cosmic latte
{{Short description|Average color of the universe}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{infobox color
| title=Cosmic latte
| hex=FFF8E7
| source=Prof. Karl Glazebrook{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060104173304/http://www.pha.jhu.edu:80/~kgb/cosspec/|title=The Cosmic Spectrum (archived)|website=Professor Karl Glazebrook's website}}
| variations=yes
| variationstitle=
Due to flawed calculations, the average color of the universe was originally thought to be turquoise.
| variation1=Cosmic spectrum green
| variation1color=#9CFFCE
| isccname=Pale yellow green
}}
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.{{cite journal|last1=Baldry|first1=Ivan K.|last2=Glazebrook|first2=Karl|last3=Baugh|first3=Carlton M.|last4=Bland-hawthorn|first4=Joss|last5=Bridges|first5=Terry|last6=Cannon|first6=Russell|last7=Cole|first7=Shaun|last8=Colless|first8=Matthew|last9=Collins|first9=Chris|year=2002|title=The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: Constraints on Cosmic Star Formation History from the Cosmic Spectrum|publication-date=20 April 2002|volume=569|issue=2|pages=582–594|doi=10.1086/339477|periodical=The Astrophysical Journal|arxiv=astro-ph/0110676|bibcode=2002ApJ...569..582B|s2cid=54838840}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/~ikb/Cosmic-Spectrum.html|title=The Cosmic Spectrum|last1=Glazebrook|first1=Karl|last2=Baldry|first2=Ivan|date=2004-12-28|publisher=Astrophysics Research Institute|access-date=2017-08-17}}
=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.{{cite press release |author= |title=Color of the Universe Corrected by Astronomers |url=https://www.astro.ljmu.ac.uk/~ikb/press/color.html |publisher=Astrophysics Research Institute |agency=Johns Hopkins University Office of News and Information |date=2002-03-07 |access-date=2020-08-26}} Multiple news outlets, including NPR and BBC, displayed the color in stories{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2002/jan/aas/020110.aas.html|title=The Color of the Universe Is...|last=Valentine|first=Vikki|website=NPR |date=2002-03-07 |access-date=2017-08-17}} 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".{{Cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1861957.stm|title=Universe is off colour |author= |date=2002-03-08|website=BBC|access-date=2017-08-17}}{{cite magazine |title=Universe: Beige, not Turquoise |date=8 March 2002 |magazine=Wired |url= https://www.wired.com/2002/03/universe-beige-not-turquoise/ |access-date=26 August 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724125440/http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0%2C1282%2C50930%2C00.html |archive-date=24 July 2008 |df=dmy |language=en-US}}
These were the results of a vote of the JHU astronomers involved based on the new color:{{Cite web|url=http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~kgb/cosspec/topten.htm|title=The Cosmic Spectrum|date=2002-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021005185037/http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~kgb/cosspec/topten.htm|archive-date=2002-10-05|url-status=dead|access-date=2017-08-17}}
| class="wikitable sortable"
! 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". "{{lang|it|Latte}}" means "milk" in Italian, Galileo's native language, and the similar "{{lang|it|latteo}}" means "milky", similar to the Italian term for the Milky Way, "{{lang|it|Via Lattea}}". 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.{{Cite news|first1=Shankar|last1=Vedantam|first2=Marc|last2=Kaufman|first3=Rob|last3=Stein|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/07/01/science/6faba612-7ee5-49bf-a652-6a0eae42d7c5/|title=Not Just a Milky Way Anymore - Science|date=2002-07-01|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-08-17|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}} They also claimed to be "caffeine biased".
See also
- {{annotated link|Cosmic microwave background}}
- {{annotated link|Electromagnetic spectrum}}
- {{annotated link|Lists of colors}}
- {{annotated link|Shades of white}}
- {{annotated link|Visible spectrum}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- Official project website: [https://web.archive.org/web/20161222101809/http://www.pha.jhu.edu/~kgb/cosspec/ The Cosmic Spectrum (archived 2016)] from Professor Karl Glazebrook's website
- {{APOD|date=1 November 2009|title=The Average Color of the Universe}}
{{Shades of white|Cosmic latte}}