25 October 2022

"Daddy, why are there no green stars?"


"There are red stars, and orange ones, and yellow, and blue, and violet, and ultraviolet.  So it's ROY BIV, but there's no G.  Why is that?"

"Well son, the answer lies in this figure -


- but I don't understand it, so in this case I think you should read about it yourself at IFL Science, and that way you'll remember it better.  I'm going to go do some yard chores and when I get back you can ELI5 it to me."

4 comments:

  1. Based on what I got from the article, it seems that all stars emit multiple wavelengths of light, so they shine a mix of colors. If a star does emit mostly of green, it ends up having a little blue and red included too, so looks white to our eyes.

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    Replies
    1. That would make sense. And now that I look at the chart with those eyes, it looks like most of the red-glowing stars would also get blended to white. Tx.

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  2. There are no violet/purple stars either:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RPE-_eFBOw

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