656nm at a level enough to stimulate the
long wavelength cones but not the middle wave length cones, then
test subjects would perceive the scene with a remarkable range of
color including reds, yellows, browns, blue-greens, grays and blacks.
In classical color theory as many of us were taught in science class at
school, the rods aren't supposed to be involved in color perception at all.
The same classical theory would tell us that at 656nm, with only the
long wave length cones firing, the scene would be predominantly in
shades of red.
For those of us who can perceive a range of colors within M42, it
is likely that both the rods and at least one set of cones are firing.
Best Regards
Gary Kopff
Mt Kuring-Gai
... But the jewel box is a bitter disappointment. 
this would confirm Alex's point about male vision.
still great post Colin, but I had actually meant to reference Brendon's post here not Colin's. My bad
