Why do we see all stars white?

Question

Since stars are variously coloured why do we see them all white?(except the Sun)

Answer 1

No, The stars are not all white, They just look white to us. All Stars have different colors depending on the amount of heat it has. The Hotter the star the Brighter the Light Emissions. If you look at the sky closely you will see that the stars are not all white, they have different colors.


The vast majority of stars in the sky are cool, red stars, usually too dim to see. The reason most stars appear white to us is because we have two different kind of light sensors in our eyes. Sensors called "rods" detect brightness, while sensors called "cones" detect color. The cones are not very sensitive, so if a light is too dim they are not activated, and we perceive the color as white. So even a red star looks white if it is dim, and only brighter stars look like they have color to us!

If you have a pair of binoculars, look at some stars that are bright but still look white to your naked eye. You'll find that lots of them through the binoculars suddenly have color! The binoculars focus more light into your eye, and for brighter stars there will be enough light to activate the cones in your eye. A telescope will show even more stars with colors. There is a star, named Albireo, that to the naked eye looks like one star, but is actually two in close orbit around each other. One of the stars is a striking red, while the other a brilliant blue. Through even a modest telescope this is one of the most beautiful sights in the sky.

Hope That Helps....

- Raj

Answer 2

You have two types of light sensors in your eye: rods and cones. The cones are colour sensors, but only work with bright light. The rods work in faint light, but are black and white, off or on. Most of the stars are two dim to trigger the cones, but the rods sense them. Thus they appear white, even if they are blue stars or red stars. Some, like Mars (a planet, but you know what I mean) and Betelgeuse in Orion are bright enough that the cones kick in and we do notice an orangy tinge.
If you have a camera that you can put on a tripod and leave taking a picture for twenty minutes (you have to be able to hold the shutter open for that long with a cable release) you can take star trail pictures, and you will see that many of those stars that look white to you are violet, blue, orange, yellow, or red. (Google star trails if you want to see other people's pictures.)

Answer 3

Stars look mostly white because they radiate in all colors. However, the light from many of them skews toward one end or the other of the spectrum. If you look carefully, you will see that some stars appear reddish, yellowish, or bluish.

Orion is a good place to look at star colors, as its two brightest stars are red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel. It's easier to notice the color difference when you can compare two different stars like this. In Gemini, notice that Pollux is yellow compared to Castor.

Answer 4

Not all stars are seen white,certain stars at the end of their life are seen as red giants or blue neutron stars,the reason we see more white light emmiting stars is that against a dark background white light is more visible than the darker colors

Answer 5

Hi. We don't. There are many pairs of stars that show distinct color. The easiest to see may be Alberio, one of the stars in Cygnus, also called the Northern Cross. When I ran an observatory as a volunteer, this star was a favorite among the Scouts. http://www.astro.uiuc.edu/~kaler/sow/albireo.html

Answer 6

The stars are all white. Some of them have slight yellow or red tints to them depending on what stage of burning they are in, but they all admit mostly white blinding light. They only show up as different colors in some photography techniques. They are all very bright and essentially white in color.

Answer 7

if you see alittle more carefully you can see the color