Green Planet Redux.

[exoscientist]

HubbleSite - Mars Near Opposition 1995-2005: 2005. <br />http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2005/34/image/k <br /><br /><br />cf.: <br /><br /><br />From: rgregorycl...@yahoo.com (Robert Clark) <br />Subject: Mars, the "Greenish" Planet? <br />Newsgroups: sci.astro, alt.sci.planetary, sci.space.history, <br />sci.astro.amateur, rec.arts.sf.science <br />Date: 11 Dec 2002 18:31:55 -0800 <br />http://groups.google.com/group/sci.astro.amateur/msg/8bc95cc1151a8911 <br /><br /><br /> Bob Clark <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Philotas]

Bear in mind that Hubbles images is taken through filters. The greenish coulour can be explained by clouds not being present when the other filters were used. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bonzelite]

the greenish tint is in the clouds that are present. that seems very clear immediately. <br /><br />it does not mean "life" or anything in particular but scattering of light in the upper atmosphere. some light is absorbed and/or reflected at different wavelenghts naturally. green is commonly seen nearly every clear sunset here on earth, for example. <br /><br />the green in this mars image is a wavelength of visible light the clouds did not absorb, for whatever reason. instead it was reflected back to the viewer. the rest of the image is natural color. if it is fake, then why would the greenish tint be the only region of false color? <br /><br />either that or the image was processed slightly off color. regardless, what is the big deal if we see green on mars? it has been documented for years. at the very least, it is optically created by juxtaposition of complimentary colors. often, grey or darker soil, for example, will optically appear "green" when adjacent to bright red or orange regions. when, actually, it is not really green at all. <br /><br />what is compelling about the image here is that the green is in the clouds. that is very interesting if no such color calibrations are off or unprocessed, or if it is not simply an optical effect. my knee-jerk idea is of course ---- /> CH4 (Methane). similar hues are seen on the entire disk of Uranus. CH4 on that world enshrouds nearly the entire upper atmosphere. <br /><br />and this then leads right back into the entire Mars Methane debate: abiotic or biogenetic? <br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[Philotas]

<font color="yellow">the greenish tint is in the clouds that are present. that seems very clear immediately.</font><br /><br />You can also see a bluish tint in the cloud areas. There is probably some redish tint there too, but logically it`s harder to detect on 'the red planet'.<br />I believe the green colour is an artifact rather than actual colour. Also, the image has a general bad quality. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[exoscientist]

Thanks for the info about the methane and the greenish color of Uranus atmosphere, bonzelite. I hadn't thought of that.<br /><br /><br /> - Bob Clark <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bonzelite]

my pleasure, bob. <br /><br />light scattering at different wavelengths is common to any planet with an atmosphere. visual referencing is likewise commonly utilized, along with spectral imaging, to verify existence of specific elements present. this is widely practiced and taken for granted. <br /><br />as a note to others reading: <br /><br />why it is okay to see Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Titan, display varied, true-color, atmospheric coloration, and then make scientific assessments based upon this data, but then "flip out" and "hate" any atmospheric green on Mars --and only Mars-- is beyond my understanding. <br /><br />this must follow to reason, then, that any color variations in the Martian atmosphere are fake and illusory. the bluish tint to Martian clouds, too, is fake and not visually accurate and should be overlooked. <br /><br />the visually blue northern latitudes of Saturn, are, too, an optical illusion and fake camera artifacts of ill calibration. the yellowish and orange, even greenish, regions on Io at Jupiter, are, of course, optically incorrect and not a result of sulfurous elements at Io. the colorations we see from any Galileo imaging is all grossly inaccurate and useless scientifically. <br /><br />anything we see returned as visual data is all suspect and probably fake. and can only be truly explained by abstract theoretical math. telescopes and cameras are useless devices. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

 

[Philotas]

<font color="yellow">why it is okay to see Uranus, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Titan, display varied, true-color, atmospheric coloration, and then make scientific assessments based upon this data, but then "flip out" and "hate" any atmospheric green on Mars --and only Mars-- is beyond my understanding.</font><br /><br />Mars` atmosphere consist primarily(95%) of CO2, a completely colourless gas. The other gases exist in such small amounts, considering how thin Mars` atmosphere is, that they should have a minimally effect on atmospheric light scattering.<br /><br /><font color="yellow">the visually blue northern latitudes of Saturn, are, too, an optical illusion and fake camera artifacts of ill calibration</font><br /><br />The northern latitudes on Saturn is blue because of the way the sunlight is scattered there. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bonzelite]

<font color="yellow">The northern latitudes on Saturn is blue because of the way the sunlight is scattered there.</font><br /><br />yep, that is my point in the post.<br /><br />and because the reflected light is blue, you can draw inferences about what atmospheric compositions are happening to be there. <br /><br />same with mars. sometimes we see blue in the cloud cover, often at the limb of the disk where we see the clouds more edge-on. the same blue color, with far greater prominence, is at Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn. and it is known that this is due to methane content in the upper reaches of their atmospheres. <br /><br />could it be only an optical effect on mars? sure. it could be. but it could also be evidence for airborne methane or water vapor. often, bluish cloud cover is seen seasonally on mars when the polar caps begin their melting processes. it is already confirmed that methane and water vapor exist on mars, so occasionally blue or greenish tinted clouds seem to make sense. we're not inventing anything out of thin air, so to speak.

 

[exoscientist]

Bonzelite, another possibility might be a combination of blue and yellow. That makes green right? <br /> If there is yellowish dust in the air perhaps that combines with the bluish tinted clouds to give a green tint to the clouds.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> - Bob <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Philotas]

I believe that the Martian atmosphere is to thin to put up a such lightshow. Also the image quality is bad. <br />That`s the reasons why I`m sceptical. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[bonzelite]

<font color="yellow"><br />Bonzelite, another possibility might be a combination of blue and yellow. That makes green right? <br />If there is yellowish dust in the air perhaps that combines with the bluish tinted clouds to give a green tint to the clouds. </font><br /><br />yes. that would possibly happen, too. good idea, bob. in that case, it would revert back to optical phenomena. in both cases, the camera is not "bad" or of "poor quality." cameras, like the human eye, see optical blending effects, too, and are normal and legit. <br /><br />not always, but regularly, when something anomalous is seen that cannot be explained by any other accepted means, they say the "resolution or camera is bad." when, in most other cases, when everything agrees with popular thought, people never say anything about the camera as being faulty. they just say "wow. look at the amazing colors on that planet!"<br /><br />so it is a double-standard. <br /><br />