But in reality, Neptune is far more of a light greenish blue. It's actually pretty similar in color to its fellow ice giant Uranus, also visited by Voyager 2.

Voyager 2/ISS image of Neptune released shortly after the Voyager 2 flybys in 1989. Neptune is actually more similar to Uranus in color. Patrick Irwin ...

This figure shows the original Voyager 2 images, with Neptune in deep, high-contrast blue, and the actual appearance of the two ice giants.

In 1989, Voyager 2 became the first and only spacecraft to ever fly by Neptune, and images from that mission famously show a planet that's a deep azure color.

Neptune and Uranus are so similar that scientists sometimes refer to the distant, icy planets as planetary twins. But these ice giants have one big difference: their color.

A 1986 image of Uranus and a 1989 image of Neptune released shortly after each Voyager 2 flyby, compared with the study’s reprocessed images of the planets that better approximate their true colors.

It’s haze. Seventh planet Uranus and eighth planet Neptune are both regarded as gas giants and they have similar masses, sizes, and atmospheric compositions.

But in reality, Neptune is far more of a light greenish blue. It's actually pretty similar in color to its fellow ice giant Uranus, also visited by Voyager 2.

The deep blue false color image became the widely circulated image and it was mostly forgotten what the true color of Neptune is. Older reporters and scientists still remember, but the general public ...

Don’t look so blue, Neptune: Now astronomers know this planet’s true color By Nell Greenfieldboyce (NPR) Jan. 5, 2024 7:44 a.m.