The colors of Neptune and Uranus are not what we think: scientists

Scientists have said that the colors of Uranus and Neptune are not what we think.

Uranus is usually depicted as a sharp dark blue. Neptune is usually seen as a pale green or bluish-green color.

However, in reality the two planets are more similar than we think. According to new research, both planets have a yellowish, greenish-blue hue.

Astronomers have finally confirmed the color of the planets and published the latest images as part of a new study.

Researchers have long known that the two planets look different than they do in modern images. The new images are an attempt to correct this error.

The error was caused by images from 20th century missions sent to photograph the planet. These missionaries sent pictures of different colors. These images were sent together to get a ‘real’ picture of the planets.

The researchers further sharpened the image to better see Neptune’s clouds, bands and atmospheric motion.

But this process made the planets, especially Neptune, much bluer.

Patrick Irwin, from the University of Oxford, says: ‘Although the famous images of Uranus sent by the Voyager 2 spacecraft were published in close to ‘true’ color, the images of Neptune were actually more detailed and better, and the same. Due to artificially becoming too blue.

‘Although the artificially enhanced color was known to astronomers at the time and the images were released with descriptive captions, the distinction has faded over time.

‘By applying our model to the original material we have been able to reconstruct the most accurate color ever seen for both Neptune and Uranus.’

Scientists used data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope to create the new images. All colors were present in these images. Combining these images helped scientists create images that are closest to the true colors of the planets.

The images were reported in a paper titled ‘Modelling the seasonal cycle of Uranus’s color and brightness and comparison with Neptune’ and were published by the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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