Can you see colour on the moon?

[markse68]

You seem to assume that your eyes are identical to everyone elses? I see some colour- it's very faint and doesn't exactly jump out at me but it is there in certain circumstances. I'm sorry you don't

Mark

[Ratlet]

Monet is an interesting example of the reliability of eyes.  An equally compelling argument would be that it is possible to observe colour on the moon, just that you can't. 

I did wonder why you said it was psychology earlier, so thanks for clarifying your opinion on how psychology comes into it. 

I don't agree with it, but it is certainly an interesting opinion.

[Moonshed]

10 minutes ago, markse68 said:

You seem to assume that your eyes are identical to everyone elses? I see some colour- it's very faint and doesn't exactly jump out at me but it is there in certain circumstances. I'm sorry you don't

Mark

I feel sure that our individual eyesight is every bit as much a factor of seeing colour on the moon as moon phases, aperture size, the EP used and type of telescope. At my age of 77 I will obviously see less detail on the moon than a younger person because of the natural deterioration in my eyesight, in the same way that I cannot hear the high tones in music anymore, but a young person can.

I cannot see any colour on the moon but do not dispute that others might.

[Ags]

I don’t think visual color is a matter of wishful thinking. Going back to the very first time I saw color... (1) I then "knew" it was impossible to see color on the Moon and so (2) I wasn't looking for it. I was quite taken aback when I saw quite vivid coloration. However, this has only happened on a couple of occasions.

[mikeDnight]

2 hours ago, Olsin said:

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....

 I'm sorry you haven't seen the subtle colours on our Moons surface. They are certainly not imaginary, or influenced in any way by enhanced images. I'm very aware that colour perception is an individual thing, and that the colours visible to the eye through the telescope are not immediately obvious, but once seen they become hard not to notice. The orange colour I spoke of can most often appear around craters with bright ejecta such as Aristarchus. It isn't there every time but appears when the lighting is right.  When I first noticed the orange colour many years ago, I was completely ignorant about colour on the moon, and so contacted Peter Grego who at the time was the lunar section director of the Society for Popular Astronomy. He assured me the colours were very real and explained their cause. Hopefully, now that you know colour does exist on the Moon you may be more alert to it while observing. 

[mikeDnight]

Deleted duplicate post! 

Edited April 11, 2023 by mikeDnight

[mikeDnight]

Deleted triplicate post! (Duplicacting & triplicating a special skill I have. A super Power!!)

Edited April 11, 2023 by mikeDnight

[Sunshine]

Interesting, I have seen a very faint patches of light blue at times when observing full disc with long FL eyepieces.

[mikeDnight]

Here's a pic taken by simply hand holding my phone camera to the eyepiece of my 100mm refractor. No false colour, just the natural colour of the Moon, similar to the colour of a malteser with the chocolate sucked off. It's definitely not black and white!

[Mr Spock]

I find some maria to have a hint of brown, and others a definite slate grey - as are the patches on the floor of Alphonsus. Aristarchus is always whiter than the rest of the moon, especially a high albedo region on the north wall.

These are all very subtle but noticeable.

[ukskies]

I am reading this thread with interest.

I have never actually noticed any "colour" on the moon but I have never really looked for any, many different shades but colours no.

I have noticed that my eyes are very sensitive to false colour so hopefully they will be sensitive to the subtle colours you skilled observers are referring to.

I'm going to have to look for this now.

[Guest]

So this morning on the way out the door i looked up at the moon.  Even with the naked eye you can see it isnt black and white.  While i didnt see a ton of color there was a change from black, to grey going across it.  

[Size9Hex]

Really interesting thread.

To me the moon seems slightly warmer than neutral grey and almost monotone.

I love Mike's description of a Malteser. It's not quite that warm/obvious to me, but I can understand and relate to it. I've never seen orange around the craters - appreciate the tip on where to start looking @mikeDnight.

If I recall correctly two areas have really struck me.

• Serenity/Tranquility: I think either in isolation would appear neutral grey to me. But side by side it's prominent enough to notice even though I didn't know about it in advance, while also not being something that really jumps out. Serenity leaning towards the yellow and Tranquility towards the blue. I feel Tranquility has a distinctly metallic impression to it. Here's a supercharged image and explanation of it: https://www.space.com/titanium-moon-photo.html. Not claiming I can somehow detect the metal by the way - it's just an impression I get from the colour!
• Aristarchus Plateau: I don't think I saw colour here until I read about it in the excellent 21st Century Atlas of the Moon. It's described as having a mustard coloured hue to it. Next time I looked, I thought "Yep, fair enough".

Several other contrasting areas in the lowlands too, but I think the two above are good places to look.

Nice that these both get a mention in the Sky at Night link above too. I don't recall seeing colour mentioned much in the phenomenal Luna Cognita, but it's a big tome to search!

I'll definitely be looking out for colour more specifically next time I'm out.