skip to main content

Using Color to Identify Planets

2 minutes 11 seconds

Videos are generally available for preview to non-members as short clips. Limited full-length titles are also available. Log In to view the full length title.

Browse Full-length Non-member Titles

Discover how scientists compare the reflected red, blue, and green light from planets in the solar system to identify distant planets. Carolyn Crow, an astronomer, describes how the amount of green, blue, and red light reflected by planets can be plotted. A diagram compares the color data of the planets and shows that Earth is easily distinguishable by its blue color.

Media Details

Runtime: 2 minutes 11 seconds

Still image from: A Flying Telescope in a 747?!
4 minutes 57 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Still image from: A Kite for Moon
8 minutes 32 seconds
Grade Level: 2 - 4
Textured mount-like landform. Caption: It was incredible how Earthlike Titan appeared.
3 minutes 10 seconds
Grade Level: 10 - 12
Astronaut in a space suit working on a machine. Caption: Training takes place in the neutral buoyancy lab.
Design Squad Nation
Episode 5
3 minutes 44 seconds
Grade Level: 7 - 12
Two cartoon characters wearing scuba gear in front of a large porthole. Spanish captions.
Around The Universe (Spanish)
Episode
15 minutes 10 seconds
Grade Level: 1 - 3
Cartoon character holding a hamburger while standing next to a refrigerator. Spanish captions.
Around The Universe (Spanish)
Episode 14
15 minutes 12 seconds
Grade Level: 1 - 3
Diagram of our solar system with Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus identified. Spanish captions.
Around The Universe (Spanish)
Episode 6
15 minutes 13 seconds
Grade Level: 1 - 3
Cartoon of two people standing close to a spaceship that as crashed and a third person a distance away. Spanish captions.
Around The Universe (Spanish)
Episode 7
15 minutes 14 seconds
Grade Level: 1 - 3
Cartoon of a face against the backdrop of the surface of a barren planet. Spanish captions.
Around The Universe (Spanish)
Episode 13
15 minutes 10 seconds
Grade Level: 1 - 3
Cartoon of a person in a spaceship with space visible through a window in the ship's wall. Spanish captions.
Around The Universe (Spanish)
Episode 10
15 minutes 11 seconds
Grade Level: 1 - 3