Colour Planets

[PSALM19.1]

Hi all,
Just wondering why Uranus and Neptune are colourful to look at (8" dob) but no other planets are? (Ok, Mars has a bit of "colour" but Uranus and Neptune are distinctly blue and green):question:

[julianh72]

My $0.02 worth:

If you're not seeing colours in Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, could it be because they are so bright that you are getting a dazzlingly bright image, which is "over-exposed" on your retina, so you just see them as "white"? I can see colours easily on my 130 mm Newtonian.

Try using a Neutral Density filter (or even a coloured filter) on the brighter planets so that they are less dazzling, and you should easily see colours on Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Venus will look white, because it is 100% cloud covered with white clouds, and Mercury will look colourless because it is a barren rock surface like the Moon. (The Moon and Mercury do actually have some colours, like any exposed rock, but because they are so bright against the night sky, we perceive them as white / grey.)

[Pinwheel]

These are older pre digital planets and only show their true colours if you have a interplanetary set top box.:rofl::screwy:

[raymo]

Ha Ha
raymo

[cometcatcher]

How good is your colour vision? Take this test and find out.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-well-do-you-see-color-173018

[Pinwheel]

A very unimpressive 28 points.:eyepop:

[EricB]

I have just done the test and score 14.

Cheers,

Eric

[Steffen]

I got 4, but I reckon this is as much a monitor as a vision test.

Cheers
Steffen.

[doppler]

:D

Online ColorIQ Challenge Results
You have perfect color vision!
FM Hue Test Results

[Poita]

Not really, the colour gradients will still remain in the same order, even if your monitor is off.

[Steffen]

But if the monitor has a limited gamut neighbouring patches may come out the same.

Cheers
Steffen.

[PSALM19.1]

Monitors schmonitors....! I still don't reckon you can see colour in Jupiter or Saturn with an 8" Dob, or possibly even larger app scopes except if you're astrophotographing...:)

[cometcatcher]

Jupiter and Saturn show colour in my 68mm Mizar refractor and very much so in my ED100. Mars is distinctly orange. And no it's not CA. Colour sensitivity, like being able to see detail on planets is something that can be learned.

[OzStarGazer]

Mars is definitely distinctly orange! Even without a telescope.

[julianh72]

+1

To the naked eye, Jupiter looks like a very bright white star to me, but Mars is distinctly orange, and Saturn is yellow. (You may describe them as different colours, as I'm red-green colour blind!) Jupiter is easy to find because it is so bright, but to my eye, the colours of Mars and Saturn make them very easy to spot against other bright stars around them - their colours are even more discriminating for me than the fact that they don't twinkle like the stars do.

With my 90 mm and 130 mm telescopes, I see Jupiter as bands of pink and cream, Mars is shades of red and orange, and Saturn is shades of yellow.

To the OP: as I said earlier, try using a ND filter and / or colour filters and / or an aperture stop to reduce their brightness, so they are not dazzlingly bright to your dark-adapted eyes, and you should be easily able to see lots of subtle shades and colours.

[astro744]

What is your colour vision like on stars both unaided and with a telescope? Do you see Rigel as bluish white and Betelgeuse as reddish orange? Do you see Alpha Centauri as yellow?

There is definitely colour visible on all the planets (although Venus is white) and this can be seen unaided for the brighter planets or through a telescope for all of them. Try different powers and see what works best for you.

[PSALM19.1]

Thanks for your replies guys...interesting that we can "learn" to see colour in planets - I guess this is like seeing detail which sometimes takes 20 mins or so to pick up. If I was honest, I would say Saturn has an "appearance" of yellow in my Dob and Jupiter, well, it certainly seems more black and white than what I would term colour - I must say though that after taking a photo of it with an I-phone one night, there was a definite brown colour which I did not notice when viewing it. When I've looked at Uranus and Neptune however, I go, "ok, that's green or that's blue"; there is no question I am viewing a definite, destinct colour.

Yes, when I look at the stars you mentioned I certainly see colour as well as looking at Mars with naked eye. I think I could say Mars is yellow/orange in my scope (especially when I use a moon filter) but it is not as distinct as Uranus; as you say, this may be the relative brightness of the objects....thanks again :thumbsup:

[Camelopardalis]

I've not had a problem perceiving colour on planets...even back in the days of my little 6" scope, Jupiter is white stripes with bands of beige, brown, salmon, and blobs of grey/blue and brick red. Saturn has always been pale yellow, with darker more beigey bands on better nights, Mars orangey-red, Venus is opaque white with hues around the edges.

Not sure about the learning thing. They've just always been coloured for me :P

[PSALM19.1]

Thanks mate...so what you see is similar to your Avatar? (Colour-wise, not necessarily detail)? Starting to think I have a black and white Dob :lol:

[julianh72]

Ah-hah!

I'll bet you have a solid white-tube Dob? That's why you you have to spend the extra bucks to get a Black Diamond - the sparkles on the outside of the tube also "leak" into the inside to add sparkle and colour to the image in the eyepiece!

:lol:

[Camelopardalis]

On a good night I'd see that kind of detail...I've seen better with my 6" on great nights :)

Maybe you need pay extra for the colour license :D

[PSALM19.1]

Dunk, are you saying a 6" dob gives you a view like your avatar....mmmmm....?:question:

[noeyedeer]

in a 10" I see light and dark banding at 20mm. I don't use dark adapted eyes, instead walking from inside to outside and viewing. putting in a 9mm or less brings out the subtle changes in the colours as it reduces the brightness and contrast .. same happens with Saturn in my experience ..

matt

[Camelopardalis]

Worse still, a 6" SCT :lol: maybe a tiny bit less saturated, but the colours are distinct. The image in my avatar was taken in a fairly average Sydney evening when I was still getting to grips with my camera.

It makes a lot of difference with the subject being higher in the sky...when I was way up north a couple of years ago Jupiter was at least as high up there as Mars was here this time around. I've been blown away by Mars this time around, albeit with more hefty equipment! The king of planets really puts on a show in good conditions.

[PSALM19.1]

Ah...if you are using a camera then you will definitely see more colour than with the naked eye...you can't see an image like your avatar through the eyepiece...?

[cometcatcher]

I have on many occasion. The bands can be reddish brown with the great red spot all manner of colours. Not sure why it changes, sometimes it's yellow but one time it stood out clearly as bright pink!

[Camelopardalis]

Jupiter is a beast, like I said maybe a little less saturated with the smaller scope, but with anything bigger it can be quite striking on a good night. I'm talking about visual observing, but obviously my avatar is an image from a camera ;)

[raymo]

Many years ago Jupiter's belts were brown through almost any scope,
but now I need my 8" Newt to see definite brown. I guess age is dimming
my colour perception.
raymo

[Camelopardalis]

I remember only a few years ago the red spot was brick red... now it's paler and harder to discern :sadeyes: