What Color Do Mirrors on Earth Appear from Space?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the perceived color of a mirror placed on the ground when viewed from space, considering factors such as atmospheric scattering, the angle of observation, and the nature of light reflection. Participants engage in a conceptual examination of how light behaves in the atmosphere and its effect on color perception, with references to both day and night conditions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that a mirror would appear black at night and possibly blue or red during the day, depending on various factors.
  • One participant proposes that the color seen in the mirror could be influenced by the distance light travels and the angle of reflection.
  • Another participant argues that the mirror reflects what it sees, implying that atmospheric conditions would tint the reflection.
  • There is a discussion about Rayleigh scattering and how it affects the perceived color of light, particularly at different times of day.
  • Some participants assert that the optical path through the atmosphere is shorter than that during sunset, which could affect color perception.
  • One viewpoint emphasizes that the color observed in a mirror would be a combination of direct sunlight and scattered light from the atmosphere.
  • Another participant questions whether a photograph of the sky would look like the reflection in the mirror, leading to further exploration of light scattering effects.
  • There is mention of the potential for blue-tinted light to be scattered into the mirror, affecting the color seen by an observer in space.
  • One participant notes that the specific angle and height of the Sun would influence the color and brightness of the light reflected by the mirror.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express multiple competing views regarding the color perceived in the mirror, with no consensus reached on whether it would appear blue, red, or black. The discussion remains unresolved as different hypotheses and interpretations are presented.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight limitations related to assumptions about atmospheric conditions, the effects of distance on light, and the specific angles of observation, which remain unresolved in the discussion.

  • #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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