The Universe has an average colour – and it’s called cosmic latte
Astrophysicist Dr Alastair Gunn explains how scientists calculated the Universe’s average hue – and what it looks like.
In a 2002 study, astronomers found that the light coming from galaxies (and the stars within them) – alongside all the visible clouds of gas and dust in the Universe – when averaged, would produce an ivory colour very close to white. They named this colour ‘cosmic latte’.
The ‘beigeness’ of the Universe is because there are slightly more regions that produce red, yellow and green light than those that produce blue. Averaged over the entire sky, however, this beige colour is diluted and appears almost, but not entirely, black.
Read more:
- What colour is space?
- What colour is water?
- Do subatomic particles have a colour?
- Why do clothes get darker when wet?
Asked by: Lola Myers, Cardiff
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