What Color Do Mirrors on Earth Appear from Space?

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SUMMARY

The color observed from a mirror on Earth when viewed from space is predominantly blue due to Rayleigh scattering of sunlight by the atmosphere. Observers in space will see a combination of direct sunlight and scattered blue light reflected by the mirror. The atmospheric effects, including scattering, significantly influence the perceived color, making it unlikely for the mirror to appear red. The discussion emphasizes that the angle of observation and atmospheric conditions play crucial roles in determining the color reflected by the mirror.

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  • #31
I think black from the space will make bluish tint very hard to see
 
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  • #32
Curiosity_0 said:
I think black from the space will make bluish tint very hard to see
Then why does the sky look blue against the black of space, when viewed from Earth.
 
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  • #33
Curiosity_0 said:
I think black from the space will make bluish tint very hard to see

The Earth's surface will be next to the mirror - not the black of space. The 'background' the observer will be comparing the mirror image with will be surrounding land which could be darker or lighter than the patch of blue sky image that's reflected. That would / could depend on the inclination of the Sun and the proportion of the land that is shadow.
The "black from space" would be at the edge of the observer's vision and I don't think it would actually count in the colour perception of that mirror image.
 
  • #34
There are many solar power plants using large mirrors on earth. Their color as seen from the satellite is blue.
solare.jpg

(source google maps: planta solar 10 Spain)
I have another question: if I have a photo of the sky taken with a smartphone, can I get physically meaningful data from the colors in the picture? Or can the RGB matrix I get cannot be used for anything?
 
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  • #35
accdd said:
I have another question: if I have a photo of the sky taken with a smartphone, can I get physically meaningful data from the colors in the picture? Or can the RGB matrix I get cannot be used for anything?
There is useful information. In particular you get three numbers (R,G,B). The exact calibration of these numbers will be far more useful if you have a white (or known uniform gray) image and perhaps a "black" image. Of course if you have a JPEG or other compression scheme it is more complicated.
 
  • #36
accdd said:
There are many solar power plants using large mirrors on earth. Their color as seen from the satellite is blue.
View attachment 317079
(source google maps: planta solar 10 Spain)
I have another question: if I have a photo of the sky taken with a smartphone, can I get physically meaningful data from the colors in the picture? Or can the RGB matrix I get cannot be used for anything?
A picture speaks a thousand words! I’m embarrassed that someone else thought of posting one.
I’d just add that a long trip up through the atmosphere would reduce the blue/green component and pull the resultant towards the original 6k(ish) white from the Sun.

My only question would be whether that image is actually from a satellite. I remember reading that a lot of the original Google images were in fact from surveillance aircraft

Plus the possible colour balancing of the Google images could have purposely biased the images to ‘look like’ we’re used to. But the point is more or less proved that what is seen up there is ‘a sky blue’. 🙂👍🏼
 

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