The True Colors of Neptune and Uranus Revealed for the First Time

New research conducted by UK astronomers has revealed that our previous understanding of the colors of the planets Neptune and Uranus was incorrect. Images from a space mission in the 1980s depicted Neptune as blue and Uranus as green. However, the study has now shown that both ice giant planets are actually a similar shade of greenish blue. It turns out that the earlier images of Neptune were manipulated to enhance the planet's atmosphere, leading to its false blue appearance. Professor Catherine Heymans, an astronomer from the University of Edinburgh, explained that the colors were tweaked to highlight the features in Neptune's atmosphere. Professor Patrick Irwin from the University of Oxford, who led the research, explained that astronomers have long been aware that most modern images of these planets do not accurately depict their true colors. The data from the study was used to create the most accurate representation yet of the colors of both Neptune and Uranus. The images captured by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft mission were recombined and strongly enhanced to bring out details in the clouds, bands, and winds of the planets, resulting in the bluer perception of Neptune. The recent study used data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope to produce the true colors of both planets. The analysis showed that Neptune and Uranus are both greenish blue, with Neptune having a slight hint of additional blue due to a thinner haze layer. The study also found that Uranus appears greener during summer and winter when one of its poles is pointed towards the Sun, while it has a bluer tinge during spring and autumn when the Sun is over the equator. The research has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.