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Re: (IAAC) Obj: Albireo (Beta Cygni) - Inst: 102 mm f/9.8 Achromatic refractor
Penny Fischer wrote:
> Mike,
> Personally, I'm convinced that many of us who, in our
> :childhoods, never graduated beyond the Crayola 24 boxes have much more
> :limited color vocabularies than those who routinely used the 64 or (crayon
> :envy) 128 boxes.
>
> That's a great description! I think part of my love of observing doubles
> has to do with the fact that I am an artist at heart, and I probably "see"
> more colors than the average Joe or Jane . Even yesterday, while observing
> naked eye with a friend, and we were watching Capella rise over the horizon
> glare... I asked him what color he thought the star to be, I asked him did
> it look yellow? He said maybe, but maybe also fading to a blue white, and I
> noticed this too, this to me happens so much in double observing. You are
> sure a color is a perfect orange, and suddenly it looks greenish! All due
> to the play and mix of two colors next to each other.
>
> I also think that I read somewhere that Saturn was a butterscotch color;
> although I usually don't equate heavenly bodies with food, this was such a
> great analogy. For doesn't this planet look creamy and mellow and smooth
> like butterscotch, even in the scope?? It was this analogy that really got
> me going on celestial colors. I say... keep those colors coming :-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> Penny
Penny,
If Capella was close to the horizon as you mentioned prismatic dispersion may
have caused the color change.
Dave Mitsky
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