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Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy fame:

• Why are there no green stars: "The fault lies not in the stars (well, not entirely), but within ourselves".

• Followup: Green objects in space: "So, maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial".

But is there a star that’s intrinsically green? Zubeneschamali is the second brightest star in the constellation of Libra. It’s somewhat hotter than the Sun, and some people claim it looks green to them, while other say it looks white. It’s unclear why; some people’s sensitivities are different, but it might also have to due with the star itself: Zubeneschamali is a young star and a rapid rotator, which might affect its colors (the emitted light from a star is not really a blackbody, and its youth and rotation might have some influence on its emitted colors).

So maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial.

There are several lessons here. One is that stars really can’t be intrinsically green; they need to be seen against a contrasting color to look green, and even then it’s just a trick. Also, there are green objects in space, but they are very different than stars (gas clouds and planets). And finally, the color we see from an object depends on how that object emits light, which can be just as important as the light emitted itself.

(From "Green objects in space" by Phil Plait)

Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy fame:

• Why are there no green stars: "The fault lies not in the stars (well, not entirely), but within ourselves".

• Followup: Green objects in space: "So, maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial".

But is there a star that’s intrinsically green? Zubeneschamali is the second brightest star in the constellation of Libra. It’s somewhat hotter than the Sun, and some people claim it looks green to them, while other say it looks white. It’s unclear why; some people’s sensitivities are different, but it might also have to due with the star itself: Zubeneschamali is a young star and a rapid rotator, which might affect its colors (the emitted light from a star is not really a blackbody, and its youth and rotation might have some influence on its emitted colors).

So maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial.

There are several lessons here. One is that stars really can’t be intrinsically green; they need to be seen against a contrasting color to look green, and even then it’s just a trick. Also, there are green objects in space, but they are very different than stars (gas clouds and planets). And finally, the color we see from an object depends on how that object emits light, which can be just as important as the light emitted itself.

(From "Green objects in space" by Phil Plait)

Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy fame:

• Why are there no green stars: "The fault lies not in the stars (well, not entirely), but within ourselves".

• Followup: Green objects in space: "So, maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial".

But is there a star that’s intrinsically green? Zubeneschamali is the second brightest star in the constellation of Libra. It’s somewhat hotter than the Sun, and some people claim it looks green to them, while other say it looks white. It’s unclear why; some people’s sensitivities are different, but it might also have to due with the star itself: Zubeneschamali is a young star and a rapid rotator, which might affect its colors (the emitted light from a star is not really a blackbody, and its youth and rotation might have some influence on its emitted colors).

 

So maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial.

 

There are several lessons here. One is that stars really can’t be intrinsically green; they need to be seen against a contrasting color to look green, and even then it’s just a trick. Also, there are green objects in space, but they are very different than stars (gas clouds and planets). And finally, the color we see from an object depends on how that object emits light, which can be just as important as the light emitted itself.

 

(From "Green objects in space" by Phil Plait)

Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy fame:

• Why are there no green stars: "The fault lies not in the stars (well, not entirely), but within ourselves".

• Followup: Green objects in space: "So, maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial".

But is there a star that’s intrinsically green? Zubeneschamali is the second brightest star in the constellation of Libra. It’s somewhat hotter than the Sun, and some people claim it looks green to them, while other say it looks white. It’s unclear why; some people’s sensitivities are different, but it might also have to due with the star itself: Zubeneschamali is a young star and a rapid rotator, which might affect its colors (the emitted light from a star is not really a blackbody, and its youth and rotation might have some influence on its emitted colors).

So maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial.

There are several lessons here. One is that stars really can’t be intrinsically green; they need to be seen against a contrasting color to look green, and even then it’s just a trick. Also, there are green objects in space, but they are very different than stars (gas clouds and planets). And finally, the color we see from an object depends on how that object emits light, which can be just as important as the light emitted itself.

(From "Green objects in space" by Phil Plait)

Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy fame:

• Why are there no green stars: "The fault lies not in the stars (well, not entirely), but within ourselves".

• Followup: Green objects in space: "So, maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial".

Phil Plait of the Bad Astronomy fame:

• Why are there no green stars: "The fault lies not in the stars (well, not entirely), but within ourselves".

• Followup: Green objects in space: "So, maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial".

But is there a star that’s intrinsically green? Zubeneschamali is the second brightest star in the constellation of Libra. It’s somewhat hotter than the Sun, and some people claim it looks green to them, while other say it looks white. It’s unclear why; some people’s sensitivities are different, but it might also have to due with the star itself: Zubeneschamali is a young star and a rapid rotator, which might affect its colors (the emitted light from a star is not really a blackbody, and its youth and rotation might have some influence on its emitted colors).

So maybe, maybe, there is one intrinsically green star, but even then it’s controversial.

There are several lessons here. One is that stars really can’t be intrinsically green; they need to be seen against a contrasting color to look green, and even then it’s just a trick. Also, there are green objects in space, but they are very different than stars (gas clouds and planets). And finally, the color we see from an object depends on how that object emits light, which can be just as important as the light emitted itself.

(From "Green objects in space" by Phil Plait)