# Looking at the night sky, do (any of the stars seem colored to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 22, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026 "2013-01-22T18:23:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/1 "2013-01-22T18:23:10Z")
Simple question, but I’ll complicate the poll by breaking the categories down by sex and tendency toward suspicion. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/2 "2013-01-22T18:27:30Z")
Yes, some of them are orange to my eyes, and some of them are blue. Most are white, though. (I don’t see the poll yet, but I’m female and age 50). ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/3 "2013-01-22T18:33:03Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > Yes, some of them are orange to my eyes, and some of them are blue. Most are white, though. > > (I don’t see the poll yet, but I’m female and age 50). It’s up now. Vote now or the halfling dies. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/4 "2013-01-22T18:37:17Z")
For the record I don’t see colored stars, I see stars of color. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/5 "2013-01-22T18:39:22Z")
Had a clear sky last night and I saw greenish, reddish and blueish stars, there was also a pulsating red/orange star that was spectacular. I am always amazed but the night sky **Capt** ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/6 "2013-01-22T18:42:04Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > Yes, some of them are orange to my eyes, and some of them are blue. Most are white, though. > > (I don’t see the poll yet, but I’m female and age 50). Yes, except I’m not 50. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/7 "2013-01-22T18:44:31Z")
A careful study of the sky away from city lights will reveal all sorts of colors. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/8 "2013-01-22T18:44:51Z")
Some stars are definitely colored. I noticed Betelgeuse’s reddish tint before I knew what it was called or knew anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/9 "2013-01-22T18:55:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A careful study of the sky away from city lights will reveal all sorts of colors. Not necessarily so. Not everyone has the same visual acuity. My wife can see all kinds of star colors, as can my baby sister and my older brother; my younger sister, my sister-in-law, & I cannot. And I’m specifically referring to the sky as seen from a farm from the city lights. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/10 "2013-01-22T23:08:59Z")
Yep, it’s not pronounced but Betelgeuse, Arcturus and Aldebaran visibly differ from Rigel, Sirius and Procyon, to give some obvious examples. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/11 "2013-01-23T00:40:37Z")
While looking at a prominent star through binoculars, jiggle them slightly. The star becomes a crazy dancing blur, but the colors within that blur can be striking. I’m not sure exactly what the colors represent, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/12 "2013-01-23T02:25:07Z")
Once when visiting a rather remote rural area I did notice an orange star in the night sky, but I assumed it was actually the planet Mars and not a real star at all. I suppose it may have been Betelgeuse instead; prior to this thread I’d never heard of Betelgeuse being orangish. ---
**Author:** ![colander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@colander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colander)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/13 "2013-01-23T02:43:04Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > While looking at a prominent star through binoculars, jiggle them slightly. The star becomes a crazy dancing blur, but the colors within that blur can be striking. I’m not sure exactly what the colors represent, but still. You can tell lots of things about stars by [the wavelengths of light they emit.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_spectroscopy) > [@](#): > > [Astronomical] spectroscopy can be used to derive many properties of distant stars and galaxies, such as their chemical composition, temperature, density, mass, distance, luminosity, and relative motion using Doppler shift measurements. I don’t really notice, but then I can’t see very much of the stars where I live anyway. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/14 "2013-01-23T02:44:57Z")
I can, but with the caveat that I might very well be looking at planets and thinking they’re stars. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/15 "2013-01-23T04:31:11Z")
I can see a bit of red in Mars, and sometimes, on very, VERY clear nights, I can see a little blue in Vega, but, otherwise, no, the stars are little points of white. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/16 "2013-01-23T04:33:23Z")
This thread is racialist ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/17 "2013-01-23T05:25:16Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > For the record I don’t see colored stars, I see stars of color. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > This thread is racialist Exactly. “colored” has been thrown out of the vernacular for decades now. However, “African American stars” is not a name recognized internationally. Of course, a black hole is, and I can’t begin to describe the revulsion that causes. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/18 "2013-01-23T05:33:49Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Of course, a black hole is, and I can’t begin to describe the revulsion that causes. Dude, [don’t even go there](http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=7475737). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/19 "2013-01-23T09:54:08Z")
I voted yes, but actually, they seem _coloured_ to me. 🙂 Some are more pronounced than others (Betelgeuse, as noted, particularly stands out) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026/20 "2013-01-23T11:47:15Z")
No. They all look white to me at all times. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-at-the-night-sky-do-any-of-the-stars-seem-colored-to-you/648026.md?page=2)