Why is the Sun Yellow/Orange and Not White?

[nmsurobert]

I'm confused by these pictures.
I understand that the picture on the right has had color "assigned" to it because we can see uv light but the picture on the left is supposed to be taken in the visible spectrum. why is it yellow/orange and not white? isn't the sun white? both of these images where taken by soho, which to my understanding is way outside of our atmosphere.

 

[jim mcnamara]

This answer says 'green dominates', but look at the very visual link for a clear explanation

http://solar-center.stanford.edu/SID/activities/GreenSun.html

 

[davenn]

This answer says 'green dominates', but look at the very visual link for a clear explanation

yes by the spectrum, but that top right image in the link is false colour ( just in case the OP gets mislead by the green comment )

I'm confused by these pictures.
I understand that the picture on the right has had color "assigned" to it because we can see uv light but the picture on the left is supposed to be taken in the visible spectrum. why is it yellow/orange and not white? isn't the sun white? both of these images where taken by soho, which to my understanding is way outside of our atmosphere.

the left and right are both false colours
They use Orange in the left image for the same reason my solar imaging uses anything from orange to red ... mainly because it gives better contrast between the black sunspot/active regions and the surrounding solar disk and it is a hell of a lot easier to look at through the solar telescope than if it was a bright white which would be hard on the eye(s)

The right mage is the Helium II ( 304 Angstrom) image and the orange for that just happens to be what they chose to differentiate it from the other images and their chosen colours ...
https://umbra.nascom.nasa.gov/images/latest.html

@nmsurobert , don't get hung up on the colours, you will even find they vary a bit between the 2 different spacecraft SOHO and SDO
it's no big deal Dave

 

[nmsurobert]

yes by the spectrum, but that top right image in the link is false colour ( just in case the OP gets mislead by the green comment )
the left and right are both false colours
They use Orange in the left image for the same reason my solar imaging uses anything from orange to red ... mainly because it gives better contrast
between the black sunspot/active regions and the surrounding solar disk and it is a hell of a lot easier to look at through the solar telescope
than if it was a bright white which would be hard on the eye(s)

The right mage is the Helium II ( 304 Angstrom) image and the orange for that just happens to be what they chose to differentiate it from the
other images and their chosen colours ...
https://umbra.nascom.nasa.gov/images/latest.html

@nmsurobert , don't get hung up on the colours, you will even find they vary a bit between the 2 different spacecraft SOHO and SDO
it's no big deal Dave

This makes a ton of sense. I'm not too worried about it. I was sure they had their reasons. But I'm first year teacher teaching an astronomy class and I can already hear a few students asking me what I'm asking you guys haha.

 

[davenn]

But I'm first year teacher teaching an astronomy class and I can already hear a few students asking me what I'm asking you guys haha.

best wishes with your astronomy teaching, it's an awesome subject with so many fields of interest
Tho I have a broad interest in astronomy, my main interests are in solar activity and also how it affects the Earth

maybe you would like to keep an eye on these 2 threads of mine ...

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/solar-imaging-and-techniques.925656/
and
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/for-those-aurora-chasers-a-heads-up.923833/

regards
Dave

 

[nmsurobert]

best wishes with your astronomy teaching, it's an awesome subject with so many fields of interest
Tho I have a broad interest in astronomy, my main interests are in solar activity and also how it affects the Earth

maybe you would like to keep an eye on these 2 threads of mine ...

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/solar-imaging-and-techniques.925656/
and
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/for-those-aurora-chasers-a-heads-up.923833/

regards
Dave

thank you. when i entered college, i went into physics because i wanted to study the sun, ironically. i did about two years of quasar research in college so I'm not a complete newbie when it comes to astronomy. sometimes i stump myself though... like now.
i will check out those threads. thank you!

 

[stefan r]

I believe the most accurate data would be a pixel location and an electron per second count. The light hits the detector and causes the electron to run through the circuit. A cosmic ray hitting a ccd detector would count as one photon same as a purple photon (400 nm) counts as one hit.

 

[Drakkith]

I believe the most accurate data would be a pixel location and an electron per second count. The light hits the detector and causes the electron to run through the circuit. A cosmic ray hitting a ccd detector would count as one photon same as a purple photon (400 nm) counts as one hit.

How does this relate to the thread topic?

 

[russ_watters]

the left and right are both false colours
They use Orange in the left image for the same reason...

What exactly do you mean by that? I've taken photos with a monochrome camera and colorized them, but it is nearly impossible to tell what is colorized and what isn't when looking at a visible light photo of the sun. Here's one of my eclipse photos, taken with a solar filter and a standard DSLR, with no editing -- it is only "colorized" if the filter makes it look yellow-orange:

 

[davenn]

What exactly do you mean by that? I've taken photos with a monochrome camera and colorized them, but it is nearly impossible to tell what is colorized and what isn't when looking at a visible light photo of the sun. Here's one of my eclipse photos, taken with a solar filter and a standard DSLR, with no editing -- it is only "colorized" if the filter makes it look yellow-orange:

exactly, and right there is your answer
and that top left image is likely to be either a) "colourised by the filter or b) colourised in post-processing or c) a bit of both

my 2 new narrow band Ha (Hydrogen alpha) filters give the sun quite a red colour.

 

[russ_watters]

exactly, and right there is your answer
and that top left image is likely to be either a) "colourised by the filter or b) colourised in post-processing or c) a bit of both

my 2 new narrow band Ha (Hydrogen alpha) filters give the sun quite a red colour.

Ok, fair enough; I just hadn't heard the use of the word "colorized" except to refer to post-processing.

 

[stefan r]

How does this relate to the thread topic?

The thread topic was "color of the sun". Our eyes see color when several sensors in the human eye detect slightly different intensity. If you look at monochromatic light 570, 580, and 590 nm radiation you will see three different colors (assuming not color blind). If you look at 620, 630, and 640 you just see red. Every detector including eyes are in effect taking a black and white image. The color that you see is created because the signal from one sensor has a different intensity than the signal from another. Your brain assembles the difference into colors.