Can you see colour on the moon?

[Ratlet]

Google seems to yield lots of hits on mineral moon for this, but visually can you see colour on the moon?

I'm not talking primary colours or anything dramatic, but like really subtle colours, like someone has mixed a tiny amount of rust into a bag of sugar?

I'm sure I'm seeing a rusty/ruddyness to parts of the moon when I've been observing it, but I'm not sure if it's an artifact of the eyepiece/scope/my eyes or if it is legitimate?

The colours are not dramatic.  It's more a sort of 'this area looks redder than that area' sort of thing, it's still grey, but with the slightest hint of a colour.

Edited April 3, 2023 by Ratlet
Tidy up

[Peter Drew]

I firmly believe that you can.  I'm not sure what circumstances improve the chance but once you have seen it I don't think you can "un-see" it.  It's not a casual observation, you have to look carefully for it.    🙂

[cajen2]

It has a lovely purple fringe through some scopes....very pretty! 😉

[ollypenrice]

32 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I firmly believe that you can.  I'm not sure what circumstances improve the chance but once you have seen it I don't think you can "un-see" it.  It's not a casual observation, you have to look carefully for it.    🙂

This inspires me to try again, Peter. I have never seen lunar colour but can't say I've ever really looked for it. Time to try!

Olly

[Peter Drew]

I read about this years ago and had a try for it and sure enough, although subtle, it was visible.  From memory, (unreliable!) I think it was a 3/4 waxing Moon magnified enough to just fit the field of view.     🙂

[Guest]

Of all the questions.... now i will have to spend time looking at the moon.  I seem to remember seeing various shades of grey.... Maybe.  

[globular]

I recommend this thread.  Even through these are images and so not exactly what you'll see through a eyepiece, @astrolulu takes great care to represent colour sympathetically; and remind me very much of what I see when observing visually.  

 

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I firmly believe that you can.  I'm not sure what circumstances improve the chance but once you have seen it I don't think you can "un-see" it.  It's not a casual observation, you have to look carefully for it.    🙂

I am going to have to let loose the 16 inch on the moon now.  I think i remember seeing some minor color variations.  

[Guest]

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/what-colour-is-the-moon/

[Ags]

I have seen definite color on two occasions over the past 20 years, both unforgettable experiences.  The first time felt like I was looking at one of those 'color moon' images you see on the internet.

I was using a Hyperion 17mm and 102 mm f13 Maksutov. I give most credit to the eyepiece, as Hyperions and their excellent coatings perform admirably at f13. I think the exit pupil of just over 1mm and the unknown sky transparency were very important too, as was the fact I was viewing a full disk. The moon was gibbous waxing.

[astrolulu]

1 hour ago, globular said:

I recommend this thread.  Even through these are images and so not exactly what you'll see through a eyepiece, @astrolulu takes great care to represent colour sympathetically; and remind me very much of what I see when observing visually.  

 

Thanks! It is very difficult to compare the photo with the image in the eyepiece, if only because the scale of brightness of the monitor or printout is small in relation to what the retina can notice, especially supported by the process of adaptation to the brightness of the image. In order to "catch up" with the eye's capabilities in this regard, the HDR technique is used to bring out details that would disappear in a photograph in the shadow or strong light - similar to how the eye works...

For this reason, even the brightness of the lunar formations in the photograph is fundamentally different from what we see through the eyepiece, and the color is difficult to even talk about. Note that when visually observed, the surface of the lunar "seas" appears to differ only slightly in brightness from the highlands, while in photographs mare are noticeably darker.

The dominant color during visual observations is warm yellow - the warmer and more orange the lower the Moon is above the horizon. The question is to what extent this effect can be considered an objective "color of the Moon" because we guess that the surface observed from outside the Earth's atmosphere would differ in color. If we take a photo with an ordinary SLR camera, we will notice this yellow color. However, if we use a dedicated astro camera and software to adjust the white balance, the photo will come out almost monochromatic - like black and white photography.

And here begins the adventure with color enhancement to bring out something more than "silver". Is there more? In pictures from lunar orbit, we see greens. In the photos from the landing sites, we see only "silver" - the astronauts pose against the background of silvery hills. Where is the truth? You can fly to the moon and check. Or decide arbitrarily during processing in Photoshop. I'm stuck with version 2 for now 🙂

However, I am aware that this is somewhat arbitrary. It's just that in astronomy it's a commonly used methodology. Just look at the images from the Webb telescope. What is their "true color"...?

[Ratlet]

4 hours ago, Mike Q said:

https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/what-colour-is-the-moon/

Had a look at Aristarchus tonight (it gets the honour of being the first lunar feature I have observed proper) and yup, it does have a distinctly different colour.  By coincidence I was making notes on the crater and then checked the article and it matched up with my own observations.

[bosun21]

There’s a YouTube channel called “Bruce sees all” in which all he does is take ultra close ups of the moons surface with his 14” Celestron Edge HD. He shows distinct colors of the surface which are mainly greens and browns. I think he knows every nook and cranny of the moons surface. Personally I have never been able to discern any color apart from the lighter and darker shades of grey. 

