Cosmic latte
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Cosmic latte is the average color of the galaxies of the universe as perceived by a typical human observer from the position of the Earth, found by a team of astronomers from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). In 2002, Karl Glazebrook and Ivan Baldry determined that the average color of the universe was a greenish white, but they soon corrected their analysis in a 2003 paper in which they reported that their survey of the light from over 200,000 galaxies averaged to a slightly beigeish white.[1] The hex triplet value (assuming the standard sRGB color space) for the cosmic latte color is approximately #FFF8E7.
Discovery of the color
Finding the average colour of the universe was not the focus of the study. Rather, the study examined spectral analysis of different galaxies to study star formation. Similar to Fraunhofer lines, the dark lines displayed in the study's spectral ranges indicate older and younger stars and allow Glazebrook and Baldry to determine the age of different galaxies and star systems. What the study revealed is that the overwhelming majority of stars formed about 5 billion years ago. Because these stars would have been "brighter" in the past, the color of the universe changes over time, shifting from blue to red as more blue stars change to yellow and eventually red giants.
As light from distant galaxies reaches the Earth, the average "color of the universe" (as seen from Earth) tends towards pure white, due to the light coming from the stars when they were much younger and bluer.[2]
Naming the color
The corrected color was initially published on the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) News website and updated on the team's initial announcement.[3] Multiple news outlets, including NPR and BBC, displayed the color in stories[4] and some relayed the request by Glazebrook on the announcement asking for suggestions for names, jokingly adding all were welcome as long as they were not "beige".[5][6]
These were the results of a vote of the JHU astronomers involved based on the new color:[7]
| Color name | Credit | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmic Latte | Peter Drum | 6 |
| Cappuccino Cosmico | Peter Drum | 17 |
| Big Bang Buff/Blush/Beige | Several entrants | 13 |
| Cosmic Cream | Several entrants | 8 |
| Astronomer Green | Unknown | 8 |
| Astronomer Almond | Lisa Rose | 7 |
| Skyvory | Michael Howard | 7 |
| Univeige | Several entrants | 6 |
| Cosmic Khaki | Unknown | 5 |
| Primordial Clam Chowder | Unknown | 4 |
Though Drum's suggestion of "cappuccino cosmico" received the most votes, the researchers favored Drum's other suggestion, "cosmic latte". "Script error: No such module "Lang"." means "milk" in Italian, Galileo's native language, and the similar "Script error: No such module "Lang"." means "milky", similar to the Italian term for the Milky Way, "Script error: No such module "Lang".". They enjoyed the fact that the color would be similar to the Milky Way's average color as well, as it is part of the sum of the universe.[7][8] They also claimed to be "caffeine biased".[2]
See also
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References
External links
- Official project website: The Cosmic Spectrum (archived 2016) from Professor Karl Glazebrook's website
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