Pluto was reclassified back in 1996. Now, it appears that Neptune has been ”re-colored”, if that is a word. A study just published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society shows that Neptune might not be the dark blue we’ve been used to. It appears to be more of a light blue like Uranus. We won’t go into all the details, but see some of the articles below for more information.
A few articles
- “New images reveal what Neptune and Uranus really look like.” University of Oxford, News and Events. January 5, 2024.
- Nell Greenfieldboyce. “Don’t look so blue, Neptune: Now astronomers know this planet’s true color.” NPR. January 5, 2024.
- Ashley Strickland. “Color-corrected images reveal accurate portraits of Uranus and Neptune.” CNN. January 4, 2024.
- Patrick Hilsman. “Researchers reveal true colors of Neptune, Uranus” UPI. January 4, 2024.
- Jamie Carter. “Neptune Is Not Blue: New Study Reveals Eighth Planet’s True Color Has Been Hidden For Decades.” Forbes. January 4, 2024.
- Pallab Ghosh. “Neptune and Uranus seen in true colours for first time.” BBC. January 5, 2024.
- Nicola Davis. “True blue: Neptune only slightly deeper colour than Uranus, say Oxford scientists.” The Guardian. January 4, 2024.
- “Why Uranus and Neptune Are Different Colors.” NASA. May 31, 2022.
- “Why is Neptune Blue?” Cool Cosmos.
- Fraser Cain. “What Color is Neptune?” Universe Today. November 27, 2008.
- “Neptune.” FAS Astronomers Blog. July 2021.
Technical articles
- Patrick G J Irwin, Jack Dobinson, Arjuna James, et al. “Modelling the seasonal cycle of Uranus’s colour and magnitude, and comparison with Neptune.” Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Volume 527. Issue 4. February 2024. Pages 11521–11538. September 12, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stad3761
- P. G. J. Irwin, N. A. Teanby, L. N. Fletcher, et al. “Hazy Blue Worlds: A Holistic Aerosol Model for Uranus and Neptune, Including Dark Spots.” Advance Earth and Space Sciences. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. Volume 127, Issue 6. May 23, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JE007189
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