Re: Stupid question ...

RichA <none@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

>On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 10:08:02 -0600, Mike Jones <jones_mi@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>wrote:
>
>>RichA wrote:
>>>
>>> On Sat, 26 Mar 2005 19:24:19 -0600, Mike Jones <jones_mi@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> >Eugene Griessel wrote:
>>> >>
>>> >> Ok - on the 14th of April Mars and Neptune will be very close
>>> >> together. I hope to use the opportunity to actually "see" Neptune. I
>>> >> have a 4 inch reflector. My biggest objective gives a 135X
>>> >> magnification. Do I have a snowballs of identifying it?
>>> >
>>> >Yes, easy. You probably won't clearly resolve the disk with 4", but the
>>> >color should give it away. To me it looks like a dull little English
>>> >pea color.
>>> >Mike
>>>
>>> This colour thing; I've always seen Uranus as greenish, Neptune as
>>> blue, which seems to be borne out by the observations of these planets
>>> via space probles. However, older people have mentioned that Neptune
>>> has seemed green to them, possibly indicating a discolouration of the
>>> cornea with age. It's somewhat like when people describe high surface
>>> brightness planetary nebula, you often get different opinions on just
>>> what colour they see.
>>> -Rich
>>
>>I'm 53 and fortunately my corneas are still BK7-clear. I think it's
>>more a case of slight differences in individual scotopic response and
>>perception. Neptune appears somewhere between cyan and green
>>(aquamarine?) to me in my 16", but more like just pea-green in my 4" and
>>6" refractors. I'll agree on Uranus, it's slightly more toward the
>>green. But in smaller apertures I get them at about the same
>>chromaticity. Would be interesting if the OP would report back to SAA
>>on his own perceptions.
>
>I remember Walter Scott Houston said that prior to getting new
>corneas (cataract operation?) he saw various objects as greenish,
>but after the operation, they appeared bluish. He attributed it
>to an increase in the blue-ultraviolet throughput of the artificial
>corneas. Also, viewing objects lower to the horizon in polluted areas
>like cities where you have both air pollution and light pollution of
>whatever spectrum to contend with can alter the perceived colours
>of objects.

Thank you for all your help gentlemen, I was able to observe the
planet this morning - its currently 4 degrees 38 minutes East of Mars.
First I located it with binocs and then turned the scope on it. Looks
mildly greenish to my eyes.

Eugene L Griessel www.dynagen.co.za/eugene

Life is like a sewer - you get out of it what you put into it.
.