Question about the apparent colour of planets
Posted: 22.04.2005, 18:52
Hi Celestians,
Here's a stupid question that has been bugging me this week. Maybe someone can help me out with it. It all started when I was using Celestia is a planetarium and noted that the colouring of the Moon in Celestia does not reflect what it actually looks like to the human eye.
We all know that the Moon is dark grey in colouring. When we see photos of astronauts on the Moon, the landscape is dark grey.
Yet when we look at the Moon from Earth, it shines bright white.
Presumably if one were looking at the Moon from a spaceship orbiting the Earth, the Moon would still appear to be bright white, right?
So here's my question: at what point in one's journey toward the Moon does it cease to appear bright white, and begin to appear grey? It looks grey in photos from Apollo orbiters, but do those photos represent what the human eye would see?
I realise this is pretty elementary stuff but I am poorly educated and would be interested in any theories.
I have a related question that is bugging me even more, but I'll ask that later...
Here's a stupid question that has been bugging me this week. Maybe someone can help me out with it. It all started when I was using Celestia is a planetarium and noted that the colouring of the Moon in Celestia does not reflect what it actually looks like to the human eye.
We all know that the Moon is dark grey in colouring. When we see photos of astronauts on the Moon, the landscape is dark grey.
Yet when we look at the Moon from Earth, it shines bright white.
Presumably if one were looking at the Moon from a spaceship orbiting the Earth, the Moon would still appear to be bright white, right?
So here's my question: at what point in one's journey toward the Moon does it cease to appear bright white, and begin to appear grey? It looks grey in photos from Apollo orbiters, but do those photos represent what the human eye would see?
I realise this is pretty elementary stuff but I am poorly educated and would be interested in any theories.
I have a related question that is bugging me even more, but I'll ask that later...