Neptune, long believed to be dark blue, is actually very pale like Uranus, scientists say. They used modern telescopes to re-assess artificially enhanced images taken by NASA's Voyager 2 probe.

Neptune and Uranus are both ice planets in our solar system, but they possess different shades of blue. While Uranus has a pale cyan color, Neptune is a more vibrant blue.

In visible light (what we humans see), Neptune is a more intense blue than Uranus. What's weird is how similar the planets are to each other in terms of size, mass and the gases in their atmospheres.

"Although the familiar Voyager 2 images of Uranus were published in a form closer to 'true' color, those of Neptune were, in fact, stretched and enhanced, and therefore made artificially too blue." ...

Neptune and Uranus are so similar that scientists sometimes refer to the distant, icy planets as planetary twins. But these ice giants have one big difference: their color.

But in reality, Neptune is far more of a light greenish blue. It's actually pretty similar in color to its fellow ice giant Uranus, also visited by Voyager 2.

But in reality, Neptune is far more of a light greenish blue. It's actually pretty similar in color to its fellow ice giant Uranus, also visited by Voyager 2.

Home Space Space News Neptune isn’t really dark blue, new study demonstrates By Georgina Torbet Published January 7, 2024 ...

A version of this article appears in print on June 7, 2022, Section D, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: Planetary Palettes: Why Uranus Is Blue, And Neptune Is Even Bluer.

Neptune and Uranus are so similar that scientists sometimes refer to the distant, icy planets as planetary twins. But these ice giants have one big difference: their color.