andrel <a_l### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> The colors are a bit different from what we normally see. e.g. jupiter
> is normally more red than brownish yellow.

Actually, Jupiter is pretty close to natural color.  (I have a telescope.)
You're probably thinking back to the Voyagers images, which had exaggerated
color saturation.

Space probes don't return photographs; they send back enormous amounts or
data, which is then reconstructed into an image back here on Earth.  It is
people in front of color monitors that do the color balancing.  Whenever
you look at a color image from a space probe or a major observatory, look
for notes on color calibration or assignments.  All scientific color
composites should be accompanied by such notes.

As far as the other planets, Saturn is a bright pale yellow, Uranus is a
brighter green than is shown, and Venus is a boring, featureless white.
Mike is using a false-color ultraviolet image map for Venus.  (Hey,
everybody does it!)  Although i haven't yet observed Neptune, i believe it
is a blue-green color.  But talk to anyone who deals with color; it's a
tough call, it's subjective, and it's not really possible to declare what
the "real" colors are.

> It is not clear to me if
> e.g. Neptune and Uranus have their natural axis tilt. Uranus has not
> enough features to see it, but Neptune seems a bit to straight up
> to me. I also find it strange to seen highlights on planets, but that
> is your freedom as an artist, I suppose.

Uranus is rather featureless; as far as i know, only one person has seen
markings visually on that planet, and he doesn't count.  (He's a
vulcanologist living in Hawai'i, and astronomy buffs wonder if he has
bionic eyes.)  Earth has highlights on its oceans.

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