Colour

[Trido (Justin)]

Hi guys. Along with 300 odd other people, I found this site while seeking further info on last nights eclipse and I have a question.

While browsing the forum I noticed a lot of user submitted pictures in colour and that got me wondering. How is that possible? I thought colour was next to impossible unless the celestial object is very close.

Remember I am an astronomy noob so don't be too hard on me.

Does it have something to do with the cameras optics? Is it sensitive enough to see colour where the human eye can't, or did the user take the pic from a large telescope?

[rmcpb (Rob)]

Trido,

Welcome to IIS

Colour in images is because the light is transmitted in colour and a camera can "collect" this light over time and register it as colour. Our eyes, on the otherhand, cannot "collect" the light so it never gets intense enough to stimulate our colour sensors which need lots of light. The dull light only stimulates the black and white sensors so we only see most of the astro objects in B&W through the scope. However, bright objects like the moon and planets and some nebulae show colour.

Cheers