[mikeDnight]

 I've often seen colour on the Moon, particularly orange around some craters, due to tiny glass beads,  and also subtle blues. looking at the Moon when near full will show it certainly isn't monotone.

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

There’s a YouTube channel called “Bruce sees all” in which all he does is take ultra close ups of the moons surface with his 14” Celestron Edge HD. He shows distinct colors of the surface which are mainly greens and browns. I think he knows every nook and cranny of the moons surface. Personally I have never been able to discern any color apart from the lighter and darker shades of grey. 

Sounds familiar. 

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Had a look at Aristarchus tonight (it gets the honour of being the first lunar feature I have observed proper) and yup, it does have a distinctly different colour.  By coincidence I was making notes on the crater and then checked the article and it matched up with my own observations.

Yeah i am going to have to do this now.  

[bosun21]

Wrong thread.

Edited April 4, 2023 by bosun21
Wrong thread

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

A quick half hour trying out my new (to me) Vixen Apex 10x50’s courtesy of @Franklin. Really pleased with the clarity and sharpness of them, not to mention how light they are. The moon was my first target and to acquire focus. It was nice and sharp and a pleasant view. With the sky more or less washed out from the moon I was severely limited in my choice of targets . I caught a quick look at the Pinwheel cluster and the Starfish cluster before they dropped below the horizon or got too low to view. As I didn’t bring my tripod out with me I didn’t try to spend any significant time on any target. Just a quick look to try out my new binoculars. Why is it that the first few clear nights we get in ages have to be washed out by an almost full moon?. I’m still waiting for a dark clear night to give my 12” dobsonian it’s proper first light. Oh well, time to put the kettle on I suppose.

The kettle...what a capital idea 

[Roy Challen]

While I used only achro refractors, I thought it was the lens causing me to see colour on the moon. Then, with a Maksutov, and an apo frac, I see that the colour is indeed real  As @Peter Drew and @Ags mention, it greatly helps if the moon is 75% or more to being full. I guess more light agitates the eye's colour receptors more.

[markse68]

I see colour when I view it with 8x50 bins and through my scope with low power eps- pinks and green mottling and the greys and whites of course. It diminishes with magnification so I guess its the brightness like Roy says stimulating the cones. It kind of gels like the detail on Mars after prolonged viewing

Mark

[Olsin]

No colour, just psychology. The eyes can see much if the brain wants to see it....

[Mr Magoo]

Psychology or glass? Not wanting to shift the thread, I use my Pentax XW's on the moon because I see a subtle earthen/ruddiness/light brown colour to the maria. I prefer the view to that offered by my Ethos or Panoptic eyepieces.

[Roy Challen]

21 hours ago, Olsin said:

No colour, just psychology. The eyes can see much if the brain wants to see it....

There's no 'want' involved. I report what I see, then find an explanation later. Since the moon is made of rock, I would be more surprised if it were monochromatic (do you know of such rock on earth?) than if some subtle level of colour were present. That fact that imagers often present the moon with colour backs this up. Full disc views highlight this much better than high mags.

Moreover, if 'psychology' was a part of astronomical observing, people would be reporting things that aren't real. Oh, they already do.

Have a look at Sinus Iridium at low mag and tell me what you see😜!

Edited April 7, 2023 by Roy Challen

[mikeDnight]

21 hours ago, Olsin said:

No colour, just psychology. The eyes can see much if the brain wants to see it....

What telescope are you using? Take a look at the full moon, it is full of colour! And around impact craters with bright ejecta, the colour orange can often be seen. Even the Apollo astronauts found glass beads around craters left over from the impact. The basalt planes are multiple colours and tones.

Edited April 7, 2023 by mikeDnight

[Olsin]

3 hours ago, mikeDnight said:

What telescope are you using? Take a look at the full moon, it is full of colour! And around impact craters with bright ejecta, the colour orange can often be seen. Even the Apollo astronauts found glass beads around craters left over from the impact. The basalt planes are multiple colours and tones.

I've observed the moon on hundreds of occasions covering every phase and seeing conditions and have never seen even a hint of colour...tonal shade and texture yes but colour...never. Exaggerated manipulation of saturation will bring out vague nuances but our eyes don't work that way.

I believe the popular trend of producing mineral moon shots has in some/many cases coloured (pun intended) perceptions and created a kind of precedence where some expect to see some form of colour which their imagination produces for them.

Your reply is a good indicator of how strong opinions change reality (psychologically speaking) You use terms like "full of colour" and even name the colour orange. If the moon was full of colour it would be visible in every shot. Where is it? Orange!!

I can abstract from that and trust my own eyes but there is a world of rather easily influenced people out there who can't. Just look at how many millions of people idolize trump and his lies. People believe what they want to believe and that psychology isn't restricted to politics and conspiracy. It permeates every level of society and hobby folk are no exception.

It's not far from the truth when historians say, psychology and mental health have been the main engine behind our histories